Author: admin
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Doing What We Can to Help…
Our family recently experienced the tragedy of the California Wildfires. Though we were evacuated for a couple of weeks, our house was fine upon return. But many others were not as fortunate. We were reminded that those on the margins (poor, elderly) often suffer the most. Here’s a short article on something my son and…
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Managing Through Business Disasters – 8 Lessons Learned from the California Wildfires
At 3:15am on 10/15, we were roused from bed by a kind neighbor pounding on our door: “Fire! You need to evacuate!” Seeing the bright orange glow of a fire, just a few miles away, we left very quickly and didn’t return for nearly 2 weeks until it was once again safe to return to…
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Seek Navigational Support to Find Your Way: 11 Reasons Why Small Businesses Fail
Avoid failure: seek out fresh perspective and experienced navigational support to help your business GROW. I read an article that resonated with me: 11 Reasons Why Small Businesses Fail. Here’s a summary with my observations: Empty Pockets– #1 reason small businesses fail. They may have GREAT products and people but cash flow is a problem and…
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Don’t Back Down (Life Lessons from Tom Petty)
Starting up a business or beginning a new job can provide a great lesson in humility. I know that I have felt that myself. You have great intentions, ideas, and determination. But “stuff happens” and gets in the way. Lots of roadblocks are thrown your way. You make progress, you gain optimism – then more…
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Can a Nice Boss Be Effective?
My friend, Jack Harvey, shared a very interesting HBR article on the truth about being a nice boss, from author Emma Seppala. Here were her key conclusions. #1. High Stress Reduces Productivity If “tough” managers create tremendous levels of stress on employees, the effect can be very negative. High levels of workplace stress have been…
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8 Ways to Get More from Your Strategic Planning Process
Annual strategic planning is often something to do because “we always do it.” But how can you get real value out of your strategic planning process? Here are 8 ways to get more from your strategic planning process for 2016… Identify the 3 Biggest Factors that are limiting your company’s success. If you spent just…
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Strong Leaders Don’t Give In to the “Yeah, buts”
I recently worked with a CEO who taught me some great lessons in management. One of the best I learned was that strong leaders must set clear and steady vision, and the leader can’t get drawn into a battle of “Yeah, buts”. So, what is a “Yeah, but”? A “yeah, but” describes a tiny attack on your…
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Reading Bad News in the Morning Reduces Work Effectiveness
Have you ever wondered whether reading bad news in the morning can have a negative impact on your productivity? According to a new study by Shawn Achor and Michelle Gielan in the latest Harvard Business Review, “consuming negative news CAN make you less effective at work.” In their study, participants who were exposed to negative…
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Macromanagement: Vision vs. Details
We have all heard the phrase “He can’t see the forest through the trees.” When people say this about leaders, it is certainly not meant to be positive. The suggestion is that the leader gets so bogged down in details that he can’t see the full picture; he can’t see or articulate a vision. Paula…
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Micromanagement Dragging You Down?
A struggle for many company leaders is resisting the urge to micromanage. What enabled you to rise in your organization was your ability to get things done – to take full responsibility of making something happen, based upon your own extraordinary skills in specific functional area. But now you are a leader. Yes, you probably…