I was once told that the only advice you should give is: 'never give advice unless it is asked for'. And that was by a person who seemed to have no end of unwanted advice to proffer. But at least that was one bit of valuable advice. As consultants, part of our role IS to advise, although we usually do wait for at least some sort of tacit request...
Read MoreUnemployment figures continue to improve; we have a little way to go before we are back to pre-pandemic levels, but we are moving in the right direction. Currently, unemployment in Canada is 7.5% (1.5m) and in the US it is 5.4% (10m). These figures will include people who are ‘looking’ for work; they won’t include the people who could work but f...
Read MoreWhenever the name Thomas Edison is mentioned, people often think about ‘the man that invented the light-bulb’, and most are aware of the many variations of his famous quote about trying to make the lightbulb work: “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work”.
Read MoreSuccess in business is a rare thing, in fact 70% of businesses fail within their first 10 years. And that number holds true for all types of business. Of those that don’t fail, only a few really soar. Why am I saying this? Simply to suggest that you be careful when you think about emulating your peers or you may well be joining a pack of lemmings h...
Read MoreI played my first 18 holes late last week with owners of Keynote Group and Rhapsody Strategies. It's quite different. Staying apart. Separate carts. Limited socializing after the game. Still fun – but different. After the game, 2 metres apart, we talked about the whole WFH movement. How many offices will shift to WFH? How do you interview? How do...
Read MoreListen to this week's podcast here. As a kid, I would stare up into the night sky with amazement. It’s pretty obvious that we are a just a tiny part of a very large (one might even say universal) system. The same is true of our businesses – we are simply a small part of a large system. I can guarantee you that nobody really wants what you sell. Th...
Read MoreSales management is a deep topic but this series of podcasts is focusing on the quick and easy ways to increase revenue. So let’s look at some of the obvious stuff which many companies forget to do. The adage “If you don’t measure it you can’t manage it” is absolutely true. “But I do measure sales results” you say! Fair enough.. but do you just man...
Read MoreHave you ever tried to find something in your garage or storage cupboard? You know what you are looking for, you know where it is, but to get there you have to wade through loads of other stuff? Stuff just accumulates, little by little; you hardly notice it – in fact, most often you don't notice it at all – until you are looking for something. So,...
Read MoreYou have at least 10 projects sitting on your to-do list grinding away at you every day. Whatever you do, you feel you should be doing something else instead. So, which one should you do next? There are only so many hours in a day, only so many people to help you get things done, and yet so much to do. A question that crops up regularly from clie...
Read MoreFor having more productive discussions ... I was an observer at a workshop and conference recently. As happens at these events, people were split into various groups to consider specific subjects. Lots of interesting discussion was generated and many good ideas came out of it. By the looks on their faces, the participants felt like they had made go...
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