Years ago, a banking customer of mine owned a chain of three retail stores. The owner assigned each of his two sons one store to manage while his third store was assigned to Ron, a close friend of his sons. By far, the best managed store was the one led by Ron. I recommended that the owner leverage Ron’s ...
At 7:30 am there was a loud knock on our front door. We had scheduled an 8:00 start to have our carpet replaced, but when I opened the door, three men charged in ready to work. The man in charge began directing his guys with an urgency I hadn’t seen in some time. Twenty minutes later, I marveled at what ...
In my previous consulting practice, I learned the importance of diligently prospecting for clients year-round. In the early years, I would be busy and cash flow would be strong. Then my project would end, and the cashflow stopped. It took me some time to realize that my problem could be resolved with a little diligence. I began setting aside time ...
When I was in banking, one of my roles was business development. Some of my peers were very transactionally oriented, but I typically tried to focus on a longer-term, relational approach. I joined associations and groups to meet and see key people at significant companies frequently. I diligently and consistently tended to the relationships developed through those associations, knowing opportunities ...
One of the challenges we had as an organization during the Covid shutdowns is the impact on our processes. In the office, we had our filing systems and processes readily available. Suddenly, our regular disciplines and routines met a significant distraction when we all began working remotely. It became harder to pass items to the next person in the process. ...
Over the years, I’ve helped many businesses become more profitable. In this series, we’re discussing five steps to move from struggling to thriving in business. The third step is to Project a Realistic Future. Without a financial plan, you will continue with bad spending habits or miss your sales goals. If your business is struggling, strive to convince your creditors ...
When Congress passed the CARES act, they made some aggressive provisions to provide additional amounts of unemployment funds to those who lost their job. Although their intentions seemed pure, their generosity came with some unintended consequences. For some employers, bringing employees back to work has proven difficult. Many employees are now making more money staying at home on unemployment than ...
Our daily Integrity Moments are not only in written form, but, they also are recorded as a daily radio program and podcast. Due to time restrictions, I have a limited number of words to communicate each message. These factors sometimes hinder me from providing a full context for my thoughts. This occasionally has led to some people taking away a ...
My wife, Kathy, often processes her thoughts verbally. When we were first married, Kathy would get excited about something she wanted to buy and talk as if she was going to take action that instant! As the one managing the budget, this caused great anxiety for me until I finally realized that Kathy was only thinking out loud. In business, ...
In a recent article from Development and Leadership Coaching, Zach Clark penned, “Intentionality precedes progress.” Progress, then, begins with the intention to live and be a certain way. Life follows the path of intentionality. Proverbs 31:27 says, “She watched over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.” In Proverbs 31, we read of the ...
Equipping Others to Do Work Differently
