No Frills No Fluff™

It’s a new economy out there. Old models of leadership are falling aside to make way for new thinking. Today’s leadership requires passion, open-mindedness and courage. Here is one way modern leaders need to adapt:
Be Transparent. Increased compliance regulations, accountability and an exploding online world have rung the death knell on hiding or obscuring information. [...]

Here is our final strategic planning technique:
Review your plan and identify a “theme” for the year: Once your plan is set, you will most likely see a theme emerging. Themes are important reminders for how and where to focus through the year. For example: “Getting ready to sell,” “People first,” “Maintaining market share,” or “Breaking [...]

Following from our last post, here is part two of our strategic planning techniques to increase your energy and rekindle your passion.

Begin organizing your thoughts and ideas: Once you have collected your ideas, begin looking for common themes or patterns.  Group them into categories such as: financial, personnel, product development, personal development, operational, etc.

Check back [...]

Our next series of tips relates to strategic planning techniques. The concept of “strategic planning” is rarely associated with increased energy and rekindled passion.  But that is often because of how we do strategic planning rather than the planning itself.  We lock ourselves and our management teams into stuffy conference rooms expecting to somehow magically [...]

Many of the executives we work with are accustomed to giving orders and making directive statements. These can be powerful and memorable. They can also be a turn off and cause a great deal of trouble. Practice asking questions FIRST and making statements later. Here are some great questions that work in management and leadership [...]

When you experience challenges with employees, clients, shareholders, board members, etc., avoid over-focusing on what they are doing wrong and/or what you would like them to do differently. If you instead focus on you and what you can control, you will reduce your stress level, stop unproductive work habits, and maintain emotional control. If [...]

TIPS FOR A PRODUCTIVE WORK WEEK

The work week can be so crowded with appointments, paperwork and commitments that your business focus may be lost in the shuffle. Here are some tips for making your week more productive:

Focus on 3 accomplishments per day. List the 3 things you absolutely [...]

Most of us have heard the expression “stop and smell the roses” which encourages us to slow down and enjoy the scenery instead of missing out on the small and special treats in life.
When you run a business, this can seem like an impossible task. Personally, I struggle with taking the time to stop and [...]

Now is a great time to turn up the volume on your leadership dial to make sure you are positively noticed. It is often said that “you manage systems and lead people.” While it is important to have effective management systems (like a clear delegation plan or priority list), these strategies won’t work if you [...]