Ask Don’t Tell Leadership: Why Do I Need A Business Plan?

Why you need a business plan!!!

Q: In last week’s column, you gave advice about starting a business, and you kept preaching about writing a business plan. I own a business, I don’t have a plan, and I’m doing just fine. What’s the big deal?

A: How do you know your business is doing “fine” if you do not have a business plan? This is like a runner stating that he is “fast” when asked his running pace. Quality and success cannot be measured without having benchmarks and goa…

Why Leadership Is So Important To Your Business Success

Success in this business world today is competitive. To be successful in your own business it is crucial to have the necessary skills, including personal leadership, to distinguish you from every other business. It is possible in any economy to have customers and make money as long as you have leadership skills.

Thinking About Thinking – Part 1 of 2

How much time do you spend just thinking? Take a guess – how much during any given day, week or month? I’m don’t mean the kind of thinking you do while driving in your car, commuting on the train, during your morning run, or even in the shower. I’m referring to the kind of thinking you do ensconced in your office, or your den, or perhaps your garden. You are not reading a book or a magazine, nor watching TV, nor listening to music. You are simply thinking.

How much time d…

Thinking About Thinking – Part 2 Of 2

Like many of my clients, I am always looking for ways to speed things up – to produce more results with the same or even fewer resources. We probably agree on this. The key is certainly not about working harder; it may not even be about working smarter. But there are definitely ideas which work, and those ideas need to be uncovered. Often you can find them through analytical thinking. In my last article I discussed this: a process of asking deliberate questions, and in a disc…

Seven Keys To Get Out Of A Rut

Rut — a routine procedure, situation, or way of life that has become uninteresting and tiresome… And not surprisingly, unprofitable.

They say a rut is a shallow grave with two open ends. The good news (good news?!) is that the ends ARE still open, which means if you act fast, you just might out of it. How do we get into these ruts anyway? Who would voluntarily lie down in that grave, shallow or otherwise?

Dr. Edward Debono suggests that thoughts are pathways literall…