Growing as a Leader
Growing as a leader requires two things: humility and curiosity.
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Gracious Leadership
What do I mean by “gracious leadership”?
Great leaders remember the good things their employees do. They try to forget the things that are not in their employee’s character or are not typical for them. [Read more…]
How to Deal With Tension in Your Organization
The other week a client and I had a tense, challenging conversation. This company has been in financial trouble, but we are beginning to turn the corner. [Read more…]
Developing Future Leaders
Do you want your team to develop leaders?
Being a leader is all about accomplishing things through other people. To be a successful leader, you have to establish a clear vision of what needs to be accomplished and then bring other people in the organization alongside to make that vision a reality. [Read more…]
Succession: Transitioning Business Leadership
“Who is going to run my business after me?”
If you are like many business owners, you may be thinking about transitioning business leadership. You have this baby that you’ve created–who is going to care for it once you’ve stepped down? You may be planning to transition leadership to somebody in your family or someone who currently works in the business. Are they going to drop the baton? Are they going to grow the business? Let it stagnate? Die? How involved do I want to be once the transition has occurred? These are questions that swirl around in business owner’s minds and rightfully so. [Read more…]
Setting Expectations With Clients
It is easy to get caught up in closing a potential client. But in the process, you may inadvertently set unrealistic expectations that will cause issues throughout your relationship with that client. If you do not meet your clients’ expectations, they will not be satisfied even if you do great work. Getting on the same page with potential customers is a critical step in the closing process.Here are 2 things to keep in mind when setting expectations with clients:
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Preparing for an Economic Downturn
Are you financially prepared for an economic downturn? The business cycle is called a cycle for a reason–highs and lows are normal and expected. I hope we aren’t going to talk ourselves into a recession. But clearly, we won’t continue with the sort of GDP growth that we’ve enjoyed over the last decade. Success certainly should never lead to complacency. So how can you as a business owner or leader make sure you are preparing for a potential downturn in the future? Here are 4 questions to consider when preparing for an economic downturn: [Read more…]
Goals and Accountability
Last night I was thinking about 3 ways in which goals and accountability helped me just yesterday and how this applies to business goals.
Yesterday morning, after having traveled for several days, I did something that I typically do very consistently: I weighed myself. And I found that because it had been several days since I last weighed myself, I had slipped up a little bit in regard to my weight. Just knowing that immediately resulted in a change of mindset for me concerning my caloric intake.
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Employee Retention
When I think about employee retention or employee engagement, I often think of it this way: “How ‘all in’ are your employees?” The answer to this question is very important. [Read more…]
End of the Year: Reflection and Anticipation
Reflecting on 2018
Every December, we get the privilege of looking back over the past 12 months–reflecting on the past—-and the opportunity to look forward to the next 12 months—-planning for the future. I think that the natural course of things is intentional. In order to be balanced, wise people, we need time to pause and take stock.
As I think back on 2018, I would say that it’s been a transitional year for my wife and me. On the business front, 2018 has been a prosperous year, and we are grateful for that. On a personal level, I lost both my father-in-law (in March) and my father (in November). They were two great men who shaped my life and my family so much. In August, we gained a beautiful granddaughter. So 2018 has definitely been a year full of transitions and shifts for our family, as well as for Broad Insights as a company.
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