Say No To FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)
When you’re in business growth mode, two ideas constantly rent space in your head:
1: I need to get this done yesterday.
2: I need to spend as little money as possible.
This thought process actually undermines the decision process we desperately need to follow when building a business.
In an ideal world, we would make all of our business decisions, carefully, slowly, and thoughtfully. We wouldn’t be driven by artificial deadlines or lowest price. We wouldn’t rush to quickly check important decisions off our list. We wouldn’t be attracted, like a moth to a flame, to offers that seem too good to be true. But entrepreneurs invariably are attracted to the light.
VIDEO: Making Internships Work for Your Business and Intern
Well, it’s summer, which means it’s time for beach trips, outdoor concerts, BBQ’s – and internships. My 20-year old company Information Experts has hired interns for more than 10 years to support all types of marketing and communications initiatives, and Successful Culture has two great interns this summer.
Three Ways You Can Excel in the New “Insight Economy”
I attended Matt Dixon’s presentation on The Challenger Sales Model last month, which was particularly relevant for today’s selling environment. The last few years have been especially tumultuous and challenging for many industries, and connecting with your customer in a meaningful way has never been more important.
“Verizon, My Other Cable Company’s Not Working. Can I Get Your Service For Free?”
Have you ever walked into a clothing store, saw something you loved, and just walked out with it without buying?
Or, have you ever called a service provider who is the competitor of a current provider, and asked them to help you for free because their selected vendor isn’t doing their job well?
Does Your Attunement Need a Tune-Up?
When I was in college, I waited tables to have money for my “essentials.” I loved the work because I could talk with so many different types of people, I was part of a (really fun) team, and I made good money. Looking back I realize that one of the reasons I was a successful waitress was because I can quickly read people and connect with them in a way that makes them comfortable.
The REAL Differences Between Leadership & Management and The Two Tools to Help You Excel
I attended an exceptional Young Presidents Organization (YPO) learning event last week, where Steve McLatchy, author of Decide: Double Your Results, Reduce Your Stress & Lead By Example, spoke. Many people speak at a high level about the differences between management and leadership, but few articulate it well. Steve nailed it.
Leadership is a result you produce. If things are exactly where they are when you arrived in a “leadership” position, then you’re providing maintenance, not leadership. A true leader never “arrives” at leadership. The moment you’ve arrived there, you are a manager, and in maintenance mode.
In a nutshell, leadership = improvement, and management = maintenance.
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.
When Your Bedroom Becomes Your Boardroom: (Happily) Working With Your Spouse
Spouses that choose to work together embark on a very unique journey. This arrangement is not a conventional marriage. Two of the hardest things a person can attempt is to build a successful business and a successful marriage. 90 percent of all businesses fail within the first 5 years. The divorce rate (in the U.S.) is now higher than 50 percent. Combine these two endeavors, and you face a lot of risk. There is a lot at stake at home and at work if things get rocky. The levels of expectations for one another are much higher than in a typical business partnership or typical marriage. Consideration must extend much further than, “I have this great business idea, can you help me?”
As a follow up to my January 10, 2013 segment on Washington Business Report (http://www.wjla.com/articles/2013/02/washington-business-report-feb-10-2013-85006.html) on working with your spouse, I’ve interviewed several other business owners who have braved this model to learn what makes it work, and how to avoid trouble in paradise. Rather than giving a simple bulleted list of strategies such as “schedule a date night” or “agree not to talk about marriage at home,” I’m sharing a more detailed behind-the-scenes glimpse of the complexities of this arrangement. If you are currently working with your spouse, or thinking about it, this is an important column for you.
As an Entrepreneur, 11 Things For Which 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.
Honest Tea CEO Seth Goldman Takes Persistence & A Commitment to Mission to New Heights
Imagine pitching your idea to 1,000 investors. Over and over and over again. A little insane, right? Not if you’re Seth Goldman, CEO and C-Tea-O of Honest Tea. When we think of Honest Tea, we think of a delicious beverage, and a wildly successful business.
Dig a little deeper into the roots of Honest Tea, and you’ll discover an entrepreneur who is forever committed to the mission of “changing the way people eat, drink, think and live.”
Seth shared the struggles of his early days with 300 business leaders at the sold-out ConnectPreneur Event in the DC region, architected by global serial entrepreneur and angel investor Tien Wong, CEO of Lore Systems (www.lore.net).
