We’ve talked here previously about change (see https://rocksolidbizdevelopment.com/ourblog/if-there-is-no-change-theres-no-need-to-manage/) . . . about the inevitability of it and about the need to adapt to it. But since our previous talk about change, guess what’s happened! Yep, everything has changed . . . our markets, our competitors, our banking relationships, our […] Continue Reading…
“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 […] Continue Reading…
Thinking of starting a family business? Better think twice.
In a recent edition of the Daily Herald’s Business Ledger, the focus was on family businesses. More specifically, the focus was on succession planning so that the business could remain in the family and continue to benefit family members for many generations. One of the stories discussed Klein Tools, […] Continue Reading…
“Everyone has a number.”
While monthly financial statements are essential to effectively managing your business, they are historical documents. They tell you what’s already happened when it’s too late to do anything about it. So in addition to monthly financial statements, you also need measurements that are predictive in nature to serve as […] Continue Reading…
Are you a Visionary or an Integrator?
In his book, “Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business,” Gino Wickman envisions an organizational chart with the guy at the top as the “Visionary” and the guy immediately below him as the “Integrator.” In Wickman’s model, the Visionary is the company’s creative sparkplug, the guy who sees opportunities […] Continue Reading…
“Accountability breeds response-ability.”
In our last posting, we talked about execution . . . about the need for meticulous planning, thorough and detailed communication of our plans, and after-the-fact review to determine what went right and what didn’t in an effort to continuously improve our execution skills and abilities. We probably should […] Continue Reading…
It’s all in the execution.
James “Murph” Murphy is a former F-15 fighter pilot who left the Air Force after 12 years to enter the business world. In his book, “Flawless Execution,” he talks about the rigors of being a fighter pilot, about the exhaustive work pilots do as they prepare to fly a […] Continue Reading…
Tear down those information silos!
In a recent Time magazine article entitled “We’ve All Got GM Problems,” columnist Rana Foroohar talks about General Motors’ recall problems. She says the problems came to a head because the people and departments involved “literally weren’t communicating with one another.” She chalks up those problems to “a systemic […] Continue Reading…
Does fear of failure motivate or paralyze you?
There was an interesting article published recently in the Chicago Tribune. In it, a member of Chicago’s iconic business clan, the Pritzkers, talked about failure and the role it has played in shaping his life. While we have discussed failure here in the past, it’s a subject worth revisiting […] Continue Reading…
