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Category Archives: Business Acumen
The First Two Steps in Process Improvement
Most process improvement initiatives fail miserably. First, they do not improve the processes they were supposed to improve. Second, they waste managerial and employee time, effort and attention. Or, third, the process may be improved; but this improvement does not … Continue reading
Careful: A User’s Guide to Our Injury-Prone Minds
Careful: A User’s Guide to Our Injury-Prone Minds, written by Steve Casner, is an excellent discussion of safety in our lives, both at home and at work. It is a straightforward read, and I highly recommend it. Below I share … Continue reading
Posted in Business Acumen, Leadership, Perform / Execution
Tagged Careful, Safety, Steve Casner
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Three Cheers for Foresight
To be successful, leaders need to develop and hone their business foresight. Used effectively, foresight focuses our attention on the time and space between the immediate, day to day tactical execution and the long-term strategic vision and planning. Foresight in … Continue reading
Posted in Business Acumen, Leadership, Perform / Execution
Tagged Business Acumen, Foresight
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The Curse of Knowledge
As leaders we are bedeviled by the Curse of Knowledge: The Curse of Knowledge is the difficulty we have in imagining that another person does not know what we know. The Curse of Knowledge rears its ugly head in three … Continue reading
Posted in Business Acumen, Communication, Leadership
Tagged Clarity, Communication, Curse of Knowledge
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Four Ways to Overcome Confirmation Bias
The biggest decision-making bias for all of us is the confirmation bias. Wikipedia explains it well: Confirmation bias is the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms or supports one’s prior beliefs or … Continue reading
Posted in Business Acumen, Leadership, Personal Success
Tagged Confirmation Bias, Decision Making
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Avoid Fair Fights (But Fight Fair)
Whether we are competing in our core business, starting a new business venture, or looking to win a new, large job or project, we need to focus our energies on areas where we have a competitive advantage. We need to … Continue reading
Flexibility
“Predictions are difficult – especially about the future.” This quote from Yogi Berra sums up the challenges we all face in today’s dynamic and fast-changing world. None of us has a crystal ball that allows us to predict the future … Continue reading
Posted in Business Acumen, Growth and Strategy, Perform / Execution
Tagged Adaptability, Flexibility, Marketing, Sales Success
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Be Opportunistic
“There are smart decisions and wise decisions. And one form of wisdom is the ability to judge when to let luck disrupt our plans. Not all time in life is equal. The question is, when the unequal moment comes, do … Continue reading
11 Keys to Better Decision-Making
Successful leaders make good decisions… consistently. Good decision-making is dependent on a number of factors: understanding, experience, intelligence, foresight, and just plain luck. There is no guide that will tell you how to make the perfect decision. But, there are … Continue reading
Three Ways to Develop Strategic Thinking Skills
Strategic thinking skills differentiate middle-level managers from effective upper level leaders. With excellent strategic thinking skills, the leader is able to make effective decisions that benefit their companies in both the short and long term. Developing strategic thinking skills requires … Continue reading
Posted in Business Acumen, Growth and Strategy, Perform / Execution
Tagged Business Strategy, Strategic Vision, Strategy, Vision
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A Good Leader is a Good Follower
Even as leaders, we all have bosses. Perhaps, it is a Vice-President. Perhaps, it is the CEO. Perhaps, it is the Board of Directors. To move our companies forward, we need to be good (but not mindless) followers to our … Continue reading
Posted in Business Acumen, Leadership, Team / People
Tagged Alignment, Follow, Followership, Leadership
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Don’t Believe the Hype
“The world is changing faster than ever before.” “We need to adapt to the change or we will get run over by it.” “The paradigm has shifted and the world will never be the same.” “Robotics and AI (Artificial Intelligence) will … Continue reading
The Whys of Business
Internet entrepreneur, Simon Sinek, has a popular TED talk on asking why. His primary advice in building a successful company is that: People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. Unfortunately, while I admire Mr. Sinek, … Continue reading
Posted in Business Acumen, Communication, Leadership
Tagged Business Acumen, Business Leadership, Communication, Why
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Optimize the Overall Business
As business leaders, we strive to have each of our areas improve its efficiency and effectiveness. Accounting, Sales, Marketing, Engineering, Operations, Project Management, Customer Service – each of these parts of the business needs to be as effective as possible. Likewise, … Continue reading
Posted in Business Acumen, Leadership, Perform / Execution
Tagged Communication, Focus, Management, Productivity, Project Management, Success
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Think Twice and Do Once
Every Do-It-Yourselfer knows the carpenter’s advice: Measure twice cut once. In successful businesses, a similar recommendation holds true: Think twice and do once. To so many of us, immediate action appears to be essential: We are just doing it! We … Continue reading
Posted in Business Acumen, Improve / Turnaround, Perform / Execution
Tagged Focus, Productivity, Project Management
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Remind…Don’t Teach
A fundamental task of a leader is to train and develop his or her team. This often involves coaching and teaching the team on the strategic, operational and leadership skills that are required for them to reach the next level. … Continue reading
Posted in Business Acumen, Communication, Leadership
Tagged Communication, Learning, Training
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8 Ways To Be As Smart As We Can Be
To do our best in business, we need to be as smart as we can be. Alas, I do not have any tremendous insight or magic elixir to make myself or anyone else be smarter. Sorry. What I do have … Continue reading
Posted in Business Acumen, Improve / Turnaround, Personal Success
Tagged Focus, Innovation, Management, Productivity, Success, Teaching
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Never Split the Difference – Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It
Following up on my blog from August 2017, Negotiation – An Overview, I summarize the excellent book, Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It, from former FBI negotiator, Chris Voss. I highly recommend that you read … Continue reading
5 Steps to Creating a Unique Strategic Vision
Today, companies struggle to consistently increase sales and profits faster than the overall market. In too many cases, these companies lack a unique strategic vision that would differentiate the company and its products and services from the competition. Instead, their … Continue reading
Operations – The Five Daily Fundamentals
Most companies still provide a tangible product or service. This means that companies need to have operations employing people to produce the product, deliver the product, or provide the service. These operations are essential to great customer service and building … Continue reading
