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Free Newsletter Archive The Hero's Journey Most of us have heard of the hero's journey and the late Joseph Campbell who wrote extensively on it and other... Retention vs. Growth The odyssey of seeking new business is always an adventure and many of us travel far and wide to find new customers. In so doing, we... Is Your Intellectual Property Protected? ©, ™, ®, K -- Most of you recognize the symbols for copyright, claimed trademark, registered trademark, service mark as Intellectual Property (IP) identifiers SOHO Weariness Many of you have commented on the concept of "weariness" I spoke about recently in "The Realities of SOHO Living," wanting more clarity. Lonely at the Top? When I started my first company, I soon found I didn't have very many people to talk to, to confide in, or people who would listen and who could understand. New Year's Resolutions I don't recommend them and each year publish a variation of the following: RESOLVED, that for the year 2008, I ____________________ will ____________. Lots of people are making resolutions. You can, as well. But study after study tells us that most New Year's Resolutions don't last. Thinking of Jimmy Breslin Growing up in New York, I was often treated to the journalistic flair of Jimmy Breslin (who is still writing). One of his memorable quotes is, "Rage is the only quality which has kept me, or anybody I have ever studied, writing columns for newspapers. Maintenance is a Dirty Word? The only maintenance job (cleaning latrines) I ever liked was the one I had as a Camp Counselor. I chose it because, unlike many other jobs around the camp, I knew exactly where the "dirt" was and what it took to maintain it. Celebrating Immigrant Heritage W.O.P. -- Its descriptive attitudes were active during an earlier time in our history. It's an offensive term. Lots of our ancestors came to America in just that state-- WithOut Papers. Planning Your Exit Plants, planets and people. We all have cycles. Letting go, letting others and leaving is part of the life cycle of every leader's tenure and every job. Having well-developed exit strategies to preserve legacies, provide continuity and "grow" others is often neglected. What's Your Excuse? A great many Americans I know are married. But not married as you might think. No, they (we in most cases) are married to their excuses. Ever hear, "I would have...except?" Letting Go Buddhists talk about letting go, about being open to life's flow. They say that holding on -- to old ideas, to the memory of past victories, or to the status quo -- hampers our ability to embrace the future and grow. On Self-Service and Self-Serving I wonder when I log onto a site or call a company, only to be diverted into a succession of qualifying questions en route to my true destination, whether, as the companies say, the process is designed to serve me better or is merely self-serving on the part of the company. A Time for Every Season I often hear someone say, "I'm not the person I used to be..." Frankly, I'm glad to hear it. Most of the people I know improve, like wine, with age. How Fearless Are You? I read an article recently by Meg Wheatley, the futurist. It is about "fearlessness." She challenges us with 8 questions on how to be fearless in our leadership and in our lives. Is Your Strategy Sound? Strategy work involves setting goals, identifying a mission, forging strategic intent. It's usually all about outcomes. And yet in spite of this focus on outcomes, it's often the integrity of the process that ensures success. Your Strategies -- Playing It Safe or Risking It All? Strategies come in all sizes, shapes and levels of reality. From experience, I tend to place strategies into one of three categories: strategies based on knowing, strategies based on expectations and strategies based on hope. What's Your Succession Plan? Most people think about Succession Planning as part of the process of selling a business, or in relation to key executive transition. We Don't Need No Stinkin' Resolutions RESOLVED, that for the year 2007, I, ____________________, will ____________. It's that time of year again. Lots of people are making resolutions. But study after study tells us that most New Year's resolutions don't last. Why? Sales & Marketing in 2007 What are your sales and marketing plans for 2007? Where will they be generated? Who will invest in you and your company? There is much talk... How Boomers are Retreading Retirement Most of my work in succession over the past 30 years has had to do with helping leaders move on from businesses and jobs they loved, making their transitions profitably and with some measure of control. Virtually all of them went into retirement, giving back to the community... What You Do Next, Counts! When is the time for succession? Like all cycles, there is a time for creating and nurturing your business and there is a time to let go and move on. How can you tell when that time comes? Exercising Your Freedom to Vote If you are thinking about sitting out this year's election, please don't. Every vote is important and there are many stories about small pluralities, even a single vote, turning an election (and that's not counting the ones that are "stolen"). Of Slackers and Slack Value I saw a news report recently about a man who, inspired by his son, wrote a book about slacking off. The son, as it turned out, took a couch potato position for a few months before getting a job (the piece also disclosed that the dad had spent several years on a commune during his youth). How Effective is Your Website? My friend and colleague, Jerry Gitchel (www.jerrygitchel.com), an expert in web site marketing, suggests you ask two questions when you consider updating your web site. "What do I most want (web site) visitors to do?" and, "What am I doing to help them do it?" Will We Lose the Internet as We Know It? Congress and the courts are making law and considering future regulation of the Internet. It probably won't be free, or as free as it is now, and it may not be as free-wheeling. Good, or bad? Running on Auto-Pilot-Athletes and Actors We see their performances, sometimes relish their pay and lifestyle, but are content dealing with the only tip of the iceberg. But what about their personal lives? Are their lives a mess, or are they successful, balanced and happy? Looking Inside for Reinvention Improvement is often talked about in terms of "taking yourself or your business to the next level", or, perhaps as "reinventing" your business or yourself. The assumption is that the trend must be up and possibly, out. Of People, Power and Projects Yup, it's still the people who make the difference in ultimate project success. I heard "people power" reinforced in two recent project management workshops I conducted and in a 2004 study by Price Waterhouse Coopers (Belgium, who surveyed more than 200 companies worldwide). Who's Winning At The Olympics? The flags are different. The faces are diverse. The performances are superb. And the world watches -- cheers and savors the moment. Fans, and those who never follow an everyday sports event, watch and wonder. Sometimes, we forget national pride and our own athletes, celebrating in the moment, as we watch humanity perform at its best. Of New Year's Resolutions and Weather Forecasts Several friends approached me over the past week asking for my advice on setting New Year's resolutions. In the past, I had often been supportive of making resolutions at the beginning of the calendar year. Having done periodic checks with friends over the past few years, though, I don't support the notion any more. On Doing versus Being Much of my growing up, and I suspect that of many others in our culture, involved the socialization process. In short, this is what "you do" to get along, to grow, to become a part of the society. Being, when it was discussed at all, often had to do with the role we would assume upon reaching the career stage of our lives. Death of My Other Mentor: Peter Drucker Passes at 95 The world lost a great mind recently. At 95, Peter Drucker, management guru to several generations, passed. He left a legacy of management and leadership thought that will not easily be measured, or matched. Don't Miss Election Day Too many Americans skip Election Day as either a "so what" or, a "they are all crooks" or, an "I'm too busy" effort. But like the lottery, relationships and life, showing up and participating are keys to success. Betting on Potential A friend told me recently, "never bet on what people can be." I couldn't disagree more. If we only bet on sure things - the way people are now, known entities, what is - productive life would come to a standstill. Do What You Love Last week, I was speaking with a client who told me he had, over the years, "given up his dream" for the kind of company he would create - but had he really? Is Innovation Dead? We've all heard the line, "if you build a better mousetrap, people will beat a path to your door." The belief behind the words is that innovation is rewarded in the marketplace. Like most sayings of its kind, it is both true and false. Self-Service or Self-Serving? When was the last time you got somebody's voice mail and heard, "Your call is important to us." and/or "We're sorry we missed your call."? As the world moves to more "self-directed service" and companies tell us how much "control" we have over our accounts and how we interact with them, a question arises given the quest for greater profitability as competition becomes global. Be the Least Objectionable Choice The Greatest American Contest on the Discovery channel is now history. The five finalists were: Ronald Reagan, Martin Luther King, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. I think most Americans will agree that all five finalists were great Americans. But the greatest...? Hanging in There is Your Key to Success It's not the planning, it's usually the "hanging in there" that makes the difference between success and failure. Most plans represent good ideas, laudable goals -- isn't that why you came up with them? So, why do many plans fail outright or fail to achieve the goals they were intended to achieve? Taking the Angst Out of Speaking Take the angst out of approaching the podium. It is said speaking from the podium if feared more than death by some. You can take some of the fear out of a presentation -- whether it's to a small group of friends or associates or to a larger group, by deciding which role to play when you speak. Pick the one that is easiest for you and you will find yourself speaking better and enjoying it more. Being Marketable People are buying Ferraris and people are buying cereal. In times of plenty and in times of challenge, staples and luxuries keep on selling. Luxuries focus on a small market of very "status conscious" buyers who will move heaven and earth to get what they want -- including the label. How to Sell More Whether we sell products, services, or both, we are constantly challenged to sell more. More means expanding or refining our franchise (read -- permission to do business) into other arenas or going more deeply into our current arenas. Follow Your Instincts My office window overlooks a pond. It's a wonderful view. The recent chill had frozen most of the surface, except for a small circle where the spring fed into the pond. Looking out, I watched the ducks and Canadian geese gathered in, and around, the water. Planning Your Exit Strategy Sell? Lease? Rent? What's best for you when considering exit strategies? How you move on in life -- and how you maintain lifestyle-- is just as challenging as growth has ever been. Do you have a plan? Have you considered selling it all? Can you afford to? When is the best time to sell? What about selling part of it? Does it make sense to maintain ownership but turn management over to your children, other family members, key executives or maybe all the employees? The Dog Ate My Homework While awaiting my flight out of Philadelphia recently, I overheard a sales person related the following to a customer (paraphrased): "We have a really good company. You know our sales support and overall service are excellent. From time to time, though, we have real problems with our shipping department. Your equipment was sent to someone else. The Power of Stories Stories have real power. I've heard that the third word a child is likely to say, after mommy and daddy, is story. Entertainment, literature and religion are mostly about stories and how they are told. In many professions, like mine, the stories you tell and how you tell them are what are most remembered. Who Wins with Spin? Everybody knows about spin. It's about telling a story, fact or fiction, in such a way that it reflects favorably on its originator. PR and advertising types are hired to tell stories better, the thought being that professional storytellers (spinners) can tell a client's story better than the client. Today's Thought: Seven Wonders of the World Virtually all of us were taught in school about the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Do you remember them? Can you name them (in any order) 1) ____________________ 2) ____________________ 3) ____________________ 4) ____________________ 5) ____________________ 6) ____________________ 7) ____________________ You will find a complete list at the end of today's THOUGHT. Birthday Resolutions Every time I have a birthday, and I recently did, I think about what I did with my last year and what I'd like to do in the year going forward. Birthday time is my "resolution" time. Trial and Error from Julia Child Almost everyone has heard of Julia Child, TV's French Chef, and of her recent passing. Julia was an important influence in my life. As a freshman in college, I misspent my scholarship monies in the first semester. Today's Thought -- Life Choices We often think of ourselves as being defined by our choices in life. We choose, and have chosen, to become… (whomever) Common Ground If you can believe the news, human interaction in business, politics, and personal relationships seems to be finding less and less common ground to agree upon and more irreconcilable issues to contest. It seems the permission we give ourselves to disagree, and we all have our opinions, is encroaching into decision management. Nobody Does You Better Most comparative assessments we make are negative, like keeping up with the Jones's, for example. This makes it tough to establish a realistic strategic intent, either on an individual or a team basis. The standard for what results can be achieved resides somewhere else, with someone over whom we have no control. Today's Thought - Get More Results By Reframing Your Competitive Perspective A friend of mine owns a local restaurant. His menu and moderate prices attract a local clientele on a regular basis. The food is quite good and the menu is imaginative. I asked him, "Why not raise your prices -- you are just a good as ...?" Today's Thought - Getting More Results from Planning All too often, strategic planning is more about what you say you are doing than about what's really happening. Sure, many of the end results are attained, but there's an awful lot of uncontrolled variance, danger and waste in between. Lack of plan conformance and commitment frustrates people and leads to cynicism. In the face of this disparity, the leader's continuing challenge is to make planning effective and integral to the fabric of the organizational life. Get More Results By Taking Your Business To The Next Level Getting to the "next level" is a mantra on the lips of most business people these days. But what is the "next logical level"for any of our businesses? Could we be on the right level and not know it? Is the next level a matter of more sales, more people, more products or services? Is the next level about being bigger or better, or both? Get More Results In Any One Hour As leaders we are expected to get a lot done -- and we do. We are prolific both from the nature of the work we do and from the nature of life itself. Mostly, our work is composed of three elements. The immediate challenges -- the work that must be done -- consumes about 40% of our time if we are to believe the time management gurus. This is our "firefighting" work, or "today's emergency," but each day has its own challenges and we are obliged to take them on. One 9/11 Legacy One thing I've noticed since "9/11" is that we Americans seem to be a little more courteous and gracious to one another. I see more people smiling on the streets, more people letting people into traffic lines ahead of them, more people volunteering to help even before being asked and more people seeming to enjoy the world around them. At the same time I see a decline in surliness, bad manners and pettiness. Perhaps these aren't big changes but they are noticeable. Make Planning Real All too often in business, planning is about what we are going to do, not what we are really doing. The continuing challenge in making planning efforts pertinent and effective is to make them integral to the fabric of our organizational lives. Planning, or creating your strategic intent, is like creating a travel itinerary. It articulates where you want to go, how you plan to get there and when you plan to leave and arrive. But most organizations already have an itinerary (stated or un-stated), and it works, so planning elements that vary from what is currently done - even when they offer great promise for success - are resisted from the onset. Who Comes Next History tells us that Alexander the Great willed his kingdom to “the strongest.” Within a few years, there was no kingdom. We are also told of numerous instances that when a rival was vanquished, both the rival and his/her family were put to the sword. People in antiquity knew, who comes Next, Counts! Business owners and captains of industry need to be keenly aware of who comes next. So does virtually every manager. For the business owner, it is usually a matter of continuity and equity. If the new owner doesn’t make the business work at least as well as the he had, his chances of getting his full payment are diminished, and the prospect of being drawn back into the business becomes a reality. Recommend this site to a friend |
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