When I was a young executive in a corporate job I met a woman named Marylin Dyer Blair. Marylin had a PhD in Industrial Psychology that she had earned in the 70’s. She was barely five-feet tall, with short gray hair—the kind of person that it’s easy to underestimate. But to do so would be…
We live in a world obsessed by action and success. And in a world hooked on action, the only way to be different is to stop. ~ @thelazyguru Hi, my name’s Brad.And I’m a workaholic. For a significant portion of my career I lived my life with my foot on the gas—and the pedal pushed to…
Nothing ruins a business owner’s day more than having one of their key employees quit. Even if they are quitting for a good reason, it feels like a failure. Putting a team together is hard work, and this is a tear in the fabric of that team. As soon as we get over the loss…
To start, here’s a little price increase notice sample. I then follow it up with 6 ways to how to tell clients you’re raising your prices below: Dear John (your client’s name is John, right?); How are you doing? We used to be so close. Lately there’s been some distance between us; I just want…
I just completed a week where I spent 8 hours sitting through commencement ceremonies. That’s not a typo. Two of my daughters graduated, and between both ceremonies I listened to a total of 4200 graduate names read. In other news, I’m sunburned. I also heard —— several times —— the clarion call to graduates, the…
I’m talking to my daughter about her research project, something that’s really important to her, but that I don’t totally understand. I want to listen carefully to see if I can make heads or tails of it. Suddenly I realized she’s stopped talking and I’ve been thinking about how I haven’t written an article for…
I had a client say something to me last week that stopped me in my tracks. She said: “The best time to fire someone is the first time you think of it. Once you’ve said to yourself, ‘I’m going to have to fire that person,’ it’s time to do it. That day!” When I heard…
Most business owners are familiar with their sales funnel—the accumulation of new business prospects that are in the process of choosing to buy from you (or not). The sales funnel is arguably the most important process that a growing business needs to track. How are we turning people who are “interested” in buying from us…
I’m watching more, and more video. Video is engaging. It has personality. It fosters an easy sense of connection with people. Its a great way to learn AND be entertained. Podcasts are also great (hey, I’ve got one, how can I diss ’em?). I learn a lot from podcasts; and they’re so convenient. I can…
A small business is the sum of its people, not the sum of its parts. ~ Jill Salzman Small business ownership can make the best of us act a little weird. Put any normal person into a situation where there are lots of terrible things that can happen (many of which can get you sued,…