We make numerous decisions every day like what to wear, what to eat, and what form of advertising should our business pursue?
We even make a decision to defer a decision, or we decide to procrastinate.
We spend too little time on the how and the why of our decision-making, decisions that deeply affect the outcome of our business. [Read more…]
In the 1970’s, New York City was run by a gentleman named Ed Koch, who had an interesting habit. He’d visit subway stations or popular intersections throughout the city, and ask residents heading to and from work, “How am I doin’?” This scenario became legend.
When I was a young executive in a large corporation, our president would visit various departments throughout the day, and ask employees things like, “How are you?” or “Are you working on anything exciting?” or “How can the corporation help you?”
I first thought these were examples of leaders being polite, or maybe just “attention seekers,” or maybe even managers who didn’t have much else to do. What I didn’t realize was that I was witnessing a brilliant leadership tactic. [Read more…]
When I started running workshops for startup entrepreneurs, a colleague who ran the financial portion held up a simple, hand-written sign. This is what it said:
Sales – Costs = Profits
He then talked about the sign’s simple message, and stressed that the success of a startup is, at the end of the day, how much money you have at, well, at the end of the day.
He also discussed how the more we complicate this message, the more we get off target. By “complicate,” we mean things (that even experts debate) like worrying about depreciation, inventory valuations, and “accrual versus cash” method, which are all good to know, but not for understanding the nuts and bolts of what makes a successful business.
I originally thought this approach was a little simplistic, perhaps a bit dangerous, but have now come to embrace it. [Read more…]
I have a colleague and supplier (an information technology specialist) who earns a significant part of his income fixing disasters. He gets lots of work from clients who thought they were computer savvy and capable of building their own network or website (WRONG!) or after having assembling a team of independent specialists who do not understand the overall underlying structure of a system (NOT A GOOD IDEA!) As a result, they got themselves in all kinds of trouble, like accidentally deleting their important system files, or breaking key system components that brought their site down.
This IT guy understands my tendency to play around with the computer programs without any programming experience. As a result, he created a simple solution: while I retain complete access to all the information, I will never, ever know the passwords for any computer operation.
Entrepreneurs are not alone in thinking that they can do anything, that they can’t afford extra resources; they think they have to do everything, are paranoid about trusting others, or don’t think it is important enough to require a particular expertise. This approach is just simply absurd. [Read more…]
“….After being forced down after being hit by an RPG.” With this exaggeration, just a few simple words, the career of well-respected newsman, Brian Williams, was in jeopardy.
I call it, “the perils of exaggeration.” And, it can be found on TV, and in every method of social media. From politicians to celebrities and from reality TV stars to business executives. It is so tempting to sort of spice up a routine story, a flat sales quarter, how much your product will be improved, and when it’s expected off the assembly line. [Read more…]
“Get the facts before the facts get you.” That is precisely what a business mentor said to me a few years ago, and it stuck ever since. Once this wise statement sank in, I never went into a decision without using research and analytics, and from that, I would develop a pretty good argument. Not only did it provide the confidence to move forward with the decision I had to make, but it made it tough for anyone to second guess it, and gave the decision more credence. The advice become a sort of mantra that I live by in my business, and a crucial piece of advice I pass along to my clients. [Read more…]