Preserve, Destroy, Create: Your Only Path to Breakthrough Growth

“If it’s not broken, why fix it?” We’ve all said that as a justification for not moving forward with a difficult situation or decision. The question is, what if the status quo is broken and we’re just ignoring the need for repair? What if we lack the awareness, clarity, courage, or strength to take painful action to get to a better place? Business activity falls into three buckets: Preservation, Destruction, or Creation. To move to the next level, a business must go through all three phases.

15 Ways to Be a Lousy CEO

Leadership isn’t just about knowing how to do the right things. It’s also about being hyper-aware of behaviors that can quickly alienate your employees and bring down your organization. In a position of leadership, everything you do counts. All eyes are on you, even when you aren’t there. Employees feel your presence throughout the day because you set the tone. This is what it means to be a leader – to be aware of how your actions and decisions impact others even when you are physically absent. My 17 years of business leadership have taught me 15 ways how to fail at leadership.

Group Dynamics: Small Stones Cast Big Ripples

Throw a tiny pebble into a pond and watch the ripples reverberate. They cascade outward beyond the point that our eyes can see. The effects occur on the surface and beneath it. Have you ever thought about this change principle in the context of an organization? One of the most disruptive actions regarding a group’s dynamic is the addition of a new member. In an organization, bringing in just one new employee into a company can potentially affect the chemistry and interactions of existing employees, and therefore compromise productivity. Consciously or subconsciously, employees are thinking, “How will this change affect my job?” “How will this person affect how we do things around here?” Their sense of organizational trust may be challenged.

Getting to “I Love What I Do and I’m Great At It.”

How much valuable time do you expend on activities that don’t fuel your passion or make you struggle? That’s the question I considered as I listened to David Siteman Garland talk about the activities that fill our time on a daily basis. David was a special guest at an event hosted by one of the most remarkable networking communities in the DC region called Cadre

As an Entrepreneur, I Am Thankful

It’s always the right time to live life from a place of gratitude. With Thanksgiving just around the corner, today I reflect on what it means to be thankful as an entrepreneur.

Building Past The Million Dollar Mark: Will It Work for Your Life?

Building a multi-million dollar company can take over your life.

Expanding a business requires careful thought about the lifestyle implications, access to money, and a thorough business plan that maps out the path to go from your current state of business to your desired state of business.

The Dangerous Myth of the Magical Million Dollar Mark

“Million, million, million.” It feels good when we say it, doesn’t it? Especially when we talk about growing our businesses. “I’m going to hit a million dollars.” “I’m going to be a millionaire.” “I’m working on my goal of $1 million in sales.”

Pushing Through Obstacles: Six Strategies to Tap Into Your Powers of Possibility

So how does a leader keep going – with a smile on her face? I’ve developed several strategies to continue moving towards my goals, and I’m happy to share 6 of them with you. Reach back to these as you move through your challenges.

Joining the Club: Five Strategies for Selecting Networking Organizations & Communities That Deliver ROI

Do you ever feel like a lazy slacker because you’re certain you’re the only person not attending various networking events, or not a member of an organization? It’s easy to get sucked into the networking vortex.There are so many events that you could attend a breakfast, lunch, dinner, and reception event every day of the week and still not make the rounds to every event out there. Wherever you reside, you have to choose wisely.

Three Things Business Leaders Must Constantly Do To Remain Extraordinary

Leadership is hard. Vision, strategy, financing, legal, IT, HR, operations, management, sales, marketing… and staying strong through it all. Tough.

If you don’t absolutely love what you do, if you don’t believe in the positive difference you are making in the world around you, you can fatigue very quickly.