Category Archives: Depending upon others

Have you found your “teacher customer?”

 Your customers know what they want more than you do.  Find one to teach you. This week’s insight came from personal experience and from a good friend who advanced the notion of the “teacher-customer” years ago.  I internalized this phrase, … Continue reading

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Make your detailed strategic plan!

In these past weeks, we explored the need for a tangible goal and strategies that are measurable as steps toward achievement of your goal.  Today, we explore how to create tactics to accompany each strategy, and even suggest a number … Continue reading

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Is it YOU or your great plan?

So, what do you think is more important? There may be more choices here. But the most important ones for any size business, including start-ups, is: Do you believe it should be the quality of your management team, or the … Continue reading

Posted in Depending upon others, Finding your ideal niche, Growth!, Raising money | 1 Comment

Are you at risk for tech killing your job?

Stop me if you’ve heard this story before. “My job as a (newspaper publisher telephone installer, stockbroker, travel agent, retail store manager) writer, poet, commercial artist – is safe as this economy continues to grow.”  Yup. Thought so. We are … Continue reading

Posted in Depending upon others, Protecting the business | 2 Comments

Are you a dictator about sales deadlines?

Everyone who manages a company, a workgroup or a sales force wants to write as many new deals as possible and is usually wary about doing anything that might threaten the positive outcome of a pending sale. We hesitate to … Continue reading

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Things going right? Control your euphoria!

One thing a senior manager can count on is that someday, something will go right, very right.  Well, after all the disappointments, pressure and outright failures, this is NEWS. So, we tend to go overboard a bit.  As a member … Continue reading

Posted in Depending upon others, Protecting the business | 1 Comment

Is your strategic partnership just a glorified press release?

Celebrating that strategic partnership Many of us make it a priority to find and partner with companies that can add to our offering or extend our reach.  And we rightly celebrate each such pairing, often with a mutual press release. … Continue reading

Posted in Depending upon others, Surrounding yourself with talent | 1 Comment

Can you get to the right person when you need to?

Can your contact solve real-world issues? I recently experienced an amazing effort of outreach by a vice president of a large national customer asking for a meeting with the product development team of a critical supplier, one of “my” companies.  … Continue reading

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What can we learn from the non-profit world?

In the non–profit world, the term, “time, talent and treasure” has been used so often it is almost at the edge of being trite.  It’s used in that arena to describe a volunteer’s sacrifice in support of the non–profit enterprise. … Continue reading

Posted in Depending upon others, Protecting the business | 1 Comment

Rinse and repeat: revitalizing your business

Here’s a statement that you never thought would apply to your business planning.  Sometimes we get stuck in the muck with our marketing, product, management focus, and in keeping up with trends. It is natural for executives and entrepreneurs with … Continue reading

Posted in Depending upon others, Finding your ideal niche, Growth! | 1 Comment