When working to ‘fix’ their business, many managers address the symptoms rather than dealing with the real issues. And then they wonder why the problem persists. To use a medical analogy, ‘high blood pressure’ is a symptom.  To fix it, we must address the real causes which are likely too much salt, smoking, not drinking […]

The real battle in business today is the battle to attract, engage and retain ‘talent’.  So, understanding what employees want most from their boss will be helpful. According to a recent survey by CIPD, a British HR Association, the following 10 ‘boss behaviors’ are most important. They’re listed in order of importance.  Rate your performance […]

Managing any business or department sometimes calls for making tough decisions.  Some of the toughest are about what and who to ‘let go of’. So, what and who do you need to ‘let go of’ to make 2017 your best year ever?   The list could include… Products or services that are out-of-date, losing you money, […]

How we think about our business and ourselves has a lot to do with how far we go. I was reminded of this recently while speaking at the Annual Conference of a large automotive repair franchise.   To make a decent living in that industry, a ‘garage’ needs to do at least a half million […]

A few weeks ago I sat at breakfast with a 50ish senior manager of a large international company who asked me why I, a 65ish guy, speak at 80 Conferences a year, with all the work and travel that’s involved …and the answer was easy. “I’m doing the most important work of my life, I’m […]

Some of your target customers are doing business with your competitors.  Do you know why?  Stop pretending that your competitors don’t exist or don’t matter and find out why they’re getting the business, or making the profit, that you’re not.  Find out what they do well and learn from that.  Find out what they do […]

Websites play a larger and larger role in growing our business. But how do you make that important personal connection with folks through a computer screen? There are two things you can do. First, your website needs to “talk” with customers in a human, personal and interesting way. Be real. A wonderful example of real […]

The Hunter Valley is one of Australia’s finest wine regions. Folks travel from far and wide to sample their high quality vintages.  Right in the middle of one of the Hunter Valley’s most beautiful vineyards is Peppers Boutique Hotel.  But wait, here’s what their website says about their special ‘Complete Indulgence Package’… This special package […]

First, most businesses should have a Customer Database, so that they can deliver important and helpful information on a regular basis. Next, most businesses should have a Media Database so that they can communicate the same important and valuable information to media folks in their target market area who write or broadcast on the subject […]

I’m cranky about certain things. It could be my age…or it might be that, like you, some things just tick me off.   This time I’m ‘cranky’ about yet another big company telling big lies. Fiat Chrysler, North America has reported sales increases for each of the past 75 months.  The problem is that many of […]