Too Big, Too Soon – Too Far, Too Fast
Enthusiasm. Confidence. Passion. Belief. All of these are important to the success of any new venture. They can also be the biggest pitfalls for the new venture. The momentum and the drive to do everything at once can lead an entrepreneurial team to expand before the...
Jobs! Today’s Unemployed May Be Tomorrow’s Entrepreneurs
Every day we read the news about higher unemployment rates, lack of job creation, and projections that the outlook is unlikely to change in the near term. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recognizes that the majority of new jobs come from small businesses, and the...
To Compete You Must Be In the Race
It does not matter a race is being run. You cannot win that race if you do not enter it. Making the commitment to compete is more than filling out a few forms and showing up at the starting line. It requires the ability to persevere when the first obstacle is...
Timelines and Deadlines: Customers and Investors Wait for No One
When it comes to getting things done, missing the timeline may mean a deadline missed—with an emphasis on the DEAD line of business or opportunity. At times, people mistake courtesy and diplomacy as a signal that it is okay to miss a deadline. I’m not advocating being...
Time Out for Innovation
One of the biggest mistakes businesses—or any organization today—make is a failure to allow time for working on the business itself. Current business practices have created a mindset that has every worker (theoretically at least) working every moment in the business...
Time Is a Constant – It Runs One Way
“We don’t have time to do it that way.” How many times have you heard that said or said it yourself? How about the alternative “If you don’t have time to do it right, when are you going to find the time to redo it right?” What is it going to cost you if you have to do...
The “X” and “Z” Factors
During one writing session using my tablet keyboard, I found myself without the letter "X" and the letter "Z". (I’ve used the keyboard so much over the past three plus years it has just worn out!) Now you wouldn't think those two letters would be hard to avoid. After...
The Business Cold: No Miracle Cures
In these days of sound bites and quick fixes, one-size-fits-most solutions seem to be as prevalent as the common cold and as hard to treat and cure. Most people probably have had the experience of someone from their organization reading a book or attending a...
Think B.I.G.™ (Bold Innovative Growth) Business!
Innovation is the new quality initiative. Everyone is “into” innovation. It is the new revolution that is going to revolutionize declining industries, markets, and businesses. And it can—if it is more than rhetoric and becomes an integrated systemic capability in the...
Product, Resources, and Customers – The Three-fold Objective
Every organization begins with the same three-fold objective: develop the “product”, obtain sufficient resources, and capture the market/customer. The manifestations of this three-fold mission vary in magnitude, scope, and timing. The underlying processes and...
