According to author, Ron Carruci, US companies spend $37 billion per year on meetings, despite 71% of senior managers viewing them as unproductive. In a Harvard Business Review article, Mr. Carruci, highlights three recommendations. First, he recommends that the scope of the meeting be clearly defined and narrowly focused on items within your control. Second, he suggests a synchronized cadence. ...
In the 1980s, I had talented friends who hated working for large organizations. But, their pay was higher than they could get elsewhere, so they stayed. Today, small businesses have a more even playing field than 30 years ago. A study conducted by Nicholas Bloom, a Stanford economist, discovered that the pay premium for working at large organizations has dramatically ...
A friend of mine once told me that he believed that the biggest return on an activity usually comes from the last 5% of effort. Being diligent to the end produces a great reward. It’s like digging a well. You dig and dig until you want to give up, but if you diligently continue you eventually hit the spring of ...
Cary Summers, President of the Museum of the Bible located in Washington D.C., shared about the remarkable journey his team had in taking a 430,000 square foot refrigerated warehouse and converting it into the 3rd largest museum in the city. Rather than use standard protocols with a hired contractor, they asked the contractor to assemble crews to work 24 hours ...
Have you ever wondered why the day after Thanksgiving is called Black Friday? According to Wikipedia, on Black Friday many retailers began seeing “black ink” in their accounting ledgers as they finally overcame their losses for the year and began seeing profits. Many retail businesses I’ve counseled over the years have absorbed losses throughout the year with the hope that ...
You might be surprised to learn that the U.S. ranks only 17th out of 38 countries on the number of hours worked per employee. According to US News and World Report, the average U.S. worker works 34.4 hours per week. Mexico is significantly higher at 42.8 hours per week, while Germany surprisingly has the least number of hours worked. Our ...
I remember how scared we were, back in 2013, the first time we created a One Page Plan for our company that included our mission, vision, values, and short-term goals. We devoted so much time to creating impressive PowerPoint presentations. We didn’t know we could have used a napkin or an envelope and it still would have worked. Despite our ...
Four close friends launched a business. After years of losses and questions about the future direction of the company, Tammy, one of the partners, called me for advice. We discussed the challenges the four friends faced. Tammy’s involvement and concern for the business was beginning to jeopardize her cherished friendships. As much as Tammy enjoyed working with her friends, she ...
One sign of a good leader is the depth and strength of their leadership team. Bobby, had a company of 100 employees that he sold to a publicly-traded company that had thousands of employees. After the merger, the parent company’s leadership began realizing Bobby had developed some amazing leaders. Several of Bobby’s key leaders were transferred to headquarters to take ...
Mark had a $3,600 credit card bill that was turned over to a collection agency. Mark feared calling the collector due to their ruthless reputation. His mind raced with worries of the bank seizing his business. After listening, I realized Mark needed some reality and hope. We developed a plan for debt repayment. Then I urged Mark to stop worrying ...
Equipping Others to Do Work Differently
