7 Essential Secrets to Build a Business That Work- Part 1 of 3
Over the next 3 weeks I will be sharing with you 7 Essential Secrets to building a business that works… Works for who? Works for you, sometimes the least focused on person(s) in a business. You do not need to be a slave to your business. With focused, intentional...
Framing – A Powerful Linguistic Tool to Shape How People See Your Business
What is framing in linguistics? Here is an online definition – “framing is a process whereby communicators, consciously or unconsciously, act to construct a point of view that encourages the facts of a given situation to be interpreted by others in a particular...
A Simple Technique to Create Prodigious Productivity in Your Work
I love simple things. How about you? Design may be complex in its underlying dimensions. Yet when it has that look and feel of simple elegance it comes across like poetry in motion… When it comes to being more effective in my business, I am an advocate of intense...
Powerful Game Changing Ratio to Monitor in Tough Times
An often-overlooked ratio to track is a combination of three other ratios… Once you calculate the other three you simply add the three to get this Turbo Ratio that I recommend all businesses with accounts receivable and inventory track. So, what is it called? It is...
Fixed Cost Creep Can Wipe Out Your Profits
Fixed. Quite the word, isn’t it? What images does it bring up for you? For me, it brings up images of unchangeable, immovable, solid, stationary, set. Fixed costs are necessary. Or at least you thought they were necessary when you incurred them. And why did you incur...
Focus on Habits Versus Goals for Your Business Success
In the beginning of every New Year, most people set goals. By February – now – they are usually forgotten. On the other hand, habits create results. Even micro-habits (more on this later) can completely transform your business, and your life. For years I have been...
Value Pricing Versus Cost-Plus Pricing
Accountants should not be responsible for setting pricing. Why not, you ask? Because most accountants will focus on all your costs (inputs) and add an acceptable mark-up to get to the price. Here is the problem – customers do not care what your costs are. Why should...
The System is Your Business
A few years ago, I wrote the following blog on systems. I am re-printing it as it is even more relevant now, in 2024. Without systems, there is no consistency, no duplication, and no training. The customers get different results from different people and at various...
Email Communication Really Sucks in The West
A few years ago, I wrote a well received blog on email etiquette. This was pre-Covid. I think the time near the end of Covid restrictions and especially now, post-Covid, the tone of emails has sharply declined. To be serious about awesome service, it starts with the...
The Balanced Scorecard **
To fly a large jetliner a pilot needs more than 3-4 indicators to get you safely to your destination… You are about to board a flight. It is a large Boeing 747. You glance inside the cockpit. (Okay, okay, imagine it is pre-9/11). You see the pilot has taped over all...