Management
Management
The Truth About Selling Your Business
In small business, Merger & Acquisition activity is typically more about emotion than math. Negotiations are messy and valuations are lean. We hear about the success stories, but most of the time the results are disappointing.
If your small business is also your retirement plan, read on.
Management
A Primer for Reluctant Leaders: What Are You Searching For?
Leaders tend to find what they are looking for. Good leaders find good things. Bad leaders find bad behavior.
Bad leadership is incredibly easy to implement. Once you start, it has a way of perpetuating itself. Keep looking: you will find more mistakes.
In my consulting practice, I hope to find a few process mistakes that are easy to fix: Do this, not that. There, isn't that better?
Management
Business Progress 1.0
Company makeovers have become a mainstay of my consulting practice, but not all makeovers are created equal. Ignorance may be bliss, but not understanding where your company is in its progress can lead to critical failures.
Management
If You Fix It, It Will Break Again
As a young manager, I made all the best mistakes.
It seemed perfectly natural to blame people who made errors or exercised poor judgment and 'hold them accountable.' It rarely worked. The mistakes kept happening.
Management
Hire Faster, Hire Smarter
When you operate a growing business, you quickly learn how important it is to hire really great people. In fact, next to cash flow, that is probably the most important job you have as an owner.
Where do you find awesome employees?
If you are like me, you want to hire the first person that presents themselves reasonably well and get back to work. The real "interview" is on-the-job.
Management,
Operations
Make Employee Reviews the Highlight of Your Year
Employee Reviews are no one's core competency in small business. They can be time-consuming, sometimes awkward, and potentially polarizing. Done well, reviews can help your team grow, make you a better manager, and enhance company culture. Done poorly? I have seen good employees quit on the spot, dedicated employees give up, and poor employees continue to wreak havoc on your business.