Ingar Grev

A friend of mine — Kevin — recently went through a four-month-long hiring process with two companies at the same time.

Kevin was motivated to make a move because — as a family man — his 100 percent travel consulting gig was getting old.

Both companies were small businesses, under about $20 million in revenue, and both were looking to hire a key executive. Within about a week or so of beginning the interview process, it was clear to the CEOs of both companies that they wanted him… Show more

A friend of mine — Kevin — recently went through a four-month-long hiring process with two companies at the same time.

Kevin was motivated to make a move because — as a family man — his 100 percent travel consulting gig was getting old.

Both companies were small businesses, under about $20 million in revenue, and both were looking to hire a key executive. Within about a week or so of beginning the interview process, it was clear to the CEOs of both companies that they wanted him. Kevin liked them both, so frankly the first company to make him a good offer would win.

What happened next was something I’ve seen many times in small businesses and rarely in a large company: Read the rest at the link. Show less

A common complaint of many business owners is that they can’t find great talent.

They hired the great résumé and were disappointed; they hired the enthusiastic “project” and were let down as well; they engaged headhunters, checked references, were told by an adviser what he did before, were convinced by a consultant to use the wrong assessment for hiring, and so on — and still were left wanting.

I see many promotions today for webinars or consulting services to help business… Show more

A common complaint of many business owners is that they can’t find great talent.

They hired the great résumé and were disappointed; they hired the enthusiastic “project” and were let down as well; they engaged headhunters, checked references, were told by an adviser what he did before, were convinced by a consultant to use the wrong assessment for hiring, and so on — and still were left wanting.

I see many promotions today for webinars or consulting services to help business owners find, attract and retain this super talent, and even I have given some advice about getting great talent to join your team.

The point of this article is not to talk you out of it, but there are pitfalls to hunting and onboarding this Superman/Wonder Woman.

Read the rest at the link Show less

If you’re a business owner or self-employed, you have undoubtedly received some great advice about how to grow your sales from any number of great speakers, bloggers, podcasters, authors, etc. I certainly have!

What I’ve discovered as a business advisor, though, is that even when businesses put those ideas into place, they often still suffer from stagnant or inconsistent sales.

Why? What often hurts small business owners is putting sales into a separate category from operations… Show more

If you’re a business owner or self-employed, you have undoubtedly received some great advice about how to grow your sales from any number of great speakers, bloggers, podcasters, authors, etc. I certainly have!

What I’ve discovered as a business advisor, though, is that even when businesses put those ideas into place, they often still suffer from stagnant or inconsistent sales.

Why? What often hurts small business owners is putting sales into a separate category from operations (larger companies normally have this nailed). For example, most good managers know that getting a quality product out the door requires...read the rest at the link Show less

Have you ever spent hours putting together a proposal, only to lose the deal?

Have you ever sent a proposal and then wound up chasing it for weeks — or even months?

It’s not fun. It drives down your sales yield, increases your working hours, and gets you to waste a great deal of time.

A proposal isn’t necessary for most of the work The Growth Coach does. However, some of our services (e.g. strategic consulting, interim executive work, etc.) have a number of details that… Show more

Have you ever spent hours putting together a proposal, only to lose the deal?

Have you ever sent a proposal and then wound up chasing it for weeks — or even months?

It’s not fun. It drives down your sales yield, increases your working hours, and gets you to waste a great deal of time.

A proposal isn’t necessary for most of the work The Growth Coach does. However, some of our services (e.g. strategic consulting, interim executive work, etc.) have a number of details that need to be ironed out, so a written proposal makes a great starting point for discussions.

Important steps: read them and the rest of the article at the link Show less

Have you heard this one before?

“Because we are a small business, we’re more nimble than a large company!”

Those of us who have been around the block a few times know that being a small business does not always lead to nimbleness as a valuable differentiator.

Think about it — how many times has a small business let you down?

The fact that it happens more than we care to admit raises some concerns for potential clients:

Can we depend on them to deliver on… Show more

Have you heard this one before?

“Because we are a small business, we’re more nimble than a large company!”

Those of us who have been around the block a few times know that being a small business does not always lead to nimbleness as a valuable differentiator.

Think about it — how many times has a small business let you down?

The fact that it happens more than we care to admit raises some concerns for potential clients:

Can we depend on them to deliver on time?
Will they meet our quality requirements?
Can they scale?
Can they deliver if the owner gets hit by a bus?

Difficult differentiator

The nimbleness of small businesses should be a valuable differentiator. This is one of their competitive advantages over large businesses. Let’s face it, large companies have processes that generally require a good amount of bureaucratic muscle to modify — for good reason. The lack of this heavy bureaucracy is supposed to make small businesses nimble and allow them to provide customers with an unmatched experience.

Unfortunately....read the rest at the link... Show less

I recently shared a process for proactively managing accounts receivable (A/R), but it’s important to remember that the process is not a self-licking ice cream cone; it has an objective: reducing your total overdue receivables.

Success with metrics comes through understanding what outcomes you really want.

Once you know that, you can discover the metrics and set the goals that will get you there, instead of just measuring whatever you can. The former enables delegation, efficiency… Show more

I recently shared a process for proactively managing accounts receivable (A/R), but it’s important to remember that the process is not a self-licking ice cream cone; it has an objective: reducing your total overdue receivables.

Success with metrics comes through understanding what outcomes you really want.

Once you know that, you can discover the metrics and set the goals that will get you there, instead of just measuring whatever you can. The former enables delegation, efficiency and scale. The latter leads to inefficient management and annoyed staff.

For example, one telecommunications company I worked with had a goal of no excess capacity — in other words, no capacity that wasn’t serving a customer.

The problem was that if they actually achieved that goal, customers would have waited two months or more to get their broadband Internet. Would you have waited two months after placing your order? Exactly.

Don’t set goals that will shut down your business.

Read the rest at the link Show less

Few things raise the ire of small business owners — or any CEO, for that matter — as overdue accounts receivable. Lots of businesses have trouble here for a number of reasons:

- They don’t have a proactive process to reduce the aging of receivables
- They don’t have metrics, or they don’t have the right metrics to measure the receivable management performance
- They throw labor at the problem, but not enough to solve it, leaving them with a really annoyed receivables team to go… Show more

Few things raise the ire of small business owners — or any CEO, for that matter — as overdue accounts receivable. Lots of businesses have trouble here for a number of reasons:

- They don’t have a proactive process to reduce the aging of receivables
- They don’t have metrics, or they don’t have the right metrics to measure the receivable management performance
- They throw labor at the problem, but not enough to solve it, leaving them with a really annoyed receivables team to go along with a really annoyed boss. Fun!

Steps to resolution

Solve the problem with a proactive collection process. This is a pretty good one:

Learn the process at the link... Show less

“She just exploded at me, and then I was the one who got reprimanded by the CEO!”

That’s what a client told me about an experience he had with a peer recently.

My client, who is in a senior staff role, has a responsibility to keep the company out of trouble when it comes to reporting requirements, international agreements, conflicts of interest, and so on. In other words, his success is critical to the success of the company.

My client’s peer wasn’t getting her critical… Show more

“She just exploded at me, and then I was the one who got reprimanded by the CEO!”

That’s what a client told me about an experience he had with a peer recently.

My client, who is in a senior staff role, has a responsibility to keep the company out of trouble when it comes to reporting requirements, international agreements, conflicts of interest, and so on. In other words, his success is critical to the success of the company.

My client’s peer wasn’t getting her critical paperwork done, and things just came to a head.

The chances of this kind of stuff happening drop precipitously if we get better at understanding the chain of command. This poll shows just how the chain of command gets short shrift in our companies. As of this writing, only 21 percent of respondents use the chain of command correctly.

Here are some ways to reduce the chance of similar incidents - from the CEO perspective and the peer perspective - by leveraging the strength of the chain of command:

Read the rest at the link Show less

Today was an emotional day for me.

I hoisted my new “Don’t Give Up the Ship” flag under the U.S. flag on the flagpole in the front of my house.

After some difficult years our family has experienced –— both recently and long ago — I figured it was time to do something that would be an inspiration to us and to our visitors.

"Don’t Give Up the Ship" is a call that has great meaning to Naval Academy graduates. A replica of the flag flown by Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry during… Show more

Today was an emotional day for me.

I hoisted my new “Don’t Give Up the Ship” flag under the U.S. flag on the flagpole in the front of my house.

After some difficult years our family has experienced –— both recently and long ago — I figured it was time to do something that would be an inspiration to us and to our visitors.

"Don’t Give Up the Ship" is a call that has great meaning to Naval Academy graduates. A replica of the flag flown by Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry during his fleet’s victory at the Battle of Lake Erie is displayed over a case that lists the names of all of our alumni who were killed in action.

The last words of Capt. Lawrence, who lost his life on the U.S.S. Chesapeake while fighting H.M.S. Shannon outside Boston Harbor earlier that year, became a rally cry throughout the U.S. fleet in the War of 1812. The flag and the slogan continue to serve as an inspiration today.

Read the rest at the link... Show less

One of the most challenging things for a business owner to grasp is that his or her mindset is the biggest obstacle to growth.

I’m not talking about anything esoteric — I’m talking about how you specifically view your role in your business.

That’s one of the reasons why The Growth Coach program has a heavy focus on developing what we call a “strategic mindset.” Just like coaching and repetition make someone a better athlete or performer, coaching and repetition turn a business… Show more

One of the most challenging things for a business owner to grasp is that his or her mindset is the biggest obstacle to growth.

I’m not talking about anything esoteric — I’m talking about how you specifically view your role in your business.

That’s one of the reasons why The Growth Coach program has a heavy focus on developing what we call a “strategic mindset.” Just like coaching and repetition make someone a better athlete or performer, coaching and repetition turn a business owner into a real CEO and a strategic thinker.

One aspect of the strategic mindset is an understanding that, whatever industry your business is in, you are first and foremost in the sales and marketing business. If you’re like most small business owners, your approach may be a bit too tactical, and your focus too spread out, to spearhead ongoing growth. Tactical approaches work and are appropriate during startup, but your capacity limitations demand that you become more strategic in your view of marketing as your business grows.

There are five areas we have our clients focus on to help them think strategically about revenue growth. Ideally their plans encompass most, if not all, of these

Read the rest at the link... Show less

If you’re anything like me, you feel a little guilty when you’re not working.

You know you can do more. Your family needs the income and your employees need their jobs. If you’re as competitive as I am, you know you need to work harder than the next guy to win.

The problem is that all work and no play will kill you. Literally. A quick search on reputable medical websites will show you the deleterious effects of consistently high stress levels, lack of sleep, lack of exercise and… Show more

If you’re anything like me, you feel a little guilty when you’re not working.

You know you can do more. Your family needs the income and your employees need their jobs. If you’re as competitive as I am, you know you need to work harder than the next guy to win.

The problem is that all work and no play will kill you. Literally. A quick search on reputable medical websites will show you the deleterious effects of consistently high stress levels, lack of sleep, lack of exercise and so on.

Hard work is awesome. Hard work all the time? Not so much.

You and I have a problem, and one of the ways I suggest dealing with this is the concept of overhead. Like our businesses, life has overhead. We need to sleep, eat, exercise, groom ourselves, care for our homes and so on. If you blow off the overhead in your business, it will shut down. If you blow off the overhead in your life, you will shut down.

Here are some thoughts:

Read the rest at the link Show less

One of the givens of any love story is that predictability is boring.

For example, the movie True Lies centers on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character, who has been leading a double life. The image he presents to his wife, played by Jamie Lee Curtis, is one of a boring, predictable salesman. That stability leads Curtis to find excitement elsewhere, until she discovers that her husband is really a super spy.

In the real world, predictability takes us to the bank — in a big… Show more

One of the givens of any love story is that predictability is boring.

For example, the movie True Lies centers on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character, who has been leading a double life. The image he presents to his wife, played by Jamie Lee Curtis, is one of a boring, predictable salesman. That stability leads Curtis to find excitement elsewhere, until she discovers that her husband is really a super spy.

In the real world, predictability takes us to the bank — in a big way.

The more predictable the growth of our future free cash flows (FCF), the greater the value of our companies. In case you forgot your Finance 101, FCF is calculated by subtracting capital expenditures from operating cash flow. You care about FCF because it represents the cash that your company is able to generate after making investments for maintaining/growing your assets.

How do we make the growth of our future cash flows predictable? By building sustainability and scalability into our businesses.

Read some thoughts about how to do that at the link Show less

Have you ever tried to change somebody? Spouse, maybe? How’d that work out for you?

In the movie Bruce Almighty, Jim Carrey’s character was granted god-like powers. In this scene with Jennifer Aniston, he learns the big limitation of his power: He can’t change free will. He can’t just force her character to fall in love with him again.

Don’t worry, I’m not getting all mushy on you. The point is that changing other people — although not impossible with enough love, patience… Show more

Have you ever tried to change somebody? Spouse, maybe? How’d that work out for you?

In the movie Bruce Almighty, Jim Carrey’s character was granted god-like powers. In this scene with Jennifer Aniston, he learns the big limitation of his power: He can’t change free will. He can’t just force her character to fall in love with him again.

Don’t worry, I’m not getting all mushy on you. The point is that changing other people — although not impossible with enough love, patience, acceptance, inspiration, etc. — is difficult.

You will irritate yourself and go nuts trying to mold your employees into the people you want them to be. If you find yourself complaining about several (or many) of them, and wishing they would just work harder, take the initiative and so on, then you know exactly the kind of irritation I’m talking about.

How do you get the employees that you want? Take the following two steps, in order:

Read the rest at the link... Show less

A friend of mine took over as the CEO of a Fortune 500 company recently. I asked him what his biggest challenge was after he joined, and what he told me wasn’t really a surprise.

You see, the challenge he had to overcome is one that is extremely common in most businesses.

His subordinates were not bringing bad news or challenging requests to his attention.

This was caused by the culture his predecessor encouraged. It took some effort for him to gain the trust of his staff… Show more

A friend of mine took over as the CEO of a Fortune 500 company recently. I asked him what his biggest challenge was after he joined, and what he told me wasn’t really a surprise.

You see, the challenge he had to overcome is one that is extremely common in most businesses.

His subordinates were not bringing bad news or challenging requests to his attention.

This was caused by the culture his predecessor encouraged. It took some effort for him to gain the trust of his staff so that information would flow freely, but he was able to do it.

This problem — which occurs in many companies — has two facets, but also some solutions.

Read the rest at the link Show less

When selling your company, what’s better: to sell the assets or to sell the return on those assets?

All things being equal, you want the return on your assets to be worth more than the assets themselves.

That doesn’t happen without good management.

A business that will sell for a nice multiple will tend to have:

Scalability: growing and is capable of handling growth
Sustainability: the company won’t suffer when a key person leaves, when the owner sells or… Show more

When selling your company, what’s better: to sell the assets or to sell the return on those assets?

All things being equal, you want the return on your assets to be worth more than the assets themselves.

That doesn’t happen without good management.

A business that will sell for a nice multiple will tend to have:

Scalability: growing and is capable of handling growth
Sustainability: the company won’t suffer when a key person leaves, when the owner sells or when a big customer is lost
Predictable, growing cash flow.


Sounds good, doesn’t it? Sound like a company that you’d like to run for as long as you want? The benefit of designing a business like this is that your business can actually get a real CEO (you!) and you’ll have time to watch your kids’ soccer games. Heck, maybe you can even coach the team.

Determining valuation

One of the tools to help you see how well you’re doing with managing your company’s value is...read the rest at the link... Show less

If you saw where I go running several times a week, you’d think I was crazy — like my wife and neighbors do.

The road is hilly and curvy, with lots of blind curves and hill crests, so very few runners take advantage of it like I do. In the 13 years that we’ve been living off of this road, I’ve seen a total of about five other runners.

So why do I run on it? It’s breathtakingly beautiful.

But witnessing that beauty comes at a cost. There are blind corners, and unaware… Show more

If you saw where I go running several times a week, you’d think I was crazy — like my wife and neighbors do.

The road is hilly and curvy, with lots of blind curves and hill crests, so very few runners take advantage of it like I do. In the 13 years that we’ve been living off of this road, I’ve seen a total of about five other runners.

So why do I run on it? It’s breathtakingly beautiful.

But witnessing that beauty comes at a cost. There are blind corners, and unaware drivers could send me to the hospital. Besides the obvious precautions — run facing traffic, wear bright colors, wear flashing lights and reflective gear in the waning light — the road becomes safer when you’re aware that you’re up against unaware drivers.

Business lessons: read the rest at the link... Show less

If you’ve ever been to a mine, or flown over one, you can tell that a great deal of work goes into extracting the riches under the ground — heavy equipment, lots of infrastructure and a good amount of elbow grease.

I’ve tried sitting in a lawn chair in my yard and hoping really hard for precious metals to come up to surface by themselves, but it’s never worked.

Which approach are you using for your network?

There are tremendous riches buried in it, but you’re going to have… Show more

If you’ve ever been to a mine, or flown over one, you can tell that a great deal of work goes into extracting the riches under the ground — heavy equipment, lots of infrastructure and a good amount of elbow grease.

I’ve tried sitting in a lawn chair in my yard and hoping really hard for precious metals to come up to surface by themselves, but it’s never worked.

Which approach are you using for your network?

There are tremendous riches buried in it, but you’re going to have to work to get them out.

Unfortunately, most businesses mine those riches by sitting on lawn chairs.

Three steps

Here’s a process I recommend to get your mining operation running profitability and smoothly: read the rest at the link Show less

Want to really annoy your employees?

Then follow the lead of Office Space's Bill Lumbergh, portrayed by actor Gary Cole. In one particularly notable scene, he corrects an employee about a minor problem, then keeps explaining the issue, even though the employee clearly understands what's needed.

Before you laugh too much, keep in mind that the Lumbergh character was funny for a reason — he resonated with millions of frustrated employees.

Here’s a great way to annoy your… Show more

Want to really annoy your employees?

Then follow the lead of Office Space's Bill Lumbergh, portrayed by actor Gary Cole. In one particularly notable scene, he corrects an employee about a minor problem, then keeps explaining the issue, even though the employee clearly understands what's needed.

Before you laugh too much, keep in mind that the Lumbergh character was funny for a reason — he resonated with millions of frustrated employees.

Here’s a great way to annoy your employees. It’s a simple formula, and it comes naturally to many business leaders: read on at the link Show less

Great teams don’t happen by accident.

Probably one of the hardest things for any leader to learn is how great teams aren’t necessarily staffed with the best people you can find.

All great teams have competent leadership and are staffed with the right people.

Let me unpack that.

Competent leadership: Read the rest at the link

Integrity is the cornerstone to any business. It is the key to acquiring and retaining customers, and to smooth operations.

When a leader plays loose with his integrity, these things start to suffer.

Here’s a common example for a small business. The law has certain tests to determine whether or not an employee is exempt or non-exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Classifying an employee who is clearly non-exempt (e.g. entitled to overtime pay) as exempt — so that the owner… Show more

Integrity is the cornerstone to any business. It is the key to acquiring and retaining customers, and to smooth operations.

When a leader plays loose with his integrity, these things start to suffer.

Here’s a common example for a small business. The law has certain tests to determine whether or not an employee is exempt or non-exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Classifying an employee who is clearly non-exempt (e.g. entitled to overtime pay) as exempt — so that the owner can get away with making her work lots of hours without paying overtime — is clearly dishonest.

Read the rest at the link. Show less

A couple of years ago, a mentor gave me a great piece of advice. He told me that, despite my decades of experience, I should consider taking interim executive roles (CEO/COO/CFO) from time to time to keep me at the top of my profession. Past successes tend to give a false sense of confidence in existing operational knowledge. But that might be keeping you from discovering what you don't know. So, I folded executive work into our service offerings (it’s our top service), and last year a coaching… Show more

A couple of years ago, a mentor gave me a great piece of advice. He told me that, despite my decades of experience, I should consider taking interim executive roles (CEO/COO/CFO) from time to time to keep me at the top of my profession. Past successes tend to give a false sense of confidence in existing operational knowledge. But that might be keeping you from discovering what you don't know. So, I folded executive work into our service offerings (it’s our top service), and last year a coaching client asked me to be the COO for his international consulting and law firm. Show less

“I stay away from that business because their sales people work on commission.” A friend’s father said this about a national store when we were discussing where to buy certain big-ticket items. The funny thing is, his entire career was spent at one of the Big 3 car companies. His entire way of life was fueled by commissioned sales people. We’ve all dealt with high-pressure sales, but here's the deal: Commissions are a great way to incentivize people to go the extra mile and do what it takes to… Show more

“I stay away from that business because their sales people work on commission.” A friend’s father said this about a national store when we were discussing where to buy certain big-ticket items. The funny thing is, his entire career was spent at one of the Big 3 car companies. His entire way of life was fueled by commissioned sales people. We’ve all dealt with high-pressure sales, but here's the deal: Commissions are a great way to incentivize people to go the extra mile and do what it takes to bring in the deal. Show less

“This is a football. These are yard markers.” As legend has it, Vince Lombardi said this to the Green Bay Packers when he, as the new coach, realized that his professional athletes needed to focus on the basics.

I find this also true in my practice. It can get uncomfortable having my successful clients go back to the basics, but focusing on the basics can get you clarity in your business like nothing else.

I interviewed Joe Herres, co-founder of H3 Solutions...read the rest at the… Show more

“This is a football. These are yard markers.” As legend has it, Vince Lombardi said this to the Green Bay Packers when he, as the new coach, realized that his professional athletes needed to focus on the basics.

I find this also true in my practice. It can get uncomfortable having my successful clients go back to the basics, but focusing on the basics can get you clarity in your business like nothing else.

I interviewed Joe Herres, co-founder of H3 Solutions...read the rest at the link Show less

One of the great lessons I learned as a submarine officer was how to focus on results.

On a nuclear submarine, the crew performs many tasks to keep the ship on mission. With the exception of those jobs where split-second errors can cause massive problems (e.g. the nuclear reactor operator, the helmsman, the planesman), jobs on a submarine are performed with little direct supervision.

A big reason for this is metrics, reported via logs. The crew is trained to know what to look for… Show more

One of the great lessons I learned as a submarine officer was how to focus on results.

On a nuclear submarine, the crew performs many tasks to keep the ship on mission. With the exception of those jobs where split-second errors can cause massive problems (e.g. the nuclear reactor operator, the helmsman, the planesman), jobs on a submarine are performed with little direct supervision.

A big reason for this is metrics, reported via logs. The crew is trained to know what to look for in those logs, and each supervisor understands what the logs are telling him. By focusing on results, and through periodic observation, leaders can ensure that the ship will succeed in its mission. Micromanaging is impossible given the staffing level.

In comparison, most small business owners focus primarily on their processes, not their results. If you ask those owners, they’ll assert that they do focus on results.

So, why the disconnect with reality? Read the rest at the link! Show less

Got an app for your business? Neither did I — until I started doing the research for this article six months ago.

I wasn’t looking to build an app, but since the question came up more and more frequently with my clients, I decided it would make sense to get smart on the app questions.

I reached out to Como, an app-creation platform, to help me answer why I should build an app and what I should build.

No technical know-how is required to use Como’s platform, and anyone can… Show more

Got an app for your business? Neither did I — until I started doing the research for this article six months ago.

I wasn’t looking to build an app, but since the question came up more and more frequently with my clients, I decided it would make sense to get smart on the app questions.

I reached out to Como, an app-creation platform, to help me answer why I should build an app and what I should build.

No technical know-how is required to use Como’s platform, and anyone can build an app for free (but deploying it requires paying fees), so I played around on their platform, interviewed a few of their principals, and then poured through their available resources to answer my questions.

Read the rest at The Business Journals Show less

There's a soft spot in my heart for the New England Patriots. Their head coach, Bill Belichick, is the son of my one of my coaches at Navy, the late Steve Belichick. One of the players I coached went on to play for the Patriots, I lived in New England for a few years — so you get the picture: I like the Patriots.

There's been quite a kerfuffle over the past few weeks regarding the partially deflated footballs that the Patriots used during their win over the Indianapolis Colts — commonly… Show more

There's a soft spot in my heart for the New England Patriots. Their head coach, Bill Belichick, is the son of my one of my coaches at Navy, the late Steve Belichick. One of the players I coached went on to play for the Patriots, I lived in New England for a few years — so you get the picture: I like the Patriots.

There's been quite a kerfuffle over the past few weeks regarding the partially deflated footballs that the Patriots used during their win over the Indianapolis Colts — commonly known as "deflategate." From an ethics perspective, there is a really important lesson here for all of us who are in leadership positions.

Read the rest at the link. Show less

Winning teams are part of any great businesses. Winning teams attract and retain great people, and those great people are an engine for growth.

I've been on winning teams — and I've coached two undefeated football teams at the collegiate level — and those great teams shared a few characteristics:

Read the rest at the link

Poor leadership is often the cause of lackluster business performance, and many leaders don't even realize that they're the root of the problem.

If you've noticed sluggish growth, high turnover and a disproportionally large number of negative posts on GlassDoor for a company your size, your leadership may need some work.

Here are a few solutions to begin fixing the issue:

Read the rest at the link

Are you a good leader? If your answer is "yes," how do you know that's true?

Have your employees told you that you're a good leader?

It may surprise you, but it's common for good leaders to be told by their employees that they're good leaders.

If no one has ever told you that, it doesn't mean that you aren't a good leader, but you might not be as good as you think you are.

Here are some other hints that your leadership ability might need some work:

Read the… Show more

Are you a good leader? If your answer is "yes," how do you know that's true?

Have your employees told you that you're a good leader?

It may surprise you, but it's common for good leaders to be told by their employees that they're good leaders.

If no one has ever told you that, it doesn't mean that you aren't a good leader, but you might not be as good as you think you are.

Here are some other hints that your leadership ability might need some work:

Read the rest of the article at the link Show less

Most business owners don't have an exit strategy, which is often the result of thinking that exit planning is a luxury or simply not that important. That's a value-destroying mindset.

A business should be designed and built — just like any big project — with an end in mind. No, I'm not suggesting that your strategy can't be fluid and adjusted based upon economic realities, but your company needs to have a clear plan about where it allocates capital, both human and financial.

You… Show more

Most business owners don't have an exit strategy, which is often the result of thinking that exit planning is a luxury or simply not that important. That's a value-destroying mindset.

A business should be designed and built — just like any big project — with an end in mind. No, I'm not suggesting that your strategy can't be fluid and adjusted based upon economic realities, but your company needs to have a clear plan about where it allocates capital, both human and financial.

You wouldn't build an apartment complex, a defense system, a car or anything non-trivial without a plan, so why wouldn't you use a plan for your business? What are you using, and what are your people using, to make decisions regarding the allocation of your capital?

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Most business owners and CEOs yearn for a culture of accountability and initiative-taking in their companies.

I won’t give you the key in one article (there wouldn’t be much opportunity for my business if I could), but one concept that can have a great impact on your business is "The Five Basic Responses." Incoming plebes at the Naval Academy learn these on their first day:

Yes
No
Aye, aye (i.e. I understand your instructions and I will do as you directed)
… Show more

Most business owners and CEOs yearn for a culture of accountability and initiative-taking in their companies.

I won’t give you the key in one article (there wouldn’t be much opportunity for my business if I could), but one concept that can have a great impact on your business is "The Five Basic Responses." Incoming plebes at the Naval Academy learn these on their first day:

Yes
No
Aye, aye (i.e. I understand your instructions and I will do as you directed)
No excuse
I’ll find out

The idea is that in the workplace, one’s responses to questions or instructions should be one of the five basics. Adopting these in your organization will not only improve the culture of accountability in your organization, but will also help you earn the praise of your customers.

Let’s break them down: (read the rest at the link) Show less

I’ve interviewed a number of CEOs who have gone through the process of a business exit through transactions such as going public, merging with another company, or being acquired. Many have had great experiences; almost all have learned valuable lessons.

One of those CEOs is June Jewell, founder of Acuity Business Solutions. Jewell went through a merger with a firm similar to her's in 2010, and not long after, problems started cropping up.

Read the rest at the link!

Here are Ingar Grev's favorite smartphone apps. Grev is the founder of The Strategy Tank, a think tank for CEOs, and owner of the Washington, D.C.-area franchise of The Growth Coach.

1. Evernote

If you’re a business person and aren’t using Evernote, I urge you to stop reading this article and download the app now. I haven’t used a notebook since getting this app, I haven’t had to struggle to take notes at a presentation, I don’t have “to do” lists littering my desk, and I don’t… Show more

Here are Ingar Grev's favorite smartphone apps. Grev is the founder of The Strategy Tank, a think tank for CEOs, and owner of the Washington, D.C.-area franchise of The Growth Coach.

1. Evernote

If you’re a business person and aren’t using Evernote, I urge you to stop reading this article and download the app now. I haven’t used a notebook since getting this app, I haven’t had to struggle to take notes at a presentation, I don’t have “to do” lists littering my desk, and I don’t have to be concerned about having an Internet connection to get all these notes/lists/images/etc. synchronized.

Read the rest at The Business Journals Show less

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the percentage of large companies with chief operating officers has declined every year since 2001. Given my recent series of articles on the subject of COOs, I thought I would weigh in.

Most companies beyond the start-up phase would greatly benefit from a COO, simply because being a successful leader of operations takes a great deal of work. Just this week alone, COOs of some of my client companies have done the following:

Read the… Show more

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the percentage of large companies with chief operating officers has declined every year since 2001. Given my recent series of articles on the subject of COOs, I thought I would weigh in.

Most companies beyond the start-up phase would greatly benefit from a COO, simply because being a successful leader of operations takes a great deal of work. Just this week alone, COOs of some of my client companies have done the following:

Read the rest at the link... Show less

The only reason you should hire a leader to work for you is to take work off your plate.

Hiring a leader to manage parts of the business allows you to focus on bigger work that only the CEO can do, like strategy. However, when you work around a junior leader, you not only get yourself into a lower-level management job again, you also undermine the leadership of your subordinate.

The chain of command is one of the most difficult leadership concepts for small business owners or… Show more

The only reason you should hire a leader to work for you is to take work off your plate.

Hiring a leader to manage parts of the business allows you to focus on bigger work that only the CEO can do, like strategy. However, when you work around a junior leader, you not only get yourself into a lower-level management job again, you also undermine the leadership of your subordinate.

The chain of command is one of the most difficult leadership concepts for small business owners or executives to implement. Here is a simple illustration of how it works.

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Few things are as frustrating for a business owner as insubordination, and few things suppress productivity in a company like a dysfunctional team.

If you’ve dealt with one or both of these issues, I’ve got good news for you: Most of the time, based on what I’ve observed at dozens of organizations, they can be pretty easily resolved.
Insubordination

Has this ever happened to you? You gave someone instructions and he simply didn’t do what you asked him to do. In my experience… Show more

Few things are as frustrating for a business owner as insubordination, and few things suppress productivity in a company like a dysfunctional team.

If you’ve dealt with one or both of these issues, I’ve got good news for you: Most of the time, based on what I’ve observed at dozens of organizations, they can be pretty easily resolved.
Insubordination

Has this ever happened to you? You gave someone instructions and he simply didn’t do what you asked him to do. In my experience, actual insubordination is quite rare. When it happens, it’s more likely that he simply didn’t understand your instructions.

Oh, I know, you were very clear. Unfortunately, you were probably very clear to yourself, but not to him.

Read the rest at the link... Show less

When I was a student at the Naval Nuclear Power School (on my way to becoming a submarine officer), one of things I never wanted to see on my exams was the acronym GCE, which stands for Gross Conceptual Error. GCE on your paper indicates that — apart from a simple math error or terminology error — you simply did not understand an important concept.

A GCE that many CEOs have is that relationships can be managed effectively by essentially not managing them at all. Even with the outstanding… Show more

When I was a student at the Naval Nuclear Power School (on my way to becoming a submarine officer), one of things I never wanted to see on my exams was the acronym GCE, which stands for Gross Conceptual Error. GCE on your paper indicates that — apart from a simple math error or terminology error — you simply did not understand an important concept.

A GCE that many CEOs have is that relationships can be managed effectively by essentially not managing them at all. Even with the outstanding customer relationship management (CRM) tools that most companies have adopted, managing relationships outside the new sales pipeline is simply not done.

Why do we need to manage those relationships that are not in the new sales pipeline (both current clients and networking resources)?

Read the rest at the link... Show less

Leadership is everything to the success of a business. There are exceptions (e.g. technology-heavy businesses that run with few people), but if your business relies on the work of people — and you want a “great” business — you need to become great at leadership.

Don’t worry, you don’t need to become Mr. Communicator or Ms. Charisma as long as you have the fundamental characteristics of an effective leader, since implementing the basics of sound leadership can pay big dividends for your… Show more

Leadership is everything to the success of a business. There are exceptions (e.g. technology-heavy businesses that run with few people), but if your business relies on the work of people — and you want a “great” business — you need to become great at leadership.

Don’t worry, you don’t need to become Mr. Communicator or Ms. Charisma as long as you have the fundamental characteristics of an effective leader, since implementing the basics of sound leadership can pay big dividends for your company.

The simple rule of “don’t do what someone else in your company can do” is tough for many leaders to implement, especially entrepreneurs. After learning the principle, they’ll often take quick action on the low-hanging fruit in their businesses. They stop fixing their own toilets, doing their own IT, and so on, and it gives them a few hours back each week to focus on more important things.

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Once you decide to hire a chief operating officer, your company needs to make sure you make the most of your new team leader. As CEO, you’ve taken the time to consider applicants and make the new hire — now you need to prepare your COO for success.

Consider the following tips:
1. Give your COO time

If you hired a sharp person to do this for you, there’s a great chance that person has a lot going on. Companies should give their COOs a chance to unload and focus on their new… Show more

Once you decide to hire a chief operating officer, your company needs to make sure you make the most of your new team leader. As CEO, you’ve taken the time to consider applicants and make the new hire — now you need to prepare your COO for success.

Consider the following tips:
1. Give your COO time

If you hired a sharp person to do this for you, there’s a great chance that person has a lot going on. Companies should give their COOs a chance to unload and focus on their new positions. COOs who were plucked from other companies should be able to ramp up faster because they don’t have a bunch of consulting or other efforts to offload.

Read the rest at the link... Show less

Last week I gave some reasons why a business owner may decide to hire a Chief Operations Officer(COO) and some necessary preconditions for hiring one.

Here are some tips to start you down the path of successfully bringing on a COO.
1. Write the position description

You can find some good templates online, and your HR manager or adviser can get you a template from the Society for Human Resource Management. Please don’t make this up yourself. COO is not a new position, so you… Show more

Last week I gave some reasons why a business owner may decide to hire a Chief Operations Officer(COO) and some necessary preconditions for hiring one.

Here are some tips to start you down the path of successfully bringing on a COO.
1. Write the position description

You can find some good templates online, and your HR manager or adviser can get you a template from the Society for Human Resource Management. Please don’t make this up yourself. COO is not a new position, so you don’t need to reinvent the wheel.

Read the rest at the link... Show less

As a business matures, there usually comes a time when the owner considers hiring someone to oversee operations. Three issues that most often drive that decision are:

Business growth has faltered or flattened out. With net revenue at risk, most CEOs will feel the need to shift energy from operations to focus on sales and marketing.
The owner is a prisoner to the business. The crazy hours have continued beyond the start-up phase and are impacting his social/family life, his… Show more

As a business matures, there usually comes a time when the owner considers hiring someone to oversee operations. Three issues that most often drive that decision are:

Business growth has faltered or flattened out. With net revenue at risk, most CEOs will feel the need to shift energy from operations to focus on sales and marketing.
The owner is a prisoner to the business. The crazy hours have continued beyond the start-up phase and are impacting his social/family life, his physical health, and his overall well-being. He can’t leave the business for a month — or take a one-week, work-free vacation — and come back to find things operating profitably and smoothly.
Her best employees may be “checking out” mentally or physically (resigning). She may be relying too much on one or two key employees. She may even feel that they are holding her company hostage.

Why do these problems arise? Here are several warnings and observations:

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What kind of person are you? Are you comfortable being comfortable, or does comfort make you uncomfortable? I am in the latter category.

I prefer running in the heat of the day in the summer and in the icy cold of the morning in the winter. I take the stairs. I use a standing desk. I will manually dial important phone numbers, even if they are stored in my phone.

I guess the reason for this is that I feel that, by injecting a little bit of discomfort doing the things I would do… Show more

What kind of person are you? Are you comfortable being comfortable, or does comfort make you uncomfortable? I am in the latter category.

I prefer running in the heat of the day in the summer and in the icy cold of the morning in the winter. I take the stairs. I use a standing desk. I will manually dial important phone numbers, even if they are stored in my phone.

I guess the reason for this is that I feel that, by injecting a little bit of discomfort doing the things I would do anyway, I’ll get tougher; I’ll have greater resiliency when things invariably don’t go as planned. As one of my football coaches said when we were practicing in the cold, driving rain at the Naval Academy: “If you’re going to work in the North Atlantic, you’ve got to train in the North Atlantic.”

This applies to our businesses, too. It’s my observation that the businesses that embrace discomfort have better growth than the ones that have slipped into what I call a “comfort coma.”

Read the rest at the link... Show less

In Part 1 in this series of posts from my interview with Nick Saban — the head coach of the University of Alabama football team — I described how Coach Saban’s character off the field helps show why he had such great success on the field. In Part 2, I listed five of the eight points that he shared with me about leadership. Here are the final three points we discussed:

1. You can’t make people do things. When I asked him about managing people, Saban said, “I don’t think you can manage… Show more

In Part 1 in this series of posts from my interview with Nick Saban — the head coach of the University of Alabama football team — I described how Coach Saban’s character off the field helps show why he had such great success on the field. In Part 2, I listed five of the eight points that he shared with me about leadership. Here are the final three points we discussed:

1. You can’t make people do things. When I asked him about managing people, Saban said, “I don’t think you can manage people, Ingar. You can’t...

Read the rest at the Washington Business Journal Show less

As I mentioned in Part 1 of this series, mediocrity is constantly trying to infiltrate every organization, and world-class leaders work relentlessly to keep mediocrity out. When I asked Nick Saban, the head coach of the University of Alabama’s football team, how he is able to consistently win in the competitive sport that is college football, he shared with me eight points. Here are five:

1. You have to be willing to serve. Great leaders are great servers. Every time I hear the term… Show more

As I mentioned in Part 1 of this series, mediocrity is constantly trying to infiltrate every organization, and world-class leaders work relentlessly to keep mediocrity out. When I asked Nick Saban, the head coach of the University of Alabama’s football team, how he is able to consistently win in the competitive sport that is college football, he shared with me eight points. Here are five:

1. You have to be willing to serve. Great leaders are great servers. Every time I hear the term “servant leader,” I always think, “Well that’s redundant. Is there any other kind of leader?”

Serving is what great leaders do, and ...

Read the rest at the Washington Business Journal Show less

World-class leaders work relentlessly to keep mediocrity out of their organizations, and clearly University of Alabama Coach Nick Saban has been winning that battle with 3 National Championships in the last 4 years (and 4 total when including his time at Louisiana State University (LSU). How does he do it? From my interview with Coach Nick Saban, I show how Nick Saban leads by example.

Read the rest at the link!

A couple of months ago, Yanik Silver was my guest at the Strategic Business Forum. Internationally known for his marketing genius and his penchant for disrupting markets, he has taken eight different product ideas over the $1 million mark. During our interview, he shared a number of his “maverick entrepreneur” insights with the room. A few of them are:

Read the rest at the link...

One of the difficult things for Dan Akerson to get his arms around when he took over at General Motors as CEO was the “rallying point.” When he was at MCI, AT&T was the clear rallying point. AT&T was trying to keep MCI out of the long-distance business, so MCI needed to fight back at every turn.

It turned out that GM’s biggest adversary was itself, or — as it is often referred to in the company today — “old GM.” GM caused its own demise, so fixing it required “staring into the abyss… Show more

One of the difficult things for Dan Akerson to get his arms around when he took over at General Motors as CEO was the “rallying point.” When he was at MCI, AT&T was the clear rallying point. AT&T was trying to keep MCI out of the long-distance business, so MCI needed to fight back at every turn.

It turned out that GM’s biggest adversary was itself, or — as it is often referred to in the company today — “old GM.” GM caused its own demise, so fixing it required “staring into the abyss, coming to terms with what went wrong, and getting a handle on all the things that they could control.”

Read the rest at the link... Show less

With such an obvious focus on leadership and culture, I asked General Motors CEO Dan Akerson what the characteristics of great leaders are. Without even pausing to think, he said, “competence, integrity, and passion.”

Competence is pretty clear — an incompetent manager cannot lead his people. Without integrity, a manager will lose the trust of her people and eventually lose her best people. And passion is what differentiates good leaders from great leaders.

Read the rest at the… Show more

With such an obvious focus on leadership and culture, I asked General Motors CEO Dan Akerson what the characteristics of great leaders are. Without even pausing to think, he said, “competence, integrity, and passion.”

Competence is pretty clear — an incompetent manager cannot lead his people. Without integrity, a manager will lose the trust of her people and eventually lose her best people. And passion is what differentiates good leaders from great leaders.

Read the rest at the link... Show less

Dan Akerson is not running for class president. The General Motors CEO is not trying to win a popularity contest.

“I needed to communicate — with passion — what was good for the company, and that wasn’t always going to sit well. I had a responsibility to employees, shareholders and taxpayers. I had a patriotic duty to rebuild this company.”

Here are some other leadership and culture tips I gleaned from Dan in our chat, which I described in my post Monday:

Read the rest at… Show more

Dan Akerson is not running for class president. The General Motors CEO is not trying to win a popularity contest.

“I needed to communicate — with passion — what was good for the company, and that wasn’t always going to sit well. I had a responsibility to employees, shareholders and taxpayers. I had a patriotic duty to rebuild this company.”

Here are some other leadership and culture tips I gleaned from Dan in our chat, which I described in my post Monday:

Read the rest at the link... Show less

A few months ago, I had the great honor of sitting next to Daniel Akerson, the CEO of General Motors, at a dinner honoring Naval Academy Distinguished Graduate Award winners. Akerson, a 1970 graduate of my alma mater, was awarded the honor himself in 2012.

After a brief conversation ranging from Navy football to leadership, we both agreed that there is a big need for the kind of leaders that the service academies produce in the marketplace. It’s that leadership gap that prompted me to… Show more

A few months ago, I had the great honor of sitting next to Daniel Akerson, the CEO of General Motors, at a dinner honoring Naval Academy Distinguished Graduate Award winners. Akerson, a 1970 graduate of my alma mater, was awarded the honor himself in 2012.

After a brief conversation ranging from Navy football to leadership, we both agreed that there is a big need for the kind of leaders that the service academies produce in the marketplace. It’s that leadership gap that prompted me to start my business in the first place.

Read the rest at the link... Show less

In the military, there’s a term for forces that operate without a strategy — "losers of battles." Obviously, if a general doesn’t know the overall objective – the mission – he can’t tactically deploy his forces. Moreover, if he doesn’t have a top-level plan for achieving each goal, he’s going to make it very difficult for his resources to accomplish the mission. Think about it: what if Eisenhower’s D-Day planning just stopped with "converge the allies on Berlin," or if the Apollo missions were… Show more

In the military, there’s a term for forces that operate without a strategy — "losers of battles." Obviously, if a general doesn’t know the overall objective – the mission – he can’t tactically deploy his forces. Moreover, if he doesn’t have a top-level plan for achieving each goal, he’s going to make it very difficult for his resources to accomplish the mission. Think about it: what if Eisenhower’s D-Day planning just stopped with "converge the allies on Berlin," or if the Apollo missions were simply, "Let’s just get guys out in space and let them do cool things"?

Read more at the link! Show less

I had the great opportunity to interview John LaPides, former CEO of Snow Valley Inc., a couple of times over the last month (you can watch the video or download the audio of our most recent interview here). John was CEO of the company for almost 30 years before selling it to Nestlé, and although he can’t share any details, he will say that the water bottler and refreshment company did well in the sale. His successful exit was fueled by some very impressive performance for his… Show more

I had the great opportunity to interview John LaPides, former CEO of Snow Valley Inc., a couple of times over the last month (you can watch the video or download the audio of our most recent interview here). John was CEO of the company for almost 30 years before selling it to Nestlé, and although he can’t share any details, he will say that the water bottler and refreshment company did well in the sale. His successful exit was fueled by some very impressive performance for his industry:

Read the rest at the link! Show less

When I was a submarine officer on the USS Philadelphia, we had a technical problem occur while we were on a mission – a problem that caused us more than a little bit of concern.

If we replaced the component that failed, it would require us leaving our station and immediately conducting integration testing. Unfortunately, leaving the station was not an acceptable option, given the fact that we were on a mission of great importance to national security. Moreover, operating with the failed… Show more

When I was a submarine officer on the USS Philadelphia, we had a technical problem occur while we were on a mission – a problem that caused us more than a little bit of concern.

If we replaced the component that failed, it would require us leaving our station and immediately conducting integration testing. Unfortunately, leaving the station was not an acceptable option, given the fact that we were on a mission of great importance to national security. Moreover, operating with the failed component was extremely impractical for a number of reasons, so we were in desperate need to come up with an innovative solution.

Read the rest at the link! Show less

I had the great fortune of getting to know a local business legend — Alan Peyser — over the past few weeks. Alan helped found a company in 1975 that was eventually acquired by Cable & Wireless. As president and CEO of the new venture, he grew it from $6 million in 1980 to $1.1 billion in 1995. I learned a lifetime’s worth of wisdom by talking with him and trading e-mails over the last few weeks – especially when it comes to customer service and hiring great people. I don’t have the space to… Show more

I had the great fortune of getting to know a local business legend — Alan Peyser — over the past few weeks. Alan helped found a company in 1975 that was eventually acquired by Cable & Wireless. As president and CEO of the new venture, he grew it from $6 million in 1980 to $1.1 billion in 1995. I learned a lifetime’s worth of wisdom by talking with him and trading e-mails over the last few weeks – especially when it comes to customer service and hiring great people. I don’t have the space to write down even half of what he shared with me, but one of the coolest things he gave me was his list of Ground Rules that helped him achieve such great business success: Show less

I asked Art Medici, a partner at Newport Board Group, what was the biggest mistake CEOs routinely make. Given Art’s extensive CEO pedigree (he’s raised money, right-sized, navigated through mergers and acquisitions, founded companies, turned companies around, etc.), I figured he was the right guy to ask. He answered, but along the way he also gave me a bunch of other wisdom. Here are some highlights:

In honor of the bicentennial of the War of 1812, I wear a special 2-flag lapel pin. On the left-hand side is the U.S. flag and on the right is Oliver Hazard Perry’s iconic battle flag from the War of 1812 : “Don’t Give Up the Ship.” The flag holds a place of honor at the Naval Academy. A replica hangs on the wall in Memorial Hall, right over the list of our alumni who were killed in action (see the picture close by). The original is in our museum. Perry had the flag made in honor of his friend… Show more

In honor of the bicentennial of the War of 1812, I wear a special 2-flag lapel pin. On the left-hand side is the U.S. flag and on the right is Oliver Hazard Perry’s iconic battle flag from the War of 1812 : “Don’t Give Up the Ship.” The flag holds a place of honor at the Naval Academy. A replica hangs on the wall in Memorial Hall, right over the list of our alumni who were killed in action (see the picture close by). The original is in our museum. Perry had the flag made in honor of his friend Captain James Lawrence, who said the words after he was mortally wounded in battle onboard the USS Chesapeake in 1813.

Victory at all costs may be critical in war... Show less

A few weeks ago, my wife and I took our kids to one of my favorite places to visit in the summer — a water park. In this case, it was Six Flags Hurricane Harbor in New Jersey. We had to find a few rides that my youngest – 5-year old Ted – could go on, and without too much trouble, we found the perfect one: Hurricane Mountain. With six slides and a capacity of 960 riders per hour, we were guaranteed a swiftly moving line. When we got there, the “outside” line was only about 8 deep, and the… Show more

A few weeks ago, my wife and I took our kids to one of my favorite places to visit in the summer — a water park. In this case, it was Six Flags Hurricane Harbor in New Jersey. We had to find a few rides that my youngest – 5-year old Ted – could go on, and without too much trouble, we found the perfect one: Hurricane Mountain. With six slides and a capacity of 960 riders per hour, we were guaranteed a swiftly moving line. When we got there, the “outside” line was only about 8 deep, and the waiting time at the “inner” line was reported as 10 minutes. So, we got in line and waited.

And waited. And waited. And waited.

Read the rest at the link! Show less

Ever hear the story of the guy whose career was ruined by him having sex with someone he wasn't supposed to? Someone like a subordinate at work, a prostitute, or anyone besides his wife (if he's married)? Of course you have. Just a few days ago, the captain of the nuclear submarine U.S.S. Pittsburgh (SSN-720) was relieved of his command one week after taking over. The reason? The married father of two — Commander Michael P. Ward II — allegedly faked his death to get out of a relationship with a… Show more

Ever hear the story of the guy whose career was ruined by him having sex with someone he wasn't supposed to? Someone like a subordinate at work, a prostitute, or anyone besides his wife (if he's married)? Of course you have. Just a few days ago, the captain of the nuclear submarine U.S.S. Pittsburgh (SSN-720) was relieved of his command one week after taking over. The reason? The married father of two — Commander Michael P. Ward II — allegedly faked his death to get out of a relationship with a woman 20 years younger than him.

If schadenfreude is generally your first reaction to stories like this, you should keep in mind...

Read the rest at the link! Show less

Mark Twain once said “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so."

I recently had the great honor of observing the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Naval War of 1812 Walking Tour & Exhibit at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. The Governor of Maryland and the Mayor of Annapolis were both on hand to give speeches and participate in the ceremony. My colleague, Navy Capt. Victor Delano (ret), and I hung around Mahan Hall for… Show more

Mark Twain once said “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so."

I recently had the great honor of observing the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Naval War of 1812 Walking Tour & Exhibit at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. The Governor of Maryland and the Mayor of Annapolis were both on hand to give speeches and participate in the ceremony. My colleague, Navy Capt. Victor Delano (ret), and I hung around Mahan Hall for about an hour or so afterwards to chat and check out some of the artifacts...

...OK, I admit that Vic and me hanging around together is not that interesting to you, but what’s missing to you is what you don’t know... Show less

For good reason, we celebrate the cool technology companies. Some of my local favorites were (and are): AOL, MicroStrategy Inc. and LivingSocial Inc.

What also pumps me up, though, are successful, traditional companies (law firms, accounting firms, plumbers and insurance agents). The reason is that – for them – differentiation, employee retention, continuous growth, etc., takes exceptional leadership talent and creativity. The practical experience of the leaders of these businesses is… Show more

For good reason, we celebrate the cool technology companies. Some of my local favorites were (and are): AOL, MicroStrategy Inc. and LivingSocial Inc.

What also pumps me up, though, are successful, traditional companies (law firms, accounting firms, plumbers and insurance agents). The reason is that – for them – differentiation, employee retention, continuous growth, etc., takes exceptional leadership talent and creativity. The practical experience of the leaders of these businesses is something that can directly help us transform our own companies. Show less

A few weeks ago, I wrote about Mark Dumas’ advice regarding outsourcing research and development . One of the ways he said that this helps a company is by fostering innovation. Bringing in people who are not constrained by the solution biases that exist in any organization (yes, including yours) can yield creative, elegant solutions to big challenges.

My observation is that many technology companies do all of their R&D in house (take my poll and let me know how you handle R&D ), so… Show more

A few weeks ago, I wrote about Mark Dumas’ advice regarding outsourcing research and development . One of the ways he said that this helps a company is by fostering innovation. Bringing in people who are not constrained by the solution biases that exist in any organization (yes, including yours) can yield creative, elegant solutions to big challenges.

My observation is that many technology companies do all of their R&D in house (take my poll and let me know how you handle R&D ), so they’re probably missing out on some great breakthroughs as a result.

Read the rest at the link... Show less

Take heed what ye say of your seniors / Be your words spoken softly or plain / Lest a bird of the air tell the matter / And so ye shall hear it again.

-- From “The Laws of the Navy”

Although third stanza from “The Laws of the Navy” refers to one’s seniors, I’ve used it since leaving active duty as a guideline for managing customer relationships, business relationships, etc. (just replace the word “seniors” with “customers” or “colleagues”). When I forgot this advice, invariably I… Show more

Take heed what ye say of your seniors / Be your words spoken softly or plain / Lest a bird of the air tell the matter / And so ye shall hear it again.

-- From “The Laws of the Navy”

Although third stanza from “The Laws of the Navy” refers to one’s seniors, I’ve used it since leaving active duty as a guideline for managing customer relationships, business relationships, etc. (just replace the word “seniors” with “customers” or “colleagues”). When I forgot this advice, invariably I would pay for it one way or another. Another way to think about is to consider how your actions or words would look if they were printed on the front page of The Washington Post, or if they appeared in the top 10 Yahoo! Trending Topics of the day.

Read the rest: http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/blog/2012/06/take-heed-what-ye-say-of-your-customers.html Show less

One of the toughest questions a technology company owner – or any company owner – has to ask is: When should I hire contractors or consultants to do a job (outsourcing) and when should I hire someone for the job internally (an employee).

In an article about the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Maryland Small Business Person of the Year, Software Consortium CEO Janet Amirault states that replacing contractors with full-time employees helped her grow the strong team she… Show more

One of the toughest questions a technology company owner – or any company owner – has to ask is: When should I hire contractors or consultants to do a job (outsourcing) and when should I hire someone for the job internally (an employee).

In an article about the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Maryland Small Business Person of the Year, Software Consortium CEO Janet Amirault states that replacing contractors with full-time employees helped her grow the strong team she needed.

This makes sense. An axiom I learned in both academia and business is.... Show less

Last year, I responded to a Groupon promotion for a cool-looking portable audio device called Rock-It. This little speaker was definitely as cool as it looked, but I unfortunately broke it during a business trip last November. Since the warranty expired, I sent a request through the company’s website to see if it was possible to get it repaired. Mike Szymczak, the co-founder of the company, replied back and told me that he’ll just send me a new one.

I was really surprised by that… Show more

Last year, I responded to a Groupon promotion for a cool-looking portable audio device called Rock-It. This little speaker was definitely as cool as it looked, but I unfortunately broke it during a business trip last November. Since the warranty expired, I sent a request through the company’s website to see if it was possible to get it repaired. Mike Szymczak, the co-founder of the company, replied back and told me that he’ll just send me a new one.

I was really surprised by that response. After all, the warranty had expired, and since OrigAudio sells innovative and inexpensive consumer audio electronics, providing me with an outstanding customer experience was unlikely to lead to high-volume, repeat business.

Read the rest at the WBJ: http://tinyurl.com/6tv5o5z Show less

I decided to build on my recent technology marketing post by asking the speaker for next week’s National Capital Region Entrepreneurs Forum – Mark Dumas – if he had any pearls of wisdom that he wanted to share with tech entrepreneurs/CEOs.

A little about Mark: He started SPADAC Inc. in 2002 and sold it for $46 million eight years later to GeoEye Inc. Now known as GeoEye Analytics Inc., the McLean-based company provides advanced geospatial intelligence, analytic services, research and… Show more

I decided to build on my recent technology marketing post by asking the speaker for next week’s National Capital Region Entrepreneurs Forum – Mark Dumas – if he had any pearls of wisdom that he wanted to share with tech entrepreneurs/CEOs.

A little about Mark: He started SPADAC Inc. in 2002 and sold it for $46 million eight years later to GeoEye Inc. Now known as GeoEye Analytics Inc., the McLean-based company provides advanced geospatial intelligence, analytic services, research and development, spatial content management and predictive analysis.

The theme of our conversation was: Be really judicious with your overhead...

Read the rest: http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/blog/2012/04/great-technology-development-starts.html Show less

One of the biggest challenges facing most small tech companies is the inability to take their eyes off of their technology long enough to focus on the marketplace. “If we build it, they will come” works for Kevin Costner, but for the rest of us it can lead to great deal of disappointing business performance.

The problem is that even though we might know a great deal about our technology, we simply don’t know as much as we think we do about our marketplace.

Read the rest at:… Show more

One of the biggest challenges facing most small tech companies is the inability to take their eyes off of their technology long enough to focus on the marketplace. “If we build it, they will come” works for Kevin Costner, but for the rest of us it can lead to great deal of disappointing business performance.

The problem is that even though we might know a great deal about our technology, we simply don’t know as much as we think we do about our marketplace.

Read the rest at: http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/blog/2012/04/your-technology-is-great-but-does.html Show less

After making some modifications to our home security system in 2011, our monthly fee went from about $25 a month to about $38. After paying that fee consistently for over a year, my most recent automatic payment was over 50 percent higher, an unexpected – and unexplained – increase. Around the same time, I had stopped receiving e-mail notifications that my alarm was armed, disarmed, etc.

I contacted the vendor to get the details, and a friendly woman – named Emily – called me within 24… Show more

After making some modifications to our home security system in 2011, our monthly fee went from about $25 a month to about $38. After paying that fee consistently for over a year, my most recent automatic payment was over 50 percent higher, an unexpected – and unexplained – increase. Around the same time, I had stopped receiving e-mail notifications that my alarm was armed, disarmed, etc.

I contacted the vendor to get the details, and a friendly woman – named Emily – called me within 24 hours to follow up with me. Emily told me that the company had recently conducted an audit of their accounts, and it turned out that I should not have been receiving the Internet-based service, so they just decided to remove it from my account without notifying me.

http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/blog/2012/03/growing-a-business-is-tough-when.html Show less

When I ask business leaders what it means to have a strategy-driven business, or what it means to be a strategic business owner, I mostly get responses that it’s nice to have a strategy, but it’s not really that important. My observation is that this is driven by their past attempts to create and implement strategies. Since those attempts almost always fail to make any impact on their business, they give it up as some kind of academic exercise that is irrelevant in the real world. This is a… Show more

When I ask business leaders what it means to have a strategy-driven business, or what it means to be a strategic business owner, I mostly get responses that it’s nice to have a strategy, but it’s not really that important. My observation is that this is driven by their past attempts to create and implement strategies. Since those attempts almost always fail to make any impact on their business, they give it up as some kind of academic exercise that is irrelevant in the real world. This is a mistake, because strategy-driven businesses perform better than their peers, and a great local example of that comes from Jim Garland of Sharp Details Inc.

Read the rest: http://tinyurl.com/6s5bmtt Show less

The Navy SEALs are run by great leaders. And the SEALs are the best at what they do because they are a team – not a bunch of incredibly well trained men who only follow the micromanaging orders of the person in charge. As an illustration, consider a football team. The quarterback on a football team doesn’t micromanage the offense; each player on a championship football team knows his job, knows how to adjust as the defense adjusts, knows how to react when the play unfolds, and understands how… Show more

The Navy SEALs are run by great leaders. And the SEALs are the best at what they do because they are a team – not a bunch of incredibly well trained men who only follow the micromanaging orders of the person in charge. As an illustration, consider a football team. The quarterback on a football team doesn’t micromanage the offense; each player on a championship football team knows his job, knows how to adjust as the defense adjusts, knows how to react when the play unfolds, and understands how critical his job is to mission accomplishment. It is the quarterback who calls the play, gives the orders to start (calls the cadence), and has the most strategic view of everyone on the offense on how to accomplish their part of the mission.

Read more... Show less

Back in 1995, I had the good fortune of spending four hours alone with America’s first man in space: Rear Admiral Alan Shepherd. I walked into the office of one of my bosses, Jack Lengyel, who was the athletic director at the Naval Academy at the time, to ask him permission to hold my wedding reception in the “N-Room” at Hubbard Hall. The encounter was a bit awkward, because he assumed I was coming to ask him for his car so that I could pick up Shepherd in style at the Key Bridge Marriott. I… Show more

Back in 1995, I had the good fortune of spending four hours alone with America’s first man in space: Rear Admiral Alan Shepherd. I walked into the office of one of my bosses, Jack Lengyel, who was the athletic director at the Naval Academy at the time, to ask him permission to hold my wedding reception in the “N-Room” at Hubbard Hall. The encounter was a bit awkward, because he assumed I was coming to ask him for his car so that I could pick up Shepherd in style at the Key Bridge Marriott. I left his office with the keys to the N-Room and the keys to Jack’s car, so I picked up Shepherd (in style) and drove him to the Naval Academy, where he was going to do a signing for his book "Moon Shot."

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As an Annapolis graduate, a Navy Football letter winner and a coach in the Navy Football system for three years, you can imagine that I am quite thrilled that Navy beat Army in football for the 10th straight year. Navy fans couldn’t be happier; Army fans, on the other hand, probably feel more like this.

If I were to give West Point advice, I would simply...

Read the rest: http://tinyurl.com/8ye64jg

If you were to ask me, I’d say a successful business has at least the following characteristics:

1) Scalable – growing AND is capable of handling greater growth

2) Sustainable – continues to grow and be profitable if the owner/CEO takes a two to four week vacation, if a key person leaves the company, or if the most important customer is lost.

3) Valuable – the sustainability and growth of future free cash flows are reasonably predictable.

Those successful businesses… Show more

If you were to ask me, I’d say a successful business has at least the following characteristics:

1) Scalable – growing AND is capable of handling greater growth

2) Sustainable – continues to grow and be profitable if the owner/CEO takes a two to four week vacation, if a key person leaves the company, or if the most important customer is lost.

3) Valuable – the sustainability and growth of future free cash flows are reasonably predictable.

Those successful businesses almost always have one or more of the following things in place:

Read the rest: http://adjix.com/cknu Show less

Most of us who are sports fans were shocked by the recent events at Penn State University . Besides the alleged crimes (which I will not discuss in this post) there were some other allegations in the press that seemed to indicate that a number of leaders at Penn State – including former head football coach Joe Paterno — might not have taken all the actions they should have taken. Regardless of the merits of those allegations, it’s worth us stepping back and taking a moment to think about one… Show more

Most of us who are sports fans were shocked by the recent events at Penn State University . Besides the alleged crimes (which I will not discuss in this post) there were some other allegations in the press that seemed to indicate that a number of leaders at Penn State – including former head football coach Joe Paterno — might not have taken all the actions they should have taken. Regardless of the merits of those allegations, it’s worth us stepping back and taking a moment to think about one of the most important requirements for a leader: integrity.

Read the rest: http://adjix.com/7kxc Show less

One of things my family loves about living where we do is that the Maryland Renaissance Festival is walking distance from us, so we usually go over there a couple times a season to catch a show, eat a turkey leg and see some interesting people! With the massive number of cars parked there on any nice weekend indicating the success of his operation, I decided to ask Jules Smith - the president and general manager – what he did to make the festival so popular.

Read more...

If you are active in the entrepreneurial or venture capital communities here in D.C., you have undoubtedly heard of Tien Wong, currently the chairman and CEO of Lore Systems. If you haven’t heard of Tien, here’s a brief summary:

— In 1991, he co-founded and served as CEO of CyberRep, Inc. and grew it to 2300 employees and $80M in revenue before it was acquired in 2003.

— He was the recipient of the 2001 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for Greater Washington

—… Show more

If you are active in the entrepreneurial or venture capital communities here in D.C., you have undoubtedly heard of Tien Wong, currently the chairman and CEO of Lore Systems. If you haven’t heard of Tien, here’s a brief summary:

— In 1991, he co-founded and served as CEO of CyberRep, Inc. and grew it to 2300 employees and $80M in revenue before it was acquired in 2003.

— He was the recipient of the 2001 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award for Greater Washington

— He serves or has served on boards of organizations such as the Association for Corporate Growth – National Capital, the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business (the best business school in the world – at least in my opinion!), and the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, to name a few.

I invited Tien to speak at the National Capital Region Entrepreneurs Club September luncheon and in case you didn’t feel like showing up, here are some of the things he shared with us:

Read the rest at the WBJ: http://adjix.com/wawb Show less

My last piece about Navy SEAL training and business received so many great comments from people with special operations experience that I decided to modify my plan a little and share these with you. Below are some great items to amplify the list of SEAL leadership wisdom that I wrote about in the first post (Teamwork is paramount, Training, Innovation, and Failure is an option). I am only planning on adding “Focus on mission” to my original list, but we’ll see how things go after I get comments… Show more

My last piece about Navy SEAL training and business received so many great comments from people with special operations experience that I decided to modify my plan a little and share these with you. Below are some great items to amplify the list of SEAL leadership wisdom that I wrote about in the first post (Teamwork is paramount, Training, Innovation, and Failure is an option). I am only planning on adding “Focus on mission” to my original list, but we’ll see how things go after I get comments back.

Read the rest: http://adjix.com/dd6i Show less

Shortly after the news broke that the U.S. Navy SEALs killed Osama Bin Laden, an idea struck me while I was out for a run. I was wearing the shirt that honors one of my Naval Academy roommates — the late John Kainer — and it occurred to me that many business leaders would benefit greatly from learning why the SEALs are so good at what they do.

So, I started calling around to my friends and classmates who are — or were — SEALs, and I got a great deal of interest to help me put the article… Show more

Shortly after the news broke that the U.S. Navy SEALs killed Osama Bin Laden, an idea struck me while I was out for a run. I was wearing the shirt that honors one of my Naval Academy roommates — the late John Kainer — and it occurred to me that many business leaders would benefit greatly from learning why the SEALs are so good at what they do.

So, I started calling around to my friends and classmates who are — or were — SEALs, and I got a great deal of interest to help me put the article together.

Read more: http://adjix.com/vkhk Show less

Several months ago, I met Cary Hatch, CEO of MDB Communications, in the green room of Executive Leaders Radio. Her story impressed me so much that I asked her if she would be willing to speak at the National Capital Region Entrepreneurs Club, and she graciously accepted (She calls talking to groups
like ours her "therapy.").

A few takeaways I got from her interview on ELR and her talk at the Entrepreneur's Club:

Read more: http://adjix.com/9ybm

You may have caught one of the latest set of Verizon Wireless commercials that claim “The small business with the best technology rules.” Personally, I love the ad with Susie, but I have a BIG issue with the tagline. Sure – great technology that is ALSO well implemented can be a great competitive advantage. However, Verizon’s tagline is definitely wrong. The small (or large, or mid-size) business with the best LEADERSHIP rules every day of the week and twice on Sunday. In fact, the business… Show more

You may have caught one of the latest set of Verizon Wireless commercials that claim “The small business with the best technology rules.” Personally, I love the ad with Susie, but I have a BIG issue with the tagline. Sure – great technology that is ALSO well implemented can be a great competitive advantage. However, Verizon’s tagline is definitely wrong. The small (or large, or mid-size) business with the best LEADERSHIP rules every day of the week and twice on Sunday. In fact, the business with the best leadership and the worst technology is going to run circles around Susie and all her cool technology.

Read the rest: http://adjix.com/azaz Show less

Those of us who live in the D.C. area were not surprised by the news that came out recently about the Senate Armed Services Committee making some big modifications to two large Lockheed Martin programs. In my 10 years as a defense contractor, I saw this happen all the time. One company I worked for even moved to a larger office in Rosslyn because of the huge influx of employees we had, only to see the program eliminated because new leadership in the directorate decided to use the money in a… Show more

Those of us who live in the D.C. area were not surprised by the news that came out recently about the Senate Armed Services Committee making some big modifications to two large Lockheed Martin programs. In my 10 years as a defense contractor, I saw this happen all the time. One company I worked for even moved to a larger office in Rosslyn because of the huge influx of employees we had, only to see the program eliminated because new leadership in the directorate decided to use the money in a different way. We tried to find new work for those software engineers, but ultimately…

Read the rest at the link... Show less

Probably one of the best leadership skills I learned as a nuclear submarine officer in the US Navy was delegation. Would you believe that on a nuclear submarine, the captain is involved in very little of the day-to-day activities? I know movies make it seem like the captain does everything, but that’s not the case. Even though he is 100 percent accountable for the ship – including the crew, the nuclear reactor and the nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles if it’s a boomer – he doesn’t work… Show more

Probably one of the best leadership skills I learned as a nuclear submarine officer in the US Navy was delegation. Would you believe that on a nuclear submarine, the captain is involved in very little of the day-to-day activities? I know movies make it seem like the captain does everything, but that’s not the case. Even though he is 100 percent accountable for the ship – including the crew, the nuclear reactor and the nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles if it’s a boomer – he doesn’t work 24x7x365. Given the fact that when a submarine screws up, people can die, international incidents can be created, or the captain can get fired, you would think that the captain would never delegate anything but the simplest tasks.

So how does the captain of a nuclear submarine successfully delegate so much of the day-to-day operation of the ship?

Read more... Show less

Last week there was a little brouhaha over at Amazon.com related to their promotion of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” album. On May 23, Amazon offered a digital copy of the album for 99 cents (it wholesales for about $9 – Amazon might have paid $7), which led to a massive crush of customers at the Internet retailer’s website.

The traffic caused delays for some customers and drove some other customers away. OK, don’t tell anyone, but when I heard about the problems Amazon was having, I… Show more

Last week there was a little brouhaha over at Amazon.com related to their promotion of Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” album. On May 23, Amazon offered a digital copy of the album for 99 cents (it wholesales for about $9 – Amazon might have paid $7), which led to a massive crush of customers at the Internet retailer’s website.

The traffic caused delays for some customers and drove some other customers away. OK, don’t tell anyone, but when I heard about the problems Amazon was having, I decided to head over there (when they repeated the deal) and see if the problem was still there. Everything worked smoothly, I plunked down the 99 cents, and I now have my Lady Gaga music (which I haven’t listened to yet).

Besides giving you a false impression of my musical preferences, there are three great takeaways for us as business leaders:... Show less

Over the past few weeks, I was a judge for a couple of business plan competitions. One was the Business Professionals of America’s National Leadership Conference and the other was the Community Business Partnership’s 2011 Business Plan competition. I saw many great business ideas, but I also saw the same problem in every single plan except one: the company will be run by Superman and the owner will never die.

1. Superman. This is the owner who will do everything. Generically… Show more

Over the past few weeks, I was a judge for a couple of business plan competitions. One was the Business Professionals of America’s National Leadership Conference and the other was the Community Business Partnership’s 2011 Business Plan competition. I saw many great business ideas, but I also saw the same problem in every single plan except one: the company will be run by Superman and the owner will never die.

1. Superman. This is the owner who will do everything. Generically speaking... Show less

Well, after blogging about business news items for years, it’s great to finally blog on an article where I was one of the featured “experts” (I use that term loosely, of course!). The writer, Anne Field, called me a few weeks ago to ask me about common roadblocks that prevent businesses from taking their businesses to the next level. The list can be pretty long, so we limited it to a top 3 so that she could get the article in under her word limit.

Here are the top three business growth… Show more

Well, after blogging about business news items for years, it’s great to finally blog on an article where I was one of the featured “experts” (I use that term loosely, of course!). The writer, Anne Field, called me a few weeks ago to ask me about common roadblocks that prevent businesses from taking their businesses to the next level. The list can be pretty long, so we limited it to a top 3 so that she could get the article in under her word limit.

Here are the top three business growth suppressors, in my opinion:

Read more: http://adjix.com/b4di Show less

I've written before that your first priority in marketing is to hold on to your existing customers. Small businesses often satisfy this requirement through exceptional customer service, but many larger companies do it by sorting their customers into tiers (e.g. Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3, etc.). The problem with very large companies is that if you fall into one of the lower tiers, you might not be pleased with your experience. For example, United Airlines' customer service problems were made… Show more

I've written before that your first priority in marketing is to hold on to your existing customers. Small businesses often satisfy this requirement through exceptional customer service, but many larger companies do it by sorting their customers into tiers (e.g. Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 3, etc.). The problem with very large companies is that if you fall into one of the lower tiers, you might not be pleased with your experience. For example, United Airlines' customer service problems were made legendary by Dave Carroll in his "United Breaks Guitars" videos.

I don’t mean to pick on large companies. On the contrary, the large company practice of having tiers of customer support is critical for growing, thriving businesses.... Show less

Over the last few months, I wrote about the competition between Facebook and Google and another battle in that competition was announced when Google announced its new +1 social product. Although I know nothing about the internal workings of Google, this announcement got me thinking about what Google's research and development process might be.

I'm no Google, but here are my own insights in managing tech R&D, most recently as a contractor for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA):...

One of my favorite leadership development practices is to listen to interviews of successful leaders, so naturally I jumped at the opportunity to listen to Starbucks Chairman and CEO Howard Schultz speak at the Capital Hilton. The Greater Washington Board of Trade’s Jim Dineger asked Schultz questions based on his new book – "Onward" – and he also asked him some excellent questions submitted by the audience. Some important points I got were:

Read more:http://adjix.com/8vy8

In general, there are three ways a company can compete: price, product/service and customer experience. Competing on price can be tough on the bottom line, but for companies that do it well (WalMart), it can lead to great financial success. Competing on the quality of our product and service is necessary, but it can be difficult for us to educate the marketplace on why ours is superior (e.g. financial services). The customer experience, however, is something that we can make uniquely ours… Show more

In general, there are three ways a company can compete: price, product/service and customer experience. Competing on price can be tough on the bottom line, but for companies that do it well (WalMart), it can lead to great financial success. Competing on the quality of our product and service is necessary, but it can be difficult for us to educate the marketplace on why ours is superior (e.g. financial services). The customer experience, however, is something that we can make uniquely ours. Think about how often you chose to do business – or not do business – with a vendor because of your experience with that company. Personally, customer experience is the reason why I exclusively fly Southwest Airlines.

How does a company deliver excellent, sustainable customer experience...? Show less

Yesterday, my family and I drove by a now-closed butcher shop where we would often go to get meat and cheese for special occasions. My wife commented on the demise of the store and she wondered whether a butcher shop could ever be successful outside of a supermarket. My answer was an emphatic “YES!” Ultimately, the problem is that being an excellent butcher does not in itself qualify someone to run a butcher shop. The same is true for any business: Technical knowledge alone (being a successful… Show more

Yesterday, my family and I drove by a now-closed butcher shop where we would often go to get meat and cheese for special occasions. My wife commented on the demise of the store and she wondered whether a butcher shop could ever be successful outside of a supermarket. My answer was an emphatic “YES!” Ultimately, the problem is that being an excellent butcher does not in itself qualify someone to run a butcher shop. The same is true for any business: Technical knowledge alone (being a successful lawyer, doctor, plumber, graphic designer, engineer, etc.) is not enough to run a business... Show less

In the days since my last blog update, my Naval Academy classmates have continued to discuss various leadership points inspired by the Capt. Owen Honors incident. One of the most interesting discussions was around the idea of fostering dissent.

In an article that I think should be required reading for any business leader, “Why Our Best Officers Are Leaving," the author provides some enlightening research results, as well as a few interesting proposals. Although there are many great… Show more

In the days since my last blog update, my Naval Academy classmates have continued to discuss various leadership points inspired by the Capt. Owen Honors incident. One of the most interesting discussions was around the idea of fostering dissent.

In an article that I think should be required reading for any business leader, “Why Our Best Officers Are Leaving," the author provides some enlightening research results, as well as a few interesting proposals. Although there are many great takeaways, here are a few that jumped out at me:

Read more: http://adjix.com/84zy
Show less

On Jan. 17, Apple Inc. reported that CEO Steve Jobs will be taking an unexpected medical leave, a press release which led to Apple’s stock closing down 3 percent the following trading day.

This is a big problem; no company beyond the start-up phase should be so dependent on its CEO that its future is uncertain when the CEO leaves.

At around $65 billion in revenue and a market capitalization of $311 billion, Apple clearly is a successful enterprise. However...

After the news broke about the Commanding Officer of the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) being relieved of command, I forwarded the story to my Naval Academy class listserv asking for comment about it. One of the important points brought out by my classmates — many of whom are currently in command of ships and facilities around the world — was that even if Captain Honors was achieving or exceeding all of his performance metrics, you simply can’t have a senior officer of a ship acting this way. This is… Show more

After the news broke about the Commanding Officer of the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) being relieved of command, I forwarded the story to my Naval Academy class listserv asking for comment about it. One of the important points brought out by my classmates — many of whom are currently in command of ships and facilities around the world — was that even if Captain Honors was achieving or exceeding all of his performance metrics, you simply can’t have a senior officer of a ship acting this way. This is not an issue of political correctness run amok: A leader should treat all his/her subordinates with respect. To paraphrase some of the points... Show less

As we begin a new year, many of us take time to consider what we accomplished over the last year and what things we would like to change. This year will be the year that we will finally lose weight, get healthier, get in better shape, get organized, or improve our businesses. Many of us, however, have discovered that New Year’s resolutions – like many goals – rarely get accomplished. Therefore, given the time of year, I thought it would be a good time for me to take a break from analysis and… Show more

As we begin a new year, many of us take time to consider what we accomplished over the last year and what things we would like to change. This year will be the year that we will finally lose weight, get healthier, get in better shape, get organized, or improve our businesses. Many of us, however, have discovered that New Year’s resolutions – like many goals – rarely get accomplished. Therefore, given the time of year, I thought it would be a good time for me to take a break from analysis and share a couple of the things that I’ve learned about goals... Show less

I received a number of excellent comments on LinkedIn and in person regarding my blog update from a few weeks ago: “Marketing, Innovation..and Training.” Quite a bit of the discussion was surrounding the leadership principle of “be friendly, not friends.” What this means is that whereas you should definitely be friendly with your subordinates, you can create some big problems for yourself – and your organization – if you are friends with any of your subordinates.

So, what’s the… Show more

I received a number of excellent comments on LinkedIn and in person regarding my blog update from a few weeks ago: “Marketing, Innovation..and Training.” Quite a bit of the discussion was surrounding the leadership principle of “be friendly, not friends.” What this means is that whereas you should definitely be friendly with your subordinates, you can create some big problems for yourself – and your organization – if you are friends with any of your subordinates.

So, what’s the difference between being friendly and being friends...? Show less

A few months ago, The Wall Street Journal carried this interesting article about business names: “What's in a Name? Potential Pitfalls.”

Even if your business is beyond the start-up phase, the possibility of changing the name of your business is always there. Kentucky Fried Chicken rebranded as KFC. Phillip Morris changed its name to Altria. Amway North America changed into three names: Alticor, the parent company, Quixtar, the direct selling company, and Access Business Group, the… Show more

A few months ago, The Wall Street Journal carried this interesting article about business names: “What's in a Name? Potential Pitfalls.”

Even if your business is beyond the start-up phase, the possibility of changing the name of your business is always there. Kentucky Fried Chicken rebranded as KFC. Phillip Morris changed its name to Altria. Amway North America changed into three names: Alticor, the parent company, Quixtar, the direct selling company, and Access Business Group, the manufacturing company. Now the Quixtar name has been retired and Amway is back again.

So, reviewing in's-and-out's of business naming periodically is a worthwhile exercise... Show less

Each of us in a business leadership role understands the importance of investing in marketing and innovation, but how do we feel about training? Too often, companies hire sales or business development staff and put them through trial by fire — the new employees will either rise to the occasion and make their numbers or they will crash and burn. Companies will also often promote someone into a leadership role who has never had a single course on leadership, simply because he was the best at his… Show more

Each of us in a business leadership role understands the importance of investing in marketing and innovation, but how do we feel about training? Too often, companies hire sales or business development staff and put them through trial by fire — the new employees will either rise to the occasion and make their numbers or they will crash and burn. Companies will also often promote someone into a leadership role who has never had a single course on leadership, simply because he was the best at his job — or the most senior — but then he fails to perform adequately in the new role.

At the U.S. Naval Academy, we learned leadership through both the classroom and through mentor-guided practical application. Although we all probably had some natural ability walking in the door... Show less

A few weeks ago I wrote about Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s interview with The Wall Street Journal, where he stated that he didn’t see Facebook as a competitor to Google (see “Don’t Hit Anything You Can’t See”). My observation was that Schmidt was either being naïve or coy about his firm’s strategy (I believe the latter). On Nov. 15, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the launch of a new messaging service, which will provide users with an "@facebook.com" email address and will integrate a… Show more

A few weeks ago I wrote about Google CEO Eric Schmidt’s interview with The Wall Street Journal, where he stated that he didn’t see Facebook as a competitor to Google (see “Don’t Hit Anything You Can’t See”). My observation was that Schmidt was either being naïve or coy about his firm’s strategy (I believe the latter). On Nov. 15, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the launch of a new messaging service, which will provide users with an "@facebook.com" email address and will integrate a user’s email, Facebook messaging, instant messaging, and SMS text.

I agree with Zuckerberg that this won’t kill Gmail, Yahoo Mail, etc.... Show less

I listened to local businessman Ken Kessler share some lessons from his entrepreneurial journey at a luncheon a few days ago. Ken founded and later sold a company named Kessler Soils Engineering Products Inc.

A big part of their worldwide business is evaluating the condition of the soil upon which someone’s planning to build a road or a runway. If you don’t have a good handle on how the foundation is going to handle the weight of the trucks, airplanes, etc., that will be on the top of… Show more

I listened to local businessman Ken Kessler share some lessons from his entrepreneurial journey at a luncheon a few days ago. Ken founded and later sold a company named Kessler Soils Engineering Products Inc.

A big part of their worldwide business is evaluating the condition of the soil upon which someone’s planning to build a road or a runway. If you don’t have a good handle on how the foundation is going to handle the weight of the trucks, airplanes, etc., that will be on the top of the asphalt, you won’t know what hidden surprises will eventually show up on the surface... Show less

This article from The Wall Street Journal, brought to mind the issue that every business owner needs to plan for: exiting the business.

Author Steven Covey popularized the concept of beginning “with the end in mind” in his book "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People", and it’s a concept that most business owners don’t put into practice.

How do you know if your business is designed to be sold...?

I was out buying a bike for my son’s birthday over the weekend, and I was planning on going to the same store where I bought all the bikes in our family: Bike Doctor of Crofton. The shop is one of eight independently owned Bike Doctor franchises throughout Maryland. (The headquarters is in Arnold.) One of the incentives the shop offers is a “trade-up” program on children’s bikes that you buy from them. As children grow out of their bikes, you can trade-up and get money towards bigger… Show more

I was out buying a bike for my son’s birthday over the weekend, and I was planning on going to the same store where I bought all the bikes in our family: Bike Doctor of Crofton. The shop is one of eight independently owned Bike Doctor franchises throughout Maryland. (The headquarters is in Arnold.) One of the incentives the shop offers is a “trade-up” program on children’s bikes that you buy from them. As children grow out of their bikes, you can trade-up and get money towards bigger bikes.

On my way to Crofton, though, I decided to check out a bike shop a little closer to my house in Annapolis. I asked the owner if he offers a similar incentive as Crofton Bike Doctor. He told me no and gave me reasons why (liability, warranty, squirrels, blah, blah…), so I walked out the door and headed to Crofton... Show less

I have an affinity for listening to the “how I did it” stories of leaders. It’s one of the reasons I volunteer with the local chapter of The Entrepreneurs Club of America. Rather than just getting a pedagogical list of "how-to’s" (who wants to be preached to?), a story allows us to take away the things we need for our own businesses by applying our own context.

I recently re-listened to Ted Leonsis’ 2008 interview on Leaders Portfolio. Leonsis is a genuinely successful entrepreneur: At… Show more

I have an affinity for listening to the “how I did it” stories of leaders. It’s one of the reasons I volunteer with the local chapter of The Entrepreneurs Club of America. Rather than just getting a pedagogical list of "how-to’s" (who wants to be preached to?), a story allows us to take away the things we need for our own businesses by applying our own context.

I recently re-listened to Ted Leonsis’ 2008 interview on Leaders Portfolio. Leonsis is a genuinely successful entrepreneur: At 24, he started his first company — raising $1 million of venture capital — and then sold it two years later for $60 million. I have almost 2 pages of notes from the interview, and here are just a few business insights I gained from listening... Show less

When I was a submarine officer on the USS Philadelphia (SSN-690), I learned the two most important rules of navigation:

• Rule No. 1: Don’t hit anything you can see.

• Rule No. 2: Don’t hit anything you can’t see.

Although these rules are obvious, they do capture the essence of navigating a ship at sea. Just because the obstacles are unseen, it doesn’t mean they won’t cause great damage to your ship or your crew. An unfortunate example of this is the tragic collision of the… Show more

When I was a submarine officer on the USS Philadelphia (SSN-690), I learned the two most important rules of navigation:

• Rule No. 1: Don’t hit anything you can see.

• Rule No. 2: Don’t hit anything you can’t see.

Although these rules are obvious, they do capture the essence of navigating a ship at sea. Just because the obstacles are unseen, it doesn’t mean they won’t cause great damage to your ship or your crew. An unfortunate example of this is the tragic collision of the USS San Francisco with an uncharted undersea mountain in 2005.

One thing we know for sure is that current technologies will eventually be obsolete... Show less

Most business owners accept that creating a simple business plan is critical to financing their business, but few understand the importance of continuing the discipline of updating the plan throughout the life of their business.

A great economy can hide a multitude of business-planning sins, but when an economy turns, companies with well-designed and implemented plans have the best chance to survive and make the most of opportunities.

A business plan outlines how your company will… Show more

Most business owners accept that creating a simple business plan is critical to financing their business, but few understand the importance of continuing the discipline of updating the plan throughout the life of their business.

A great economy can hide a multitude of business-planning sins, but when an economy turns, companies with well-designed and implemented plans have the best chance to survive and make the most of opportunities.

A business plan outlines how your company will carry out your strategy and provides metrics to evaluate your organization’s performance against that plan.

Here is how to build an effective plan... Show less

Leadership is the most critical element in running a successful business.

In earlier columns, we covered Leadership 101 and vision creation. This column completes the business leadership primer by covering focus, delegation, decision-making, knowledge management and financial stewardship.

Focus. As chief executive officer, you must keep your employees focused on mission-critical priorities and not allow them to get caught up in trivial matters. They should be taking aim at these… Show more

Leadership is the most critical element in running a successful business.

In earlier columns, we covered Leadership 101 and vision creation. This column completes the business leadership primer by covering focus, delegation, decision-making, knowledge management and financial stewardship.

Focus. As chief executive officer, you must keep your employees focused on mission-critical priorities and not allow them to get caught up in trivial matters. They should be taking aim at these six primary areas... Show less

Jack Welsh, the legendary former chief executive officer of General Electric Co., said: “Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision and relentlessly drive it to completion.”

Other examples of companies that understood the importance of a well-crafted and implemented vision are all around us...

Henry Kissinger once said the task of a leader is to get his people from where they are to where they have not been.

Two nuggets of wisdom jump out: First, a leader deals with people. Second, a leader takes those people to where they have not been before.

Becoming a leader is an ongoing process, but ultimately leadership is about accountability...

ast month, I wrote about the importance of thinking and acting like a chief executive officer. The next step in becoming a CEO, not just an owner who is a glorified employee, is designing your business now to be sold later.

A business that is system-centric, rather than owner-centric, is structurally ready to be sold. In other words, the successful day-to-day operation of the business is not dependent on you, the owner. Because you are not the "special sauce," potential buyers (or… Show more

ast month, I wrote about the importance of thinking and acting like a chief executive officer. The next step in becoming a CEO, not just an owner who is a glorified employee, is designing your business now to be sold later.

A business that is system-centric, rather than owner-centric, is structurally ready to be sold. In other words, the successful day-to-day operation of the business is not dependent on you, the owner. Because you are not the "special sauce," potential buyers (or inheritors) do not need to be concerned that the business will fall apart once you leave.

A system-centric business is well-positioned to sell for the present value of the future free cash flows, plus a premium... Show less

If you own a business, you need to act like you are a business owner and chief executive officer, not like a manager or glorified employee.

A CEO's job is to design, grow and lead the business. A manager's job is to implement the CEO's strategy, drive efficiency, and otherwise improve the business. An employee's job is to operate the business.

You should view your business as a cash-flow generating asset that works independently of you. In other words, it is system-centric rather… Show more

If you own a business, you need to act like you are a business owner and chief executive officer, not like a manager or glorified employee.

A CEO's job is to design, grow and lead the business. A manager's job is to implement the CEO's strategy, drive efficiency, and otherwise improve the business. An employee's job is to operate the business.

You should view your business as a cash-flow generating asset that works independently of you. In other words, it is system-centric rather than you-centric. If you want your business to grow, it should be professionally managed just like any asset... Show less

Becoming the chief executive officer of your company starts with slowing down, reflecting and adopting a new way to look at your business. Someone has to be the CEO; it might as well be you.

If a business does not have executive leadership, its productivity is pretty much guaranteed to be stifled. So, be open-minded. All meaningful progress is the result of change. Change your habits, change your life.

Changing your habits begins with understanding what you want (business success,… Show more

Becoming the chief executive officer of your company starts with slowing down, reflecting and adopting a new way to look at your business. Someone has to be the CEO; it might as well be you.

If a business does not have executive leadership, its productivity is pretty much guaranteed to be stifled. So, be open-minded. All meaningful progress is the result of change. Change your habits, change your life.

Changing your habits begins with understanding what you want (business success, freedom, etc.) and then changing your mindset to achieve your goals.

Successful CEOs have a strategic mindset... Show less

Are you a prisoner to your business? As a business owner, can you leave your business for one to two months and come back to find it operating smoothly and profitably?

Can you leave your business for even a two-week, work-free vacation? If not, you don't own a business; you own a glorified job.

You do not have an effective business system; you are the business system.

In this column we will discuss in detail what causes people to become a prisoner of their business and how… Show more

Are you a prisoner to your business? As a business owner, can you leave your business for one to two months and come back to find it operating smoothly and profitably?

Can you leave your business for even a two-week, work-free vacation? If not, you don't own a business; you own a glorified job.

You do not have an effective business system; you are the business system.

In this column we will discuss in detail what causes people to become a prisoner of their business and how to break free... Show less

If you are like many entrepreneurs, in as few as two to three years, regardless of the financial success you have achieved, your dream of freedom, independence and wealth has begun to turn into something of a nightmare.

Instead of being the master of your destiny, you have become a prisoner to your business.

You may have tried working harder, believing that someday you will get caught up, your life will slow down and you will finally have more free time. What you have found is… Show more

If you are like many entrepreneurs, in as few as two to three years, regardless of the financial success you have achieved, your dream of freedom, independence and wealth has begun to turn into something of a nightmare.

Instead of being the master of your destiny, you have become a prisoner to your business.

You may have tried working harder, believing that someday you will get caught up, your life will slow down and you will finally have more free time. What you have found is that the 60- to 70-hour workweeks continue, you still cannot escape for a few relaxing no-work days and your headaches continue.

Why is your experience different from what you expected...? Show less

If complaints about tough management are increasing, but performance is also increasing, there’s a good chance that complaints are simply a reaction to greater accountability. Read the rest at the link!

I was sitting in a briefing a few days ago at a Department of Defense facility, and one of the surprising things we were told is that “safety is our first priority.” Really? Obviously that can’t be true in the DOD (“Yes, we lost to the enemy, but look how safe we were!”).

The DOD’s first priority must be to successfully defend protected assets and win wars. Whereas certainly safety was of critical importance to us on our submarine, I’m pretty sure the Navy didn’t want us to turn tail and… Show more

I was sitting in a briefing a few days ago at a Department of Defense facility, and one of the surprising things we were told is that “safety is our first priority.” Really? Obviously that can’t be true in the DOD (“Yes, we lost to the enemy, but look how safe we were!”).

The DOD’s first priority must be to successfully defend protected assets and win wars. Whereas certainly safety was of critical importance to us on our submarine, I’m pretty sure the Navy didn’t want us to turn tail and run during a war because incoming enemy torpedoes would adversely affect our safety. The nation’s highest military honor, the Medal of Honor, is not awarded for being the safest person in the military – it’s usually awarded to someone who acts in a decidedly unsafe manner. You can see this same problem in vision statements… Show less

I just noticed that a long-time friend of ours had changed her name on social media because she was being "Facebook stalked."

I’ve heard the term, but had no idea what it really meant.

After all, given the privacy controls, blocking, and reporting capabilities, I just thought that that was a non-issue.

Turns out that what it really means — in her case — is that the guy came across as too desperate. Apparently on their second date, he asked her about a picture that she had… Show more

I just noticed that a long-time friend of ours had changed her name on social media because she was being "Facebook stalked."

I’ve heard the term, but had no idea what it really meant.

After all, given the privacy controls, blocking, and reporting capabilities, I just thought that that was a non-issue.

Turns out that what it really means — in her case — is that the guy came across as too desperate. Apparently on their second date, he asked her about a picture that she had on her profile going way back to 2006. That’s probably a little too much digging around before a second date.

Read the rest at the link Show less