Why Business Teams Fail & How to Avoid It : Strong Leadership Skills For Employee Engagement & High Performance

Slow Down to Speed Up! Think about the last time you encountered a roadblock, setback, problem, issue or frustration. It might have been with a customer or with a team member or perhaps even some technology. If you’re like most people I know, you probably jumped right on the issue, wrestled it to the ground and found a solution or fix. It’s a normal reaction for high-performing individuals who con...

The Bottleneck is ALWAYS at the Top! Have you ever seen a bottle where the bottleneck is anywhere but the top? Probably not! That’s because the most restricted part of any bottle is the bottleneck. And the SAME is true in business! The limit on any business is ALWAYS at the TOP of the business – you, the business owner! So if you want your business to grow bigger, you’ve got to first grow yourself...

Geometry for Business I recently heard a church sermon on “The Good Life” that made me think. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that the same principles apply to being successful in business. It was all about geometry – specifically 3 shapes that were important to “master” if you want to be successful and enjoy “The Good Life”. The 3 shapes are quite simple – a point, a line and...

Getting Known I have a very strong opinion that the #1 issue facing most small business owners today is that not enough people know that their business even exists! That’s right – I think this is a bigger deal that the quality of their product or service, or the price they offer, or the success of their competitors. For many of us reading this Net Worth Tip of the Month, the single biggest hurdle...

How do you SURPRISE Your Customer? We all like a good surprise. It’s what makes birthdays, anniversaries and Christmas so much fun. It’s what we do often and with great joy when we are dating. But soon after we get married, we begin to lose our interest or our passion for great surprises! Why is that? Is it because the “thrill” is gone? Or do we just start taking our spouse for granted? How about...

Do you REALLY Know Your Ideal Customer? How would you respond if I asked you to “Define Your Ideal Customer”? Would you tell me the demographics – age, sex, income level, neighborhood, industry, position, etc. Or would you tell me about the thoughts, feelings and emotions they have each day and each night? Most of us only know our customers at a surface level. We don’t REALLY know our customers –...

The Price of INDIFFERENCE Did you know that 85% of customers leave or switch providers because of “Perceived Indifference”? It’s true! The most common reason that you are losing your current customers is they don’t think you really care if they stay or not. I recently had an experience that made it VERY CLEAR that this was the case. I had been a customer of this business for nearly 10 years – but...

The Power of FOCUS             Business owners today are crazy busy!  If you’re like most around you, you’ve got at least a dozen important goals or tasks that you’re working on.  You’ve probably got 5 or 6 things that are critical and need to get done right away – but each one of them takes concentrated time and effort to do your best work.             So why is it so hard to FOCUS your attention...

Are You Operating at 10X Levels of Action?             Getting people’s attention these days is very difficult.  That is unless you’re running for a political office and you’re willing to pick a fight with your opponent.  If you’re simply trying to be a good, upstanding business owner, chances are no one is going to listen to your “pitch”.             The biggest problem for most businesses today...

What is Your “Bold & New” Commitment?             From time to time you’ve got to embrace the idea of “Out with the OLD, in with the NEW!”  So the big question is…What is YOUR “New” for this next year?  – and is it not only new, but also BOLD?             If you’re like many folks, you’ll start this next year doing the very same things that you did LAST year.  Nothing will change.  Nothing will be...

Outwitting the Devil             You know by now that I am a big believer in ALWAYS listening to and reading books.  I seem to always have 2 or 3 that I am working on.             Someone made a recommendation to me a few weeks ago and strongly encouraged me to get a new audio book – Outwitting the Devil by Napoleon Hill.  So I did.  And I will have to say, I found it to be one of the most inspiri...

5 Gifts of Successful People             If you’re not constantly reading you’re missing out on some of the greatest knowledge and wisdom you’ll ever find.  Let’s be honest, you won’t find it on Facebook or on Sports Center or the Nightly News.             I’m constantly reading.  Right now I’m in the middle of a great book titled simply “Ask” by Ryan Levesque.  I’m sure you’ll see a “tip” from th...

The Lifetime Value of Your Customers             I recently spent time in Stillwater Minnesota enjoying the scenery, seeing old friends, and relaxing with my wife.  As usual, we spent the weekend at our favorite Bed & Breakfast – The Ann Bean Mansion.             While at the Ann Bean, it struck me that they truly understand the lifetime value of their customers – and they treat us like we are VIP...