Like a marathon runner who sprints to a lead when going up a tough hill, companies that make aggressive moves when others are playing it safe gain a sizable advantage and then continue to build on it even more during easier times.
A recent study by Bain & Company found that twice as many companies made the leap from laggards to leaders during the last recession as during surrounding periods of economic calm. In fact, nearly a quarter of all companies with the highest or lowest industry rankings moved completely …

“Hire slow; fire fast…one bad apple…when you discover cancer…” You’ve heard all the sound bites for dealing with poor performers. Now it’s time to lead by example and take action. Here’s a quick road map for managing the process.
First, make certain of your facts before addressing the employee. Provide specific examples where your expectations were unmet. Listen to the explanations that are sure to come but remain firm as to the requirements of the job.
Second, ensure that the employee was properly trained to accomplish the job objectives. If not, you’ll …

“Okay team, let’s get this sales meeting underway. The CEO said we need to sell a thousand widgets this year. Since there are seven of you. . .let’s see, divide by seven, round up. . . your quota is 150 each, so that’s three per week. Any questions? Now go out there and sell. And try and help each other out, too. I’ll be in my office if you need me.”
Mistake #1: this is not a team. A true team comprises complementary …

A generation ago someone running a private company had a fairly simple set of options when it was time to retire. Have the child(ren) take it over and collect retirement pay or sell it and live off the interest. Now things are more complex and the demographic wave adds another challenge. Here are eleven reasons why anyone contemplating the sale of a business in the next several years needs to start getting ready now.

Boomers are a crowd whatever they do, in this case lots of business owners …

Boredom never seems to be a problem for business owners. If anything, the list of ideas, opportunities, competitors, technology, and challenges is never the same one day to the next. Change is constant, sometimes vexing. How do you most effectively harness that momentum to accelerate your business instead of being tossed about like a sparrow in a hurricane?
Let’s look at four places along the path between you and your customer.

Foundation – core values, mission, and offerings of your company
Operations – activities and systems used to …