You carefully analyze your client’s needs to create an appropriately balanced portfolio for them. You then diligently manage the portfolio by continuously monitoring corporate earnings, the markets and the economy. But for most business owners, their largest single asset is outside your control. That asset is their company.
What is your responsibility for maximizing the value of your client’s company? After all, that is (more…)
Have you ever had the situation where you provided a business client exactly the advice needed but wondered if they could successfully implement the business end? Or, maybe you knew implementation would happen but speculated if that implementation would go smoothly and/or maximize the business’ potential? The question then becomes how much ongoing operational advice and oversight are you able to provide? Outside of actually conducting onsite and ongoing detailed reviews of their operations, how do you best help your clients? (more…)
For the fourth year in row, the NBA finals is a match-up between the Golden State Warriors and the Cleveland Cavaliers. If the Cavs win, it will primarily be due to the super-human strength and talent of LeBron James. However, a Warriors win would further validate the management talents of Coach Steve Kerr.
A recent article in the New York Times focused on how Coach Kerr and the Warriors spend halftime. Looking at these 15 minute routines you begin to see how Kerr’s management style leads to success. (more…)
Wouldn’t it be nice if your staff worked with the precision of a fighter pilot and the efficiency of an operating room? If there was a method for reducing errors while increasing profitability? There is and that method is called “checklists”. (more…)
I recently met a plumber who told me a story I’ve heard many times before. This plumber started his company because he had a skill he enjoyed, enjoyed using that skill to help others and desired the autonomy of “being his own boss.” Like most of us who have started a company, this owner had the passion and motivation to strike out on his own.
As the plumber’s business grew, he started adding both skilled and office staff to keep up with demand. Before long, he found himself running a company instead of being engaged in the skill he enjoyed. (more…)
The president of a local company (and now a client) initially said to me: “I’d like to work with you but taking that time would be taking me off-mission.” That is not the first owner who expressed concern about going “off-mission” and letting things lapse back at the office. This always leads into a discussion on the different meanings or uses of “mission”: the standard or military definition versus when paired with the word “statement”. (more…)
“Family businesses that manage these five innate advantages are well placed to make the 21st century a family business century.” This assertion is the conclusion of a Harvard Business Review* article I recently discovered. So, what are these advantages and is your business prepared to fully benefit from them? Here’s a brief summary of each along with the questions businesses and families need to ask themselves. (more…)
As business owners we are driven to achieve success. It is who we are. And it is why we are entrepreneurs; working harder than most with higher risk so we can experience that success.
Failure is anathema to our very being. But, by taking the precaution of contemplating failure we increase our chances for success. Harvard Business School Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management Amy Edmonson studies why businesses fail and suggests four questions you need to ask before starting a new venture in order to avoid failure. (more…)
Is the glass half full or half empty? How you answer depends on your perspective. For someone who has always received a full glass and now is being told this is all the water available, this picture can be a perilous omen. On the other hand, someone lost in the desert might describe it as salvation.
Perspective is critical when making decisions within your company. A distorted perspective can lead to the wrong decision, sometimes with disastrous consequences. (more…)