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.
Can't Get a Loan or Investor? No Problem. Crowdfunding To The Rescue!
Today's entrepreneurs view the world and the future through a different lens than that of current or past generations. If the conventional system won't accommodate them, then they will build an unconventional system. That is exactly what they have done with crowdfunding.
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.
Employees and New Hires: Do They Get It, Want it, and Have the Capacity to Do It? (GWC)
One of the most critical elements of any organization is hiring the right people. Whether you are an employee or an employer, chances are you have your share of nightmare stories about the fallout of hires that were not the right fit for a position, or the organizational culture.
"It's Not You, It's Me:" Evaluating Prospective and Current Customers for an Organizational Fit
We’ve all been there… we’ve all met people at times in our life and thought that a relationship was going to work out, only to discover after you’ve peeled back the layers that perhaps it just wasn’t meant to be.
Seven Unique Ways To Create a Culture of Continuous and Collaborative Learning
How do we manage to fulfill our client requirements while maintaining our edge as thought leaders in the fields of integrated communication, social media, training, interactive development, and human capital?We use a variety of strategies that enable participation from the entire company.
A Day In The Life of the CCO: A Chief Culture Officer To-Do List
We can't assume the culture is on auto-pilot. We need to do regular pulse-checks with our people. In an era of technology, processes, and systems... in a lifetime that has become app-driven, we have to protect the humanity of our companies. Our employees need to know we are checking the heartbeat of the organization on a regular basis, and that means gauging the happiness, engagement, and emotional health of those that support us.
Do Employees Make Your System Smarter? Or Is It The Other Way Around?
What's the smartest and strongest aspect of your organization? Is it your employees, or is it your organization?If you follow the thinking of the spectacularly failed Enron Corporation, who religiously subscribed to the belief that having better talent at all levels is how you outperform, then you put most of your stock in the strength of your people. At the height of its hiring frenzy, Enron was bringing on 250 newly minted Ivy League MBA's a year, grossly overpaying them, giving them Carte Blanche to pursue strategic ideas, and catering to their every professional demand.
Culture of Greatness Begins Within You
To perform at a level of greatness, we need to commit to a higher level of energy, time, and effort than most. To quote Gandhi, "As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world, as in being able to remake ourselves."We all have the power to lead our business, our family, and ourselves in greatness. To accomplish this, we have to plan.
Five Non-Negotiable Elements of a Culture
These five non-negotiable elements are all required tools for any company that wants to maximize the potential of its most valued asset, which is its people. How well does your company do with each one? What are some of the non-negotiable elements of your organization?