The other day my 15-year-old daughter Madison skipped down the stairs in a beautiful new red summer dress. I told her how nice it was. She responded, “Thanks Dad. Ten bucks. I found it on Kohl’s’ sale rack.” My other daughter Gracen, 12, is just as money conscious. There have been a few times I’ve…
Business coaches are a lot like personal trainers. People turn to them when they need help reaching their goals. Hard work means a lot in business, and it can get business owners pretty close to where they want to be. Most often, it’s the final small step toward success that is the hardest. A coach…
Nothing—I repeat—nothing will affect your business more than the people you add to your team. Your competitors can imitate all your systems and processes, offer the same products or services but they can’t clone your people. (Not yet anyway.) There are two overarching hiring philosophies. You can either: Hire smart Hire fast The first creates…
“In quoting others we cite ourselves.” – Julio Cortazar I spend thousands of hours with hundreds of business leaders across the country facilitating their company planning-sessions. If you took a snapshot of our meetings, you’d see a handful of really cool people hard at work in a conference room with neon sticky notes covering…
Our great city has been all the buzz lately. GQ renamed us, “Nowville.” A recent Gallup Poll distinguished us as one of the “Top Five Regions for Growth.” CNN placed us in their third slot of “Cities Where Startups Thrive.” Forbes included us in their list of cities that are “Getting Smarter the Fastest.” Travel…
Your business becomes the result of the decisions you as a manager or business owner make. That being said, the best managers must be equipped with one common strength—decisiveness. Napoleon said, “Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide.” I couldn’t agree more. Decision-making is difficult and risky…
Darwin said: “In the struggle for survival, the fittest win out at the expense of their rivals because they succeed in adapting themselves best to their environment.” The same applies in business. I learned to adapt the hard way. While still in college, I launched a pager business. In time, it grew into a multi-million-dollar…
It’s 5 o’clock. You’ve had a long day at the office and can’t wait to get home. You rush to the parking lot, leap into your car and gun it to the 1-65 on-ramp. What you see ahead is not pretty. A sea of cars parked across four lanes. The lane to your left starts…
A few months ago, while stopping for a burrito before heading to my airport gate, I realized I needed a “Yes” intervention. The gal behind the counter asked, “Rice?” I said, “Yeah, sure.” “Black beans?” “Okay.” “Chicken?” “Sounds good.” “Lettuce, tomatoes and onions?” “Yea, why not.” “Pico?” “Sure.” “Jalapenos, cilantro, black olives and sour cream?”…
The year’s end is truly a beginning. This is the time of year businesses begin setting their 2013 goals — New Year’s resolutions for your business.. This process takes time because a good plan—one the business leader and the team will stick to—isn’t created overnight. The same applies to personal resolutions. Forty-five percent of people set…