We all have vision. And sometimes, because of one reason or another, we are forced to change that vision. Take Marcia Brady, for example. She was looking forward to going on a date with Doug (big man on campus) but he broke their date when something suddenly came up (her ugly, bruised nose). But, as it turned out, Doug wasn’t…
Accountability. It sounds bad, doesn’t it? It reminds me of exams, report cards and getting called to the carpet. Terrible! But getting an award, promotion or testimonial are also forms of accountability. Those aren’t bad! Accountability is the measurement of your skills and outcomes against an objective standard with actionable next steps for improvement. The…
Growing your business means having to make tough decisions: Do you hire a new salesperson? Give the receptionist a raise? Invest in a new marketing campaign? Donate to the local non-profit that keeps calling you? We are always choosing between a range of “good” options, but we can’t do it all! How do we allocate…
Many of you have just watched the Super Bowl, one of the most popular sporting events in America and around the world. It pits top teams with extraordinary athletes against one another in an epic match-up of strength against strength. In Sunday night’s game, player after player said their whole season came down to that…
We spent a lot of time crafting the Anchor Advisors, Ltd. marketing message. It’s amazing how long it can take to come up with a few measly words! But they were important words. They communicate what we do at Anchor Advisors and when we were finished with the process, I was happy with the result….
As the marketplace starts to improve, business owners are feeling more confident. They look to their teams to start jumping on all the new opportunities out there, but their teams aren’t so quick to respond. Why? While business owners are starting to let go of some of their fear, employees are still faced with a…
There’s a saying about fish and house guests – both start to smell after a while. Employees can have the same tendency. It’s not every employee; some stay fresh by working hard every day, improving their skills and contributing. Others start out strong, but in time they grow stale. The magic is gone – but…
If you own a professional-service business, pricing is probably high on your list of challenges. How can you align the value created by your work with any tangible measure? It’s not easy, but it can be done. With products, it’s easier. Look at the market price for similar or substitute products and compare the features,…
It’s ok. We all did it. When things got tough, our mindset got pretty tactical. We weren’t thinking about taking over the world anymore – we were thinking about making it through to lunchtime. Instead of looking for where we wanted to go, we started looking for how we could survive. Before, we were building…
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that, for the first time in 15 months, more workers quit than were fired or laid off. Over the last year and a half, the economic uncertainty has held most employees in their existing jobs. They didn’t feel confident to make a move no matter what the situation, creating…