Sadly, when a business fails, it is often not because it was founded on a bad idea. It’s because it simply runs out of money. Even if the business is profitable, it can still be cash-starved out of business. How does that happen? Several ways. If the business is a brand new startup, the entrepreneur
“No organization can make good decisions without conflict.”
“No organization can make good decisions without conflict.” “If everyone is thinking alike, someone’s not thinking.” We tend to veer away from conflict. It can make us feel uncomfortable, or even downright shaken. It can inspire anger, anxiety, hurt feelings, and a lot of other negative outcomes. So we avoid it. We try to play
Running a company is easy when you don’t know how, but very difficult when you do.
Running a company is easy when you don’t know how, but very difficult when you do. Below are some activities that, when performed rigorously and consistently, tend to separate strong small business operators from those who are struggling. It is not intended to be a comprehensive list, and the list is not in any particular
“There is no point in doing well that which you should not be doing at all.”
It’s not unusual. We just continue to do certain things in the business because we always have done them. Or we continue to do them because it would be a pain in the neck to train someone else to do them. Either way, we end up doing things that are not the highest and best
“People can’t see it your way until you first see it their way.”
Listening is an essential skill whether you’re at work or at home, whether you’re the CEO or an hourly worker. Yet it’s a skill that many of us either never acquired, or have allowed to lapse. In a conversation, do you find yourself crafting your next statement of brilliant insight rather than listening to
“The purpose of your organization is to meet customer needs. That’s the game. Profits are the score.”
That’s obvious, isn’t it? Well, it should be, but we often behave as though our customers must meet our needs. Think about it. Do you impose deadlines on your customers to make life easier for you? Are your pricing schemes aimed at getting customers to buy the way you want them to buy rather than
“The nicest thing about not planning is that failure always comes as a complete surprise and is not preceded by a period of worry and desperation.”
Many small business owners do not engage in any real, substantive planning activities, even though planning will do more to move the business forward than anything else they can do. This is often because: a) they are so busy putting out the fires of today that they don’t have time to worry about tomorrow, or
