How to Build Your Competitive Advantage By Seeing What Does NOT Change

building a competitive business advantage

Have the requirements for leadership changed?

Is it true that “The time of the great leaders like Churchill, JFK, FDR, and Golda Meir, is over because the world is too complex for one individual to know everything”?

Is it true that  “One of the things that people need to master now is… not only to be like Reagan and Martin Luther King who were great speakers, but also to be a great listener”?

In  a recent video my colleague, Thomas Zweifel, argues “yes” to all these questions.   I disagree.

The Dangerous Myth of the “New.”

“Man does not live by bread alone, but also by the catch word.”

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Taking Time Out for Leadership

making time for leadershipSmall businesses are never too small or large, to execute the most vital part of business, face -to- face communication.   Having discussed aspects of communication here before, this aspect of communication involves having company meetings, not department meetings, to hear the company news from the owner/operator.

Company news delivered during robust economic times means the company is busy and bustling making money. The owner/operator of a small business is more than willing to speak and conduct in-house company meetings. However, during weak economic times, the company is a little slower and the worrisome aspect(s) begin to form around the business. The majority of owner/operators tend not to take on the in-house meetings, and/or cancel them in an attempt to encourage others to just do the job.…

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Control Expenses – Automate Process Through Workflow Software

Do you find yourself spending time trying to figure out what happened to a customer’s order? Interested in keeping staffing counts stable while growing revenue? Do your auditors want to see the details of how transactions were processed, including approval signatures? We all want to increase efficiency, and are often becoming more customer-driven. Many of us have compliance requirements as well.

Organizations typically rely on a combination of major systems and manual transactions that are done off system. Few have a reliable, quick way of accessing the history of transactions, approval processes and communication between departments that span the various systems.…

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Protecting Your Business from Bankrupt Customers

avoiding bankrupt customers and clientsMany small businesses don’t have the time or resources to adequately monitor their own financial status, no less the ability to screen the finances of their partners, vendors, suppliers or customers. However, if SMB CEOs take away one thing from the current recession – it should be a clear understanding of how important it is to have a transparent view of their customers’ financial situation.

But with so many CEOs plagued with time, money and employee restrictions, how can they effectively implement the strategies to do so? Here are a few tips to help small businesses get started:

1. Evaluate Your Businesses’ Current Financial Standing – You can’t monitor your customer until you monitor your own business.…

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Tips for Managing Remote Worker Programs

managing remote workersSpeed. It is one of the core changes about working. This speed has been written about and studied in many places, but what do we do about the “always on, always connected” and never disconnected situation we now live in? Four tips can help us navigate this remote work environment.

Rob Eleveld at Shiftboard, an online scheduling platform, recently made a comparison between the new workers with the person who volunteers (busy, but able to donate their time) and Carl Lewis, famous Olympian athlete. The point: People are moving faster and need the tools and technologies that let them manage their work lives better.…

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Four Challenges and Solutions to SMB Project Management

management challenges and solutionsSmall to mid-sized businesses have unique challenges when it comes to managing projects. SMB’s often don’t have the processes or systems in place to efficiently support the current size of the organization or its future growth, so projects are critical to future success. At the same time, SMB’s have limited resources and small training budgets which can adversely affect projects. SMB project failure can result in investment dollars and staff time down the drain, not to mention disruption in your organization. Don’t jeopardize your operations and profitability.

What is the best approach? Consider these four challenges and solutions:

1. Lack of full-time resources – Resources in SMB’s often have multiple responsibilities.…

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The Difference Between Strategy and Tactics

business strategy and tacticsFor many organizations, strategy (the “why we’re going to do what we’re doing”) is one of those mysterious, behind-closed-doors activities conducted annually by a small group of senior leaders. It’s viewed as a superior mental and managerial activity.

In contrast, tactics (the “how we’re going to do what we’re supposed to do” – the execution element) is typically thought of as the grunt work, relegated to and performed by the rest of the organization. Yet, it’s these tactics – the focused activities performed by every person, every day – which are the difference between organizations that perform predictably and consistently – and those that don’t.…

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Improve Performance Through Time Tracking

time trackingIf you want to improve performance, or likewise increase capacity or capability, you need to track the one thing that you’ll never get back: time.

In order to improve effectiveness and efficiency, you must understand how your time is being used. With all of the technological advances over the past two decades, we’re continually forced to do things “better, faster, cheaper.” In other words, all of these advances have taught us how to be more efficient.

But – have any of these advances (spreadsheets, email, cell phones, IM, etc.) made us more effective?

The difference between the two?…

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Increase Flexibility and Reduce Costs with Targeted IT Outsourcing

Targeted IT Outsourcing

Are you looking for ways to minimize increases in long-term staffing commitments, yet want to position yourself for growth once the economy recovers?

Outsourcing is a great way to create flexibility while meeting current demands in the organization, particularly in small and mid-sized businesses. (Throughout the remainder of the article I’ll refer to small and mid-sized organizations as SMBs).

In trying to solve current issues, companies may create new issues by turning over their IT department to an outsourcer without oversight, or negotiating outsourcing agreements solely to cut costs. Costs escalate because normal updates or company growth wasn’t included in the contract.…

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10 Valuable Small Business Management & Leadership Articles

leadership & management articlesAs small business owners, we want to be the best leaders possible.   If you’re new to business management, you may not know how to go about just that.   I’ve found 10 very useful articles that may give you some new insight into managing your small business better.   Each article has something different to offer readers so be sure to see them all.   Enjoy!

Kicking Them When They’re Down: How Not To Fire An EmployeeSkip Anderson pleads with managers to act professionally when terminating an employee.

Hiring From Outside The Company: How New People Can Bring Unexpected ProblemsKnowledge@Wharton weighs the pros and cons of hiring employees without prior experience in your business’ industry.…

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