Business Owner’s Blog

…is acknowledging what they are worst at. They think they’re good (or good enough) at everything.
But consider that every company needs to get results in four areas.  This means the company needs skills such as:

Designing a product customers want
Producing that product for less than customers will pay
Finding and selling to those customers for less money […]

The key to growing your company is to prevent problems rather than solve them. There are two parts to this: Attitude and Skill.
Attitude - you must not like being the hero
Heroes solve problems. Usually at the last moment in dramatic fashion with a fanfare and a flourish of cape - just before they dash off […]

We all know about working smarter not harder. But Seth Godin has an interesting insight that we often confuse working longer with working harder (or smarter).
Here are a couple of choice quotes (but you should really read the whole thing - especially on Labor Day).
None of the people who are racking up amazing success stories […]

This from Jessica Hagy who does all kinds of funny, insightful stuff on index cards.
But the bigger point is, many people think (no, it’s beneath thinking, they just KNOW) that to run (never mind start) a company you have to work a gazillion hours, and it has to take over your life. I don’t believe […]

Leadership has been getting all the spotlight in recent years, but management is really where the action is if you want results. Management is the hard work of developing (as well as sustaining) an environment that supports people to be successful in a common goal. The common goal, of course is the success of your […]

This from Paul Orfalea
[founder of Kinkos which got acquired by FedEx
and now has 1,200 stores in 10 countries]
You must be flexible and astute and focus on the big picture. Busyness is not your friend. Startup entrepreneurs too often try to run away from their anxiety by being busy. But you have to leave time open […]

One of the services that makes this blog worth every dollar you pay for it, is the time I take to scour the web and find the gems for you. Two posts in blogs I love come together today under the heading :Why didn’t I think of that?
Seth Godin says make sure your system works […]

I’m reading “The 4-Hour Workweek” by Timothy Ferriss and it’s so good I have to post about it before I’m done. Why are my free offers (see below) always around book reviews? I have no idea.
Bad News First (In deference to The Toyota Way )

Yes there is an element of luck. Just like Ferriss, I’m […]

It’s well known that the pessimist says the glass is half empty - so his surprises are all positive ones. The optimist says the glass is half full and somehow keeps that attitude despite her negative surprises.
What does the CEO say?
The CEO says “Hey, don’t we have twice as much glass as we need around […]

Everyone knows reward is proportionate to risk.
When everyone knows something, it’s usually wrong. And there’s usually a bit of truth in it. Maybe the wrong bit comes from the fact that for everyone to know something it usually has to be dumbed down a lot. But I dirgess.
The fallacy in believing that reward is proportionate […]