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“Why is common sense so hard to find?” says every business owner, at some point.

I usually hear this from clients right after they hire a new person. “I’m pulling my hair out! After spending three months interviewing candidates, and checking references, I thought this person was going to be PERFECT for this job.” “But it’s their first week and every single thing they’ve done has been messed up…and it’s…

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A different way to solve your biggest business challenge

In a recent survey I did of over 100 business owners I asked this question: What’s your biggest business challenge? More than 50% of respondents answered, “Obtaining New Customers.”   Not only was it chosen by a majority of responses, but it was also the most chosen answer by owners of every sized business, big,…

Stages of business growth
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Why is my business growth stuck? Natural barriers to growth in the business lifecycle.

Just like children, businesses grow through predictable phases. We start life as baby startups, then progress to raging growth companies, before settling into a more stable “adult” phase. But as we cross each of those growth stages things change — and if we don’t change with them our growth can get stuck. Here’s my version…

Beyond Salary: How to Build a Winning Executive Compensation Strategy
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Beyond Salary: How to Build a Winning Executive Compensation Strategy

Executive compensation can be a hard topic to tackle, especially for startups and other growing companies that need to attract experienced talent on a smaller budget. What you may not know is that base salary is the smallest component of executive compensation, generally outweighed by incentive pay. That is good news for growing companies with…

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More people, more problems: Grow WITHOUT hiring more staff

As we discussed on Tuesday, it’s almost impossible to balance supply (people) with demand (client work) in a service firm. So how do you grow your firm without going through that see-saw? Here are 4 ways to grow your business without adding more people.  1. Stop Overdelivering. Yes, if you ask them, your team will…