Your Banking Relationship: Worth its Weight In Gold
Entrepreneurship is all about calculated risk. We can create strategic plans, implement repeatable processes, hire the top people, and engage with the best customers. However, the only way to grow to the next level is to bite off more than you can chew, and pray you don’t choke.
I know the feeling of biting off more than you can chew. Four years ago, Information Experts made the strategic decision to invest in a newly formed Joint Venture (JV) to pursue a multi-billion dollar Department of State program. The risk was ridiculously high but the possible reward was astronomical.
Driving an Intrapreneurial Spirit and Mindset
I’m working with a great company who’s committed to moving to the next level of growth. The owner/founder has done a very good job of establishing himself as a highly dependable and reputable subcontractor, but wants to triple the company size, and evolve into a prime contractor over the next 3 years. We have a lot of work to do. To make this pivot, we have to build his infrastructure, implement required processes, and align with the right people.
One of our most immediate tasks is to evaluate and shift the mindset and commitment of his current team. Growth can’t happen alone. It takes a village to build a business.
Avoiding SP-RH Syndrome
It’s all coming back to me….the early days of building a business, and laying a solid foundation to support healthy growth. I find myself with lengthy to-do lists that require many sets of helping hands. It’s tempting to simply throw new tasks over the fence to those that have already proven to be experts as I grow Successful Culture.
But wait. I’ve been down this road before with Information Experts. I’ve bitten off more than I can chew, and then tossed the overflow to a team mate. Eager to please, they say yes, even though my new request is outside of their core expertise… setting us both up for disappointment.
The Three Things Companies Need to Thrive
I’ve had a slew of podcast interviews over the last few weeks, and virtually all of the hosts have asked me what I think is the necessary ingredient for continued business growth. I speak from a place of making mistakes, and from getting things right over the last 20 years.
The three things I believe companies need to survive are a market niche, relevancy, and a mindset of greatness. I’ve named them in order of difficulty.
It’s Not Personal; It’s Our Values
Values dictate every major decision and action in an organization – from the clients that a company engages, to the people that a company hires, to seemingly simple behaviors such as leaving a door open or closed. Values determine our behavior when others are not around to watch us. They are the core of integrity – which manifests when values are integrated with our actions. Personally and professionally, they frame the most important aspects of who we are, and what matters to us.
Who Is the Best Sales Person in Your Company?
One of my coaching clients called me this week, asking for advice on where to find a great sales rep. She’s launching a start-up that has been in the works for months, and is obviously anxious to get her product to the market. My advice to her was to look in the mirror. That’s where she would find her best sales rep.
Increasing Productivity by Taming the Daily Calendar
When Sunday arrives and you take a peek at the work-week ahead, what physical reactions occur in your body? Does your heart race a bit faster from anxiety? Does your stomach tighten? Do you feel stress in your neck and shoulders? Have you ever thought about these reactions?
The Most Dangerous Four-Letter Word
How many times a day do you mindlessly look at others that are different than you with a “THEM” frame of mind? This could apply to people who look differently, perform different jobs, practice different religions, engage in different hobbies, or any other type of difference. We probably all do it without being aware of it. Even though I strive to come to all experiences and people with an open mind, a blank canvass, and free of judgment, human nature causes all of us to evaluate those that we see based on societal prejudices that seep into our subconscious.
A Higher-Level Leadership Framework & Inspiring Through Adversity
As one who sees leadership and spirituality as two sides of the same coin, I often refer to Deepak’s 7-Step Framework for LEADERS. Deepak describes a leader as “the symbolic soul of a group of consciousness.” He says that group consciousness could be a family, an organization, a community, a country or the whole world. He explains that the leader represents the longings, the aspirations, the deepest desires of the group, so in a sense, “the soul.” This is exactly why the CEO owns the culture of an organization, which is the organizational DNA.
Personal Development IS The Goal
Personal development is not a tool for reaching a bigger goal. Instead, becoming a “complete human being is already the biggest and most noble goal you can aspire to.” Most of us are on a quest of continuous self-improvement, with the goal of attaining greater success. “If I attend this school, if I obtain this certification, if I achieve this milestone, then I will be able to attain another level of achievement.” The personal development is often tied to a desired outcome that moves us from one level to another.
