High-quality, independent advice can have a significant positive impact on a business, yet the Business Development Bank of Canada’s 2014 study of Canadian small and medium-sized businesses found that 76% have neither an Advisory Board nor a Board of Directors. An Advisory Board is an excellent way to get ahead of your competitors. Here are… Read more »
Business Management Blog
Better Meetings Today
In 2012, London Business School and Harvard Business School teamed up to study the “span of activity” of several CEOs.[1] This is academic speak for the question, “what do business leaders do all day?” Their findings concluded that CEOs spend 1/3 of their time in meetings. No shocker there. Communication is the cornerstone of any business’s operating… Read more »
How to Describe What You Do
Imagine that you have just been introduced to someone – at a party, a business event, or even a child’s soccer match. When you’re asked what you do for a living, what is your response? If you’re too vague about your job title, you might shut down the conversation, but if you talk too long… Read more »
3 Solutions to Leadership Team Doldrums
The strength and ability of the leadership team is an important predictor of long term corporate success. Teams are made of people, people are in relationships and relationships have a natural ebb and flow. Even the best leadership teams fall into slumps of sub-optimal performance from time to time. People get tired or complacent –… Read more »
4 Steps to Implement Values
Part of your strategic planning process is to develop (and confirm) your company’s values statements. But after you do that, what’s next? Surely you can do more than paint them on the wall where people will ignore them until they become just part of the wallpaper. As with everything in business, the ideas are helpful,… Read more »
Does Your Company Have Broken Windows?
Malcolm Gladwell’s Tipping Point popularized the “Broken Windows Theory” with a story about New York City in the 1990s. Crime was rampant, but the police force did not have the budget or other resources they felt necessary to address the problem. Parts of the city looked like war zones, bombed and burned out, and New… Read more »
Sales Training: Who Are the Best Sales People?
Finding a great sales person is tricky. They need to have strong technical knowledge of your industry, be personable, and be willing to report their activities back to head office. You’d like them to be terrific at hunting and prospecting for new clients, but they should also provide outstanding customer service and be excellent at… Read more »
Vision Statements: Don’t Make These Mistakes
Your company’s strategy can be encapsulated in its vision, mission, purpose, and values. Could there be anything more important than the ability to clearly communicate to your clients, your staff, your suppliers and your future employees the answers to questions about why you exist, where you are going, and how you conduct yourself? Unfortunately, most… Read more »
3 Things a Leader Must Never Do in the Company Address
Exceptional leaders address their entire company at least four times a year. Exceptional managers do the same within their departments. These people understand that, more than anything else, their job is to set the vision for the company and embed it in the minds and hearts of their employees. Read our post on How to… Read more »
Win The Work Before You Bid: The Pre-RFP Sales Process
To reliably bring in business, particularly from new clients, you must begin the sales process long before you write the proposal. When you know a prospect very well you can tailor your response to their RFP in a way that few competitors can and even fewer bother to do. Writing a customized response takes just as… Read more »