I was speaking with a business owner a while back who told me he had set up an advisory board. “We got together twice,” he said. “It didn’t really go anywhere.” I asked a few questions: He’s not alone. A lot of advisory boards are built with good intentions but never deliver real value — mostly because they’re never built to deliver value....
Read MoreA while ago, I was catching up with the CEO of a mid-sized business. His business was growing steadily but wrestling with some underlying challenges. As we talked through a few of the issues, I asked whether he had ever considered forming an advisory board. His response was familiar: “Absolutely, it’s something I know I need to do. Just not...
Read MoreI taught skiing on weekends for almost 40 years and one of the most powerful skills I developed was what is called ‘Detection and Correction”. It’s the skill of identifying the symptom and then determining the root cause. Inexperienced instructors can spot the symptom—but rarely identify the root cause. A student may be skiing without flexing...
Read MoreLittle Changes. Big Impact. Bigger Satisfaction A survey by the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine looked at how patients felt about the time their doctors spent by their bedside. The only difference? Whether the doctor sat or stood. When the doctor sat down, 73% of patients said they were satisfied. When the doctor stood, only 49% did....
Read MoreOften, when I examine a company’s approach to sales, they want to dive right into fixing the symptoms. They want to discuss MQL, SQL, Conversion ratios, average contract value, and so on. Where I want to start is with strategy: How have you defined your perfect prospect? What are the problems that you might solve for them? What are the...
Read MoreMost CEOs I know don’t want a coach. At least, not in the traditional sense. They didn’t climb the mountain by asking for directions. They got there by figuring things out. By instinct. By guts. By doing. But here’s the thing: at a certain stage, figuring things out alone doesn’t cut it anymore. The stakes are higher, the terrain is unfamiliar,...
Read MoreSometimes, the cause of falling revenue is obvious – a major client fails, a sales channel quits, input costs increase, a new competitor enters your market. But more often, the cause is really hard to pin down and it can be really frustrating. Far too often we leap to price (our competitor is undercutting us), or sales effort (let’s have a sales...
Read MoreBusinesses survive and thrive for all sorts of reasons. Many of which are outside of our control. But many of them aren’t. There are strikingly few barriers to starting a business and consequently all sorts of dumb ideas, poorly executed, are attempted. As a result, only 10% of startups actually get into the
Read MoreWith some trepidation you strip down to the basics and attach the required ankle tracker. You have made a foolhardy(?) decision to go ahead with the venture. Physically you are committed. Mentally – not so sure. You shuffle forward to the end of the dock. The man says, “The timer starts when you step on the
Read MoreFor those who celebrate it – Happy Canada Day! Even if you are not fortunate enough to be a Canadian citizen, do feel free to celebrate the very fact of Canada. In many ways the world could use a bit more Canada just now. Here in Canada, we have muddled along quite well for the last 157 years managing to avoid too much controversy and minding...
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