We learn a lot as kids that we forget or ignore when it comes to our jobs and businesses. Watching a youth baseball game this weekend, I saw a team of nine year old kids model how we can be better at work. What lessons from sports can we apply to running a business? I […]
Growth is good – until it isn’t. If you grow too fast, you can damage your brand, compromise your product, and burn out your team. Good growth is managed and planned. Let’s look again at a lesson from recent history. Toyota has long been recognized for their quality. That reputation took a hit in the […]
If you don’t believe that management and culture make a difference in your company’s success, you are wrong. Let me give you an example from Toyota that I learned about from a recent podcast. When Toyota was making their first moves to manufacturing in the US, they teamed up with GM. They formed NUMMI and […]
Having cash in the bank doesn’t mean your business is making money. I’ve worked with many business owners who closely manage their cash flow and bank account balances. That’s great. I do the same thing both for my personal and business accounts. Unfortunately, some stop there. That’s a mistake. I’ve met business owners who have […]
I recently received an email from a new vendor telling me they were going to miss an appointment. I couldn’t have been happier. Not the usual response, is it? The vendor was making a schedule change for all clients due to weather conditions. They informed me of the action they were going to take so […]
There is a huge difference between possessing and being able to use tools effectively. One of my friends bought a new set of golf clubs. This is nothing new – he does that every couple of years. It prompted a mutual friend to sarcastically comment, “you have the best golf game money can buy.” The point he […]
Fractional COOs are the Swiss Army knives of the fractional executive world. “Operations” means different things to everyone and each industry. Because every client has different needs, we must have lots of tools at our disposal. We also have to be flexible in scope and deliverables. Some business owners need to delegate tasks they don’t […]
Some part of your business isn’t working. The hard part is identifying where the problem lies. You may know that your products may need to be refreshed, or that you need to invest in new software to support critical functions. Sometimes the problem is more elusive. You can see the symptoms but can’t determine the […]
As a kid I learned about balance. I once made Kool-Aid without putting any sugar in it. Add the mix to water and stir. The results were not good. The reason is the ingredients weren’t in the proper proportion or were missing altogether. Companies without balance between autonomy and accountability have the same problem: bad […]
The hill was more than I bargained for. It was a struggle and I should have realized earlier that is was time to act now. I had all kinds of excuses: the weather was bad. I didn’t have time. It could wait another day. I had other plans. No, I wasn’t hiking up a steep […]
