“What Odor?”
One of the things we try to do at Broad Insights is begin by diagnosing situations. I was working with a hog farmer up in Ohio, and I wanted to take the time to have him walk me through his process. So we started with the small piglets and sows, followed through to the weaned pigs, and so on. I walked through all the barns, and I had all this gear on to make sure I didn’t contaminate anything (they have to be very careful of diseases). When we got to the end of all those barns, I turned to the farmer and said, “Ed, do you ever get used to the odor?” He looked at me quizzically and said, “What odor?” Of course, that made us both laugh. [Read more…]
Finding Your Landmark
You probably travel quite a bit by air, as I do. One of the things I enjoy is looking for landmarks as I’m flying into my local airport. I try to find one landmark that tells me where I am relative to my destination. It’s interesting to me that until I find that first landmark, everything looks the same. There have been times, especially on cloudy days, when I didn’t even know the direction of my approach. And when I find that one landmark, everything begins to clarify. Oh, okay, there’s that water tower. I know that shopping center, that neighborhood, etc. But until then, I’m very lost. [Read more…]
How to Ensure Your Business Lasts
If you’re like most of the business owners we work with, you spend a lot of time focused on the hard day-to-day work of growing your business. But all too often, that hard work goes down the drain when the time comes to sell or to pass business leadership on to someone else. If you want your business to survive beyond you, you need a good succession plan, and for a successful and smooth transition, that planning should start sooner than you think. Whether selling or transferring to the next generation, you’ll encounter challenges, many of which we’ve seen again and again in other companies we’ve coached. Most business owners find those challenges daunting and, consequently, completely avoid the topic of succession. That’s natural, but it’s bad for you and bad for your business. [Read more…]
Are You Seizing Opportunities?
When you think about seizing opportunities, do you first think of new business opportunities? I think most people do. After working with so many businesses, I think seizing opportunity is really about being proactive as a leader. Here are some of the ways you can seize more opportunities. Last Friday, I was with a new client of mine and I called together the whole production team, about 10-12 people. I introduced myself as the new coach and then asked, “What could we do to get a little bit better? What things frustrate you? What is it that you can’t believe we’re not doing right now as a company?” I received a lot of great ideas, and the next day I had a conversation with some of the leadership about the ideas. I often meet with clients and have these types of conversations. As a leader, you have to seize the opportunity to get better, seize the opportunity to have a conversation, seize the opportunity to empower your people. Your team has thoughts, opinions, and ideas that could help your company grow. [Read more…]
#1 Advice for Becoming a More Effective Leader
Being a leader isn’t based on someone naming you a leader. It’s about whether you have followers or not. The most effective leader sets the direction of the company and provides clarity. Sometimes I’ll talk to business leaders and they act like people are showing up to work and trying not to follow their lead. The truth is, very few people wake up in the morning and head off to work with the intent of doing their jobs incorrectly. So instead of looking around trying to figure out where things are going wrong, we need to look in the mirror. [Read more…]
Insights From My 92-Year-Old Father
For Father’s Day this year, I interviewed my 92-year-old father. I wanted to record his wisdom for myself, my children, and even future generations. I think his insights are valuable for all of us. Here’s what he had to say after looking back on his long life. [Read more…]
Are Your Resources Optimized?
There are 4 key focus areas for every business owner. Today we’re going to tackle resource optimization.Are your resources being optimized?
I’m not talking about people, because I have a little bit of cultural bias against referring to people as resources. I’m talking about your financial resources, the use of your assets. What I find is that a lot of business owners don’t know how to read financial statements. I have an accounting background, which is really helpful in demystifying finances for me. But I find that a lot of business owners are dependent on CPAs to explain financial statements. And, frankly, I think they’re a little embarrassed to ask too many questions. [Read more…]
Are Your Employees Engaged?
There is one topic that comes up a lot in discussion with business leaders, and that’s the idea of employees being all in. Have you ever noticed that your employees seem to have new life at the end of the day? It’s 5 o’clock, and suddenly your subdued office is all smiles and energy. What would it be like to have a company where everyone was excited about being at work? Where your employees like their coworkers, they’re challenged, and they’re loyal? Getting to that point starts with asking, “Where am I today?” [Read more…]