Volunteering to Be Better Leaders
If you are not volunteering your time in your community, not only are you failing your community, but you are missing out on a 5-in-1 personal development opportunity. While you are giving you are...
View ArticleCore Values – What should and shouldn’t people do?
When revisiting this question it is not to question values, as I believe these endure and should not change. They are the essence of the company founder(s) and are discovered rather than created. What...
View ArticleCore Customers – Who are the ideal customers?
It is important to identify the customers you want a lot more of. When analyzing customer databases it is not unusual to find that the majority of revenue is made up of bad customers (e.g. pay poorly,...
View ArticleWhat is our strategy for winning our ideal customers in serving your purpose?
If you cannot describe your strategy in one sentence, then you do not have one! Using Verne Harnish’s “Mastering the Rockefeller Habits” methodology, which encompasses Jim Collins “Good to Great”...
View ArticleAre you increasing your market share?
This tells you whether your strategy is working and how strong you are versus your competition. Too often companies are growing because they are in a strong market or because of acquisitions. In...
View ArticleWhat are the competitors up to?
This is an important question that many companies do not spend enough time asking. It is important to understand how technology may render you obsolete. What could competitors do if they knew all your...
View ArticleWhat key thrusts or capabilities need to be addressed in the next 3 to 5...
These are 3 to 5 ranked priorities to be addressed in stages in multiple projects spanning several years and quarters, in a systematic way, to build a company and allow it to own the ideal customer...
View ArticleWhat are the key initiatives that must be accomplished for financial...
The company draws upon 3-to 5-year priorities and selects which ones they can afford and need to make progress on in the next 12 months. It is important to prioritize them and not to have more than 5...
View ArticleHave you filled all the positions needed to achieve your goals?
In other words, does your organization’s structure support your strategy, and will it deliver on your promises. If you are missing any seats, it is like a chain missing a link: it will not hold...
View ArticleDo you have enough people to deliver the revenue and profits you want this year?
This is called strategy mapping. It is important to match key performance indicators with each position, looking at leading indicators so that once everyone produces required inputs, the end results...
View ArticleDo you have an “A” player in every position?
“A” players do 3 times the work of the average player, so you can get much more productivity out them. If you hire wrong and/or keep a poor performer you will likely not achieve your goals. If they...
View ArticleJoin Top Leaders at Lunch Workshop to Learn How Successful Companies Are...
Many companies have spent the last 12 to 18 months focusing their efforts on cutting costs and hoping a turn in the economy. Unfortunately, most have found that one cannot cut their way to growth....
View ArticleAre you leaning on your employees too hard?
Many business owners are so focused on fixing their business and their customers that they do not realize how hard they are pushing their employees and for how long they have been doing it. It is one...
View ArticleThe Best Way to Get More Top Sales People
By Howard Shore Many companies find that to achieve their business plans they have to steal market share away from their competition. This takes having the best sales team. It is common to talk to an...
View Article5 Questions – Are You Really Coaching Your People?
By Howard Shore There is a big difference between having conversations with people on a regular basis and coaching. Coaching is not giving advice, pointing out to someone that they did something wrong,...
View ArticleMaking Lofty Goals Realistic
Many organizations set goals that are not realistic and are in the habit of not meeting their objectives. Others achieve some of their goals by accident, and some could achieve a lot more. The first...
View ArticleCommitment Is Rare
Many people think that making a decision is the same as making a commitment. This could be the farthest from the truth. Actually, the hardest decisions oftentimes have the weakest commitments,...
View ArticleStop Competing on Price
By Howard Shore, Executive and Business Coach It is not unusual to find companies that have made a lot of changes to the business only to find that those changes had little impact on its ability to...
View ArticleThink Before You Communicate
So often verbal communications do not work out the way people want. They cause a completely different outcome from their intended purpose. The challenge is not just the words one uses. It is the tone...
View Article8 Talent Building Lessons from the Miami Heat Coup
Acquiring Chris Bosh and LeBron James and retaining Dwyane Wade has created a lot of press for Miami and the Miami Heat. However, there are some critical business principles that all business owners...
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