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 […] Continue Reading…
“A good leader inspires other people with confidence in the leader. A great leader inspires them with confidence in themselves.”
Over the years, I’ve been on a lot of “plant tours.” Usually, our guide is the owner or CEO or plant manager, and the focus is usually on the systems and equipment being used in each step of the manufacturing process. But awhile ago, I was on a tour […] Continue Reading…
“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 […] Continue Reading…
“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”
I have talked about planning here before, but I continue to run into small business owners who seemingly just don’t get it. They don’t plan because they don’t see the value in it. So I continue to hammer away at it in hopes that the lights will come on […] Continue Reading…
“No one likes to be sold; everyone likes to buy.”
Professional sales people get a bad rap. Sales is an honorable profession, but it has been sullied by poor practitioners of the craft . . . sales people who are determined to make the sale regardless of the needs and wants of the customer. We’ve all run into pushy […] Continue Reading…
“Success is not determined by the flawless execution of a plan. It is determined by how people react to failure.”
“I haven’t failed. I’ve found 10,000 ways that don’t work.”
“The way to succeed is to double your failure rate.”
“What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail?”
Lots of thoughts about failure, but it’s an important aspect of business life. It’s the consequence we must consider […] Continue Reading…
“Good enough is never good enough.”
“Good enough is never good enough.”
– Jack Welch, General Electric
“When you’re better than ‘good enough,’ your price is too high.”
– Sam Bowers, business professor and lecturer
It’s hard to argue with a business legend like Jack Welch. And he’s right. We need to continuously tweek and refine our product […] Continue Reading…
“Quality is no longer a differentiator. Quality is your ticket to the dance to compete with others who also have quality.”
The same could be said of many things we offer up as differentiating us from our competitors . . . aggressive pricing, on-time delivery, outstanding customer service, great response time, to name a few. You have to do all those things. Customers expect those things, and without them, you […] Continue Reading…
“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 […] Continue Reading…
“If your business keeps you so busy that you have no time for anything else, there must be something wrong, either with you or with your business.”
Do you have time to do things you want to do outside of your business? Or, said another way, do you feel you have good “balance” in your life? Obviously, there are times when business activity is high and things can get a little hectic, but that’s not what […] Continue Reading…
