One of the questions I ask clients when we’re talking about making plans for important initiatives in their business is: If this initiative fails, who gets yelled at? Who loses their job if you don’t make progress on this? It might be a negative way to think about it. But I’ve found that if there…
Do you have some big goals for this year? What are they? I know it’s early in the year, and these goals still have that January shine on them, but I’ve got some questions for you about your goals. How many of these goals were also goals you had last year (or the year before…
It’s that time of year when the days are short, our houses are full, and our work is done (or as done as it’s going to get). I’m going to take some time off so you won’t be hearing from me again until 1/7. It’s my sincere hope that you are also taking some time…
Tuesday I wrote to you about “Joshua,” a young employee who had taken the initiative to make himself several different roles within my client’s company. He was filling holes that he saw in what needed to be done, sometimes dropping some balls in the process. My client was frustrated with his performance. I used Joshua’s…
“He’s been with us from the beginning. I think he was the fourth employee hired in the company!” This is how the conversation started with one of my clients who was telling me about his “problem employee.” “Things started great.” Joshua came to them through a friend, and when they met him, they could see…
First, take a minute to imagine a future where your dreams have come true. Really get a picture in your mind of what that company looks like. Where are your offices? What’s your team? Got it? Now… What’s your job in that company? Are you meeting with clients? Primarily selling? What time are you spending…
We all know that it’s hard to grow a business — if it were easy, everyone would be doing it. But just how hard is it? 80% of all businesses have no staff; they are just the entrepreneur and nothing more. If you’ve hired someone, you are already in the top 20% of US businesses! Only…
So you know you need to get help to get this annoying project off your plate and finished, but you think it’s going to take too long to find a VA, or a student to do it for you. So you end up doing it yourself. There are companies who have leaped into this gap…
Earlier this week, we talked about how doing the wrong work can drain the life out of you, and how even stuff we’re good at might not be the thing that gives us life. If we keep working in these tedious roles, it drains our energy, and we risk getting burnt out. But there’s a…
Burnout is a big issue among business owners. Whether it’s younger business owners, who are overwhelmed and frustrated, or older business owners who tell me that they “just don’t have the energy for it anymore,” running a business is taxing on your attention and energy. So how do we get everything done without getting burnt…