In our last posting, we talked about building an annual plan around three to five strategic initiatives. We also suggested that you open up your planning process to as many of your employees as possible . . . don’t restrict it to only you and your top managers. Make your planning process as inclusive as
“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.”
About this time every year . . . somewhere around the beginning of the 4th quarter . . . is a good time to begin planning for next year. Unfortunately, planning is not an activity that most small businesses engage in . . . at least, not in any meaningful way. The owner may have
Work on your business, not in it.
According to the IRS, there are 18.1 million businesses in this country, but only 100,000 that employ 100 or more people. So of the 18.1 million businesses in this country, 18 million of them are small businesses. In addition, more than a million businesses are started here each year, but 800,000 of them will be
“Without execution, ‘vision’ is just another word for hallucination.”
“Which is easier, strategy (planning) or execution?” Ask any chief executive that question, and he or she will always answer, “Execution!” Putting together a good strategic plan has its own challenges, but the real trick is making that plan happen. And the reason for that is simple: executing a strategic plan is important but not
A few questions every entrepreneur ought to ask.
In 2014, Inc. magazine published an article titled, “100 great questions every entrepreneur should ask.” Some of the questions were submitted by best-selling business writers such as Jim Collins, Patrick Lencioni, and Peter Drucker, while others were submitted by a variety of business educators, business leaders, and business owners. But all were thought-provoking and insightful.
Five Things To Do Before December 31
Two years ago, I wrote a piece about things that ought to be done to close out the current year cleanly, and get a strong start in the new year. Since this is the time of year to do those sorts of things, I thought it would be appropriate to post a similar piece. So
“You’ve got to know when to hold ‘em, know when to fold ‘em . . . “
In the last few postings, we have been talking about entrepreneurs . . . what the profile of an entrepreneur looks like and how successful entrepreneurs tend to behave. But entrepreneurs, like all business owners, need an exit strategy, and it doesn’t matter if the owner is 26 or 66 . . . he or
Be decisive. Get focused. Take a nap.
Successful people have always been, and continue to be, studied, researched, and analyzed endlessly. Why? Because we want to learn what makes them tick. We want to find out what they do (or don’t do) that makes them more successful than the rest of us. I recently read two online articles, each describing a characteristic
What’s your New Year’s BHAG?
At the start of the year, everybody ought to have a BHAG. For the uninitiated, that’s a Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal or bee-hag. And why does everyone need a BHAG? Well, if you’re one of those rare businesses that blew the doors off last year and all you want to do is let the good
“Whoever said, ‘If it ain’t broke . . . ‘ “
It’s easy to get a little lax about taking care of your car. That is, you get in, it starts right up, and then you’re zipping down the road. No worries, right? But then, warning lights start appearing on the dashboard or the brakes start to squeak, and you realize you haven’t had it serviced
