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- Let your board help with “what” and “why” – but rarely “how.”
- Does your board give you good advice?
- Where’s your team playbook? Hmm?
- Can your team overcome messy problems?
- Hire for your core. Partner for the rest.
- Are you a remote manager? A good one?
- Can you name the two most powerful words for business?
- Do you take those loyal, key customers for granted?
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Category Archives: Growth!
What two words are most valuable for your business planning?
One of the most valuable tools in an executive’s arsenal is the use of the question chain in planning meetings or to analyze scenarios that might result from an action. The powerful words are “What if…” followed by an ever-deeper … Continue reading
Posted in Growth!, Protecting the business
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Catch up to your market or be lost!
Markets and competitors change. Are you being left behind? Over the years, I have often heard the complaint from CEO friends that they have become so swamped by the demands of their growing businesses that they feel themselves further and … Continue reading
Posted in Growth!, Positioning
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Faster is sometimes more valuable than better.
And doing both well usually wins the day. This is one of those arguable insights, where both sides win. Dell is a great example of emphasis upon fast, creating a customized computer in 48 hours or less, bringing in assemblies … Continue reading
Posted in Finding your ideal niche, Growth!, Positioning
2 Comments
Are you thinking of the end game when managing your business?
Ever think about growing your business with the plan to sell it someday, cashing in on your hard-earned work over the years? Or if you’re an employee with stock options, are you aware of the increases in value you can … Continue reading
Posted in Growth!, The liquidity event and beyond
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Is your company or department as efficient as it should be?
There is more money lost in businesses today from inefficient processes than any other single area. Yet this is not a place where most managers feel comfortable deconstructing and rebuilding. Somewhere out there is a consultant or future employee (or … Continue reading
Learn to never handle a paper or email twice
We all do it… to our own detriment. So, let’s make a pact that we will try, if not succeed, to handle our incoming messages more efficiently. Personal time management helps immensely to make a better manager of you and … Continue reading
Have you made the mistake of hiring too soon?
Well, you may not be alone. Many executives and managers have made the mistake of using the financial and sales forecast to plan and execute hiring of new employees – so that they could be trained and up to speed … Continue reading
Posted in Growth!, Protecting the business
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The 18-month rule and a harrowing tale
It can take 18 months from initial concern about a critical employee to getting a replacement up to speed. Of course, I’ll tell another harrowing story here. But first. an old friend, Dick Tanaka, gets credit for the 18-month rule. … Continue reading
What’s a company board good for, anyway?
Some of you have gotten along forever without a board of directors, or used your spouse as the “other” board member from the start. But there are some very good reasons to build a great board composed of some outside … Continue reading
Posted in Growth!, Surrounding yourself with talent
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Avoid “The tyranny of the new office” syndrome.
One of the most obvious observations I make with growing company CEO’s is that planning for a new office is done with an optimistic view of the future, incorporating planned space that compromises only slightly the measured needs for the … Continue reading
