Incorporating personal values

November 4, 2024 in Success in business | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

I was part of a great discussion recently about the difficulty with incorporating personal values into the business.

This discussion was about incorporating Christian beliefs, but the same logic applies whenever we’re talking about something which doesn’t have a strong link to the purpose of the business itself. After all, we can agree about the need to treat customers and employees fairly – that’s just great business practice. But your personal beliefs often extend beyond that.

In addition, you might feel constrained in your authority to make decisions if you’re not the company owner. Fair enough. I have some thoughts about that at the end.

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Reconciled to move on

October 28, 2024 in Success in business | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

I recently experienced the loss of a significant contractor commitment, and I realize now that it’s partially my fault for relying more on my hope than doing good due diligence.

The hard part is coming to internal peace. On the outside I can raise my chin and look forward to fixing the problem, but inside it still hurts a bit.

I’ve experienced this even more in the past when I lost a great employee or had a work relationship go sour. There are ones that I still regret, over twenty years later. And I’m not a particularly emotional guy.

Perhaps it’s some kind of “long grieving”, like the aftereffects of “long COVID.”

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Messy

October 21, 2024 in Success in business | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

I don’t know about you, but my business doesn’t seem to be nearly as organized as I’d like.

I have stuff coming at me from all directions all the time, and things that I have a plan for … change anyway.

It feels like I’m just making it up as I go along. And, in fact, that’s a lot of what’s happening.

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Your next hire

October 14, 2024 in Success in business | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Are you looking forward to the next person you’ll need to bring on board?

I’d like you to think about what their key attributes will need to be, because it’s likely they’ll need to be different from your current people.

It’s easy to talk about job skills, but often those skills will be quite similar to others in the team. More challenging are the other attributes and characteristics, because you’ll want to fill in what’s missing.

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The need to disengage

October 7, 2024 in Success in business | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

There’s a new discussion popping up in various European countries and Australia. It’s about establishing a right for employees to completely disengage from their work.

No phone calls. No texts. No emails.

In the US, we pretty much get it for hourly workers. But for salaried? Our culture tends more toward expecting – sometimes demanding – complete accessibility. But it depends on the organization’s culture.

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Commitment

September 30, 2024 in Success in business | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

If you started your company, or are the owner, you know what I’m talking about.

You’ve put your heart and soul into this venture, and it’s consumed every waking moment. For years. That passion and commitment has driven you to whatever success you’ve had. And hope to have.

But your team? Well, it seems like it’s just a job to them. You feel like they could walk away at any moment.

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Personality

September 23, 2024 in Success in business | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

You want to deliver a uniform experience for your customers. I understand.

The problem is that much of the experience can become devoid of the humanity. You squash out any individuality from the interactions.

I think about my favorite coffee shop. Yes, I’d like to know what I’m getting, so I want the same quality of my cappucino or mocha. But the rest of the experience is all about the barista who’s in front of me.

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Restarting

September 16, 2024 in Success in business | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Perhaps it’s time to look at things anew.

This comes to mind, of course, because it’s the start of a new school in the US. But there are other reasons why it might be good to get rid of some of that old stuff which isn’t really serving you anymore.

Perhaps you have a change in leadership. Or have just completed a big project. Or your business cycle just got you past the busy phase.

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Mirror

September 9, 2024 in Success in business | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

We use mirrors all the time to check how we look to the outside world.

My question is: How often do you hold a mirror up to your leadership skills?

As a leader, it’s tough to know how others perceive you. One useful tool is the 360° assessment, where you ask for formal inputs from employees, partners, and those above you in the organization. I’ve even seen those who ask for inputs from customers.

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Processize!

September 2, 2024 in Success in business | Tags: , , , | 1 comment

Some of us think about making repeatable processes, others don’t. I’m in the former camp.

You see, it can drive me crazy when I see something that’s repetitive and boring and could be made more efficient. I guess it’s the engineer in me.

Making a process isn’t the same as automating. For instance, I have my beginning-of-day routine which includes checking my calendar, email, app notices, and texts. It’s pretty straightforward, and within 4-5 minutes I feel like I’ve got my head around what the day’s going to look like.

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