“The longer it takes to close a deal, the less likely it is to happen; time kills deals.” – Marisa Pensa During the “Great Recession,” a lot of merger and acquisition work came to a screeching halt, particularly where small businesses were concerned. In an uncertain business climate, buyers stopped buying, and sellers, fearful that
“OK, but let’s look on the bright side . . . .”
In their best-selling book, “Switch,” brothers Chip and Dan Heath discuss why it’s so difficult for us to change, whether we’re trying to change the way we eat or change the way we do business. The culprit is a fundamental conflict that’s hardwired into our brains. But once you understand the conflict, you can find
What causes sales?
Just about every business tracks its sales in some way or another. But not all of them track what causes sales. Curious, don’t you think? If we know what causes sales, we can do more of that (whatever “that” is), and our sales will go up. So why wouldn’t we want to track what causes
Meetings, Bloody Meetings
Meetings get a bad rap. And in many cases, they should! When they’re boring, pointless, poorly orchestrated, and a waste of everyone’s time, they should get a bad rap. But when they’re done right, meetings can (and should) be vital tools for debate, problem solving, communication, and coordination. If you believe meetings at your place
Motivation: toss the carrot and stick
Motivation is a part of leadership, isn’t it? It’s providing something that makes followers want to go where the leader is trying to lead them. Traditionally, business has relied heavily on carrot-and-stick motivational tools . . . reward and punishment. And the carrots (the rewards) usually are money in the form of bonuses or commissions,
Culture, smulture . . . who needs it?
Brand and culture. Two sides of the same coin. Your brand is the outside world’s perception of who you are. The only question is, is that perception the one you have intentionally put in place and nurtured, or is it the one your market has bestowed on you by default. Likewise, your culture is how
Stop Making Those Decisions
In a 1995 article by A.E. Carlisle entitled simply, “MacGregor,” Carlisle tells the story of the title character who is a plant manager with a remarkable management style. At the core of MacGregor’s style is his refusal to make any operating decisions. Sounds a little odd, doesn’t it? Yet his plant (even though it’s the
“Wealth continually grows from multiplying existing resources using existing technologies.” -Pilzer’s Law
Paul Pilzer is an American economist and best-selling author who promotes the notion that economic progress and wealth are driven by technology. New technologies will continue to feed economic growth, but in Pilzer’s view, a lot of growth can come from properly utilizing the technologies we’ve already got. Most technologies used in small business are
Best Hiring Practices 101d
This is the final installment of a series on Best Hiring Practices. The series is not intended to be all-inclusive, but rather an examination of the most impactful things you can do to improve your hiring process. In the previous postings, we’ve talked about the need to hire well . . . and the high
Best Hiring Practices 101c
In our last posting on “Best Hiring Practices,” we talked about the need to write a comprehensive job description detailing not only the skills an applicant must have, but also the behaviors. Now the next step is to prepare written interview questions. Why written? For that answer, and for a lot more on preparing for
