Three months into the new decade and the U.S. economic locomotive was “roaring” into the 20s. She was full steam ahead, with a growth rate of 2%, unemployment at its lowest since 1969, and the stock market indexes having grown more than 20% in 2019. And then COVID-19 hit. Sending our economic train right off […]

As we begin to bring the economy back to life and restart our collective business engine, it will require ingenuity, agility, and flexibility to survive in our new reality. The business world as we knew it has changed before our eyes. The business models, strategic plans, and proven operating systems that business leaders have developed […]

In my recent Forbes article, I challenged business leaders to implement three things to have a roaring 20s. One of which was to review and update their business plan, and thus prepare for a downturn as we were pushing the limits of the ongoing market expansion. When working with business leaders in their annual planning I […]

As you’ve often heard it said: employees are a company’s most important investment. They’re also one of the biggest challenges for a company. The time and money it takes to recruit, interview, and train adds up quickly. Even then, you’re not guaranteed that the person will perform well in the company, and each wrong move […]

Already three months into the new year, we are moving into this next decade in “roaring” fashion. The economy is within the ideal growth rate of 2%, unemployment is at its lowest since 1969, the Federal Reserve interest rate is 1.75%, and the stock market major indexes all grew more than 20% in 2019. Yet […]

I’ve had many entrepreneurs say failure is what made them successful. And many investors say they won’t commit capital to an entrepreneur starting a new business unless they have endured challenges before. However, no business owner wants to fail, so how should one view mistakes? As part of the learning process. I often tell people, you […]

Over three million employees have left their jobs voluntarily every month since June 2017, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Keeping good employees is becoming harder and harder for employers, and retention is at an all-time low. There are many reasons why employees quit their companies to go elsewhere. In fact, when the […]

It’s human nature for information to become filtered as it moves up and through an organization. The number of direct reports managers have can vary from just a few to dozens of employees. With each level of management, business leaders often get further away from the front lines and their customers, and, with each stage […]

I have asked hundreds of businesses and organizations this question as the starting point in planning for the future, and I always find it fascinating that a majority of leaders have never asked it of themselves. In fact, when the question is raised, I am usually met by blank stares. Make no mistakes, this is […]

When scaling your business, you can have time, or you can have money – but you can’t have both. A common growing pain for business leaders is the feeling of your resources being pulled in several directions, with limited time to get the work done. Days get shorter and resources get tapped. At some point, […]