so your vision is never lost.
LEADERSHIP INSIGHTS
Sometimes your best partner is your competitor. If you’re in a competitive industry that’s facing an economic downturn, partnering with another company in trouble could be just the thing to revitalize your business. The revival of American Airlines[1. “American Airlines soars from bankruptcy to S&P 500 club,” March 17, 2015, http://money.cnn.com/2015/03/17/investing/american-airlines-stock-sp500/] is an excellent example of how competitors can work together to overcome hard economic times.
In a recent study, it was estimated that 40% of today’s Fortune 500 companies on the S&P 500 will no longer exist in 10 years.[1. “A decade to mass extinction event in S&P 500,” Jun 2014, http://www.cnbc.com/2014/06/04/15-years-to-extinction-sp-500-companies.html] One of the reasons for this is that companies are afraid of expanding outside of their comfort zones. They refuse to innovate, and therefore become stagnant. For leaders who want to take advantage of the rapid expansion in the marketplace, this can become incredibly […]
You’ve got your PowerPoint slides cued up, your suit and tie on, and your team’s rapt attention — you’re about to embark on the herculean task of persuading your colleagues to invest a large amount of time, money, and effort in tackling what you think is a huge opportunity for company growth. You’re feeling confident; after weeks of research, you’re certain that your proposal will lead to a big win for the company. But after you’ve explained your way through […]
In order to create a successful business you have to have a great product or service, an intelligent, dedicated team to support you and a way to get in front of the right people to spread the message. If you are looking for a shortcut to getting noticed quicker you may consider creating a shtick. The shtick doesn’t have to be brazen and bold, but it has to be memorable to work, something people will not forget. In a […]
The goal of a bonus program is to motivate employees to achieve results in valuable way for everyone. In other words, they should be designed to get everyone from the receptionist to management to leadership to owners all “rowing the boat in the same direction”. Sometimes though, bonus programs are poorly set up, measure the wrong results, set people against each other and/or do not communicate what is happening until after the fact Below is a brief history of bonus […]
A while back, a leader we were working with was in a tough spot. He was trying to get the boss (the owner) to grow the business. But no matter what he did, he could not convince his boss to take steps to grow the business. There was much blame, justification and shouldering about why this was happening. Then, later, in a meeting the leadership team was having, we challenged the team to “just do it”. Respectfully, build a rough […]
This title may be a little extreme, but there are many leaders who have not grown an organization and do not realize the challenges. Growing organizations eat time, energy, cash flow, and morale. Until one has experience with growing a business, it can be dangerous. Growth can be so exciting that it masks a multitude of sins that may be unnoticeable until it is too late. We have a client that has grown to over 16 locations. The leadership team […]
We have been working with several organizations currently undertaking mergers and acquisitions. Through the years, the logic of these transactions is easy. It is what is behind the scenes in the heart, values, and operational culture of the organizations that gets to be “the art of a successful transaction”. The newer players to the market are too simplistic and downplay the heart, the values and the operational culture. Having the deal breakers clear and the reasons for the transaction for […]
We frequently work with organizations that develop processes. In working with a client recently to develop their sales process, we worked through several exercises to assist them. One technique we see that is missed frequently is asking questions. Too many times, we are trying to sell and say the same general broad words that our competitors use. It is difficult for a business, especially ones in typically commodity businesses, to differentiate what they do. For that reason, we find that […]