Some business leaders believe they don’t need a strategic growth plan. Others wouldn’t go a day without one. Who is right? The answer is, it depends. I can think of a few circumstances where a leader may choose not to do a plan. Most experts, not just me, will tell you that leading without a [...]
Recently I have come across two very intersting lists—the top 10 growth industries and the 10 fastest declining industries. Being in a growth industry is usually a good thing! You get tail winds. Being in a declining industry–well your challenge is to avoid being the buggy whip. Most of us are somewhere in the middle [...]
Lately I have been studying masters. We have all heard of the Masters Golf Tournament, and when you google the word masters, stories about Charles Schwartsel, the latest golfer to put on the green jacket, pop up. Or how about the masters of art or music, Beethoven or Picasso? Webster’s says a master is a noun and an adjective. A master [...]
When working with clients one of the first things we do is go through a discovery process. You might think clients already know everything about their business but the truth is, most companies only look at the data in one way–the way they always have. By introducing new ways to analyze the data and integrate [...]
Is the glass half full or half empty? Is the best singer on the Voice the winner? Is $3.01 a fair price for a bottle of water at the airport? Your answers reflect how you see it. Are you right? Hard to say. If I am the singer who won or the water vendor at the [...]
For those of us who travel on occasion (or alot) by air, we have learned to “go with the flow”. We never know when we will be delayed, diverted or just disappointed with the “care in the air” (and yes, that is a double entrendre). Although feeling helpless, I continue to opt out of the [...]
Thanks for sharing the amazing College World Series experience with me. It truly was a memory for a lifetime. I thought you might like to read some of what others have written about it. Why? This is not the online version of the family vacation slideshow. Rather this is how good it feels to be [...]
Last week we posted a blog about Vanderbilts first ever performance in the College World Series. This week I have been driving back and forth between Kansas City and Omaha to take in all of the amazing sights and experiences associated with this great event in their brand new stadium. If you have never been I highly [...]
Which one do you prioritize–people or productivity? Rather than debating which business issue to tackle first, recognize that these two important business management topics are strongly related. You can’t have productivity without great people (unless you can automate every facet of your business!). I spent the day with a Vistage group in Michigan. It was a tremendous [...]
What a rare priviledge! This past weekend I had the chance to observe a group of young men live their dream. My son plays on the Vanderbilt University baseball team. Since he joined the team as a freshman three years ago, the hope has been to make it to the College World Series–the big show. [...]