With the invention of the automobile over a century ago, and the subsequent move to mass transit, the use of horses for transportation of people, goods, and services transitioned from essential to unnecessary. Along the way, many providers of related products, like wagons, buggies, and buggy whips either evolved into businesses that supported motorized vehicles, [...]

Sales training at most companies, if ever offered, consists of sending sales personnel to a one / two day independent sales course. Sometimes this happens annually, but typically it occurs far less frequently. Many sales training programs conducted in-house are events where new products are introduced, in nauseating detail, with the thought that product training [...]

Businesses often start with a tight-knit group of people that have a common vision. If successful, the business grows, sometimes for many years, and the core leadership team remains the same, hiring below them as required. As the business grows, the requirements of the specific leadership disciplines evolve, many times well past the capabilities (or [...]

In the process of selling, how many times have you heard an objection related to your price being too high? I will always remember a live Tom Hopkins presentation where he said that every time a prospect says your price is too high, he is really saying “Tell me more.” Your price is too [...]

“I know what I need to know” means you don’t know what you don’t know. Confused? Every day business CEO’s fail to make the changes and improvements needed to grow, or even survive because they think they know what they don’t. They confuse momentary good fortune with skill, and then make excuses for decline or [...]

Just like a complete business plan allows you to project actions and reactions into the future, proper budgeting allows the projection of the financial requirements, responsibilities, and outcomes needed to drive success. Just like personal finances, unless you have more income than you can spend, if you don’t budget, and don’t manage to that budget, [...]

Businesses are started every day because someone has an idea “they” think is novel. It might be a family recipe that they think is great hence it could be the foundation of a great restaurant. It might be a new software application that does something they see as beneficial. Or it might be a new [...]

With all the talk of social networking, I wonder whether the art of face-to-face networking has diminished to an afterthought. I would argue that the process of physically meeting people who can provide value to you and your business in real world networking settings remains critical to success. From encounters at industry events, social gatherings, [...]

Regarding economic planning, I think few forecasters would argue with the premise that the current recession will be followed by a strong period of inflation. Most of you may not recall, but in the 1980’s the US business economy experienced significant inflationary impact. I remember having a 16% car loan, and being elated to land [...]

All businesses have managers – some businesses are fortunate enough to have leaders. The difference between leaders and managers is significant in definition, as well as resulting business performance. In the mid 1980’s I pulled a list of differences from Fortune Magazine, and that list has hung on my office wall ever since. Managers administer [...]

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