Planning, Passion and Purpose in Great Companies Many Colleges and Universities have a center for small business, some have programs for family businesses and a few even offer degrees in Family Business Management. Many if not all offer classes on business plans, strategic plans, tactical plans, short term plan, 5 year plan and some [Continue Reading]
The Choreography of Sales Service – Should You Underpromise And Overdeliver?
. “We provide solutions.” Sound familiar, this is what our business is based on; what many business are based on, we all provide services. Today, the service sector’s share of the U.S. economy has risen to roughly 80 percent. Being a service business is complex, complicated and it’s on a continuum; customer’s expectations increase with [Continue Reading]
Strategy: Start At The END
Strategy: Start at the end. A strategy is a plan of action designed to achieve a vision. Paul Williams is the Founder of Idea Sandbox, a self-described Barnstormer, Creative Problem Solver, Retail Marketing Crackerjack and Writer. Recently Paul wrote, “One of the best starting points for a strategy session is at the end of it. [Continue Reading]
Process Management Key To Capturing Market Share, Leveraging Changes In Market Conditions
Can better business process management practices improve your position by making it easier be first-to-market product change/innovation, service or delivery method? Family Businesses surveyed by a major accounting firm shared some interesting observations. One of their observation showed how family firms viewed the demand for their products over the past twelve months, 44% felt the [Continue Reading]
“The Best Version Of The Same Old Thing Isn’t The Best Version Of Anything”
In classical Greece, Mnemosyne — usually translated as “Memory” — was considered to be the mother of History, Music, Astronomy, and all the other Muses. Memory is fundamental to learning and knowledge. Boosting your memory will help you both gather new information and track where you’ve been in your life, bringing your past with you [Continue Reading]
Survive To Thrive
Move past mere survival so you can thrive in small business by understanding the type or shape of the economic downturn you are managing through. In economics, recessions can be plotted on a graph; normally these downturns are discussed by the shape of the graph’s curve. Knowing the shape helps you make the right plan. [Continue Reading]
Customer Service – A Compass will help the Team find their way
Having and executing a plan are key puzzle pieces linked to solid metrics and great communication. A Compass will help the Team find their way. In John Grissom’s The Client, attorney Reggie Love wears a compass around her neck. A recovering alcoholic and pill user, Love explains, “So I’ll never lose my way again.” Success [Continue Reading]
Marketing Is More Than Selling
Malcolm Galdwell, the best selling author of Blink and Outliers, spoke at TED about Dr. Howard Moskowitz and what he did for spaghetti sauce, $600 million in sales. (Click here to watch Malcolm Gladwell video.) Galdwell tells how Howard uses horizontal segmentation to grow spaghetti sauce sales. Segmentation in marketing and economics is the division [Continue Reading]