Self Help & Syndicated Articles « Categories « Consulting and Strategic Growth

The Success Habit

July 2007 How many times do we see business owners looking out the window or at their watch while impatiently waiting for the time to justify their exit? Why come in late or leave early if your ambition is to excel? Those who are always looking for excuses not to work are never going to enjoy the fruits of success. The reason is simple. They develop the habit of excusing themselves...

Define what you want from a vendor – It’s helpful to you and them!

Does it seem at times that you have trouble defining a new service or product on which you want a vendor to give you a bid? (Examples are an advertising campaign, new delivery truck, new phones or phone service, or maybe pallets for the shop.) In addition, after you receive the product or service, ever think that it’s not exactly what you wanted or ordered? Imagine the vendors’...

Lessons from The Apprentice – Competence in the Workplace Isn’t Enough

I read an article recently about one of the candidates in The Apprentice, Amy Henry, from Arlington, TX. She was interviewed about what she learned from the experience on the show and her thoughts concerning entrepreneurs and success. One comment I was intrigued by was her observation that competence in the workplace isn’t enough to assure success. I can’t agree more. We all have...

Looking for a Job? Are You Really Serious?

March 2005 I am constantly amazed at the skills people exhibit when looking for a job. Now, I understand that it’s not something you do every week and maybe I should be more sympathetic, since I haven’t done it but once in my life when I got a job as a bag boy in high school.. I get at least two requests per month from friends who are looking, or know someone that is, that...

2009 is Ancient History – What Are You Doing to Make 2010 Your Best Year Ever?

I know, I know, you think I am confused. Trust me. I know we have three months until 2010 starts. I suspect 2009 was not a great year for you. If you want to change your results in the coming year, now is the time to start planning. Have you started on your budgets for next year? Done your financial forecasts? Outlined specific programs to improve your key operating metrics in 2010? You...

Are Your Sharing Teeth in Your Operation?

Three old men are at dinner. They have a splendid meal: steaks, baked potatoes, veggies. But they have a problem. They have only one set of teeth. It’s going to take them a while to eat. I’ll let you imagine whether they share a little at a time or one finishes before passing the teeth on. Gross, I know. Sharing teeth is not efficient. It creates a bottleneck at the dinner table....

Cash for Clunkers: Good or Bad for You?

Recyclers have been talking about Cash for Clunkers, and whether it was good or bad for our industry. I won’t opine much, other than to say the answer probably depends upon how prepared you were to take advantage of the opportunities the initiative presented. Ever noticed that some folks seem to do well no matter what happens? A fire in their warehouse? Not a problem. They’re...

aming Your Inbox: 7 Tips to More Efficient Use of E-mail

E-mail can be a remarkable tool that boosts productivity or it can be a huge time waster. Mostly how well email works depends upon how skilled you are at effectively managing it. I would like to share some of the tips and tricks that have helped me manage the hundreds of e-mails that I get every day. Handle it once if possible: When looking over e-mail, I have a goal of getting it...

Bottom Up Budgeting

As promised, this month I will explore the technique of bottom up budgeting. It was mentioned in my articles on financial forecasting and sharing teeth. You can learn more about these and other topics by visiting the industry specific discussion boards at www.MrMissionPossible.com. I was proud to learn about bottom up budgeting in my stint at Ford Motor Co. after I sold them my...

“Dude, You Might Not Be Getting Your Dell Back”: One Traveler’s Story

“Listen, I left my new Dell 6400 at security earlier today. Did you find it?” “We did recover a computer today. I can’t release any more information without a serial #.” “What if I gave you my password, and you turned on the computer and logged in. Only the owner would know that, right?” “I wish I could, but we need a serial number. That’s how it works.” “But dude,...