Our number one priority as leaders is setting direction, goals, and objectives. Why do we only sometimes achieve them? Three reasons: We set them incorrectly. They were not clear, practical, and aligned with our purpose and values. We can learn from experience to set SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound) direction, goals, and objectives […]
You know that important project? The one you’d get to someday when you had some time? The one that maybe takes you out of your comfort zone? If today isn’t that someday–if you haven’t yet taken advantage of these times to launch that project–maybe it’s not the right project and you can let it go. […]
[Note: I have recommended this process for years. It has helped lots of people. If you don’t need it now, save this article for when you do. -ME] The best way to find a new job, learn something, launch a new business or project, or find employees or clients for an existing business is by […]
Whether when musing about the news or choosing our next job/project, we can trip up thinking that we are here to change the world. We’re not. There’s something more delicious for us to do: change our world. The world is too distant, distracting, and depressing. It’s full of spiky obstacles, shiny objects, and competing ideologies. […]
Most of our time at work we focus on Do: getting done all the stuff that needs to be done. This is sometimes called Execution. We rightly invest time, energy, and money improving our Do. Sometimes, we pull back to examine What we should be doing (and why we should do it). This is sometimes […]
So used to expecting things not to work out, we limit our vision of what think we or our businesses can achieve. Or, perhaps, we allow our vision to be swamped by “yeah buts” (thoughts of fear, uncertainty, doubt, worry, anger, regret, or guilt). Damn. What if, instead, we loved our vision? Imagine what would […]
There is no law that says we have to compete on price. Despite what people say and what we may fear, we do not need to lower our prices in order to succeed. The law that does apply is the law of supply and demand. If we honestly provide something rare and valuable then people […]
Profit pressure may come from burgeoning costs or poor planning. But often it comes from not charging enough. Many of us feel we need to compete on price because that’s what the market demands. Really, though, it’s because we still have to do the work of focusing on our ideal clients, listening to how they explain […]
Good strategy requires clarity about the present, clarity about the future, and a good dose of ignorance about the past. In your corner, Mike PS: We only have to ask, “What is true now? What do we want to be true and why?” PPS: We capture the past with the present: everything important from the past is […]
Customer-service oriented leaders go out of their way to ensure that clients have the best possible experience with their companies’ products and services. Laudable. Customer-oriented leaders go out of their way to understand what the clients need, want, and desire now and in the future. They then design their companies’ products and services to meet those […]