The Road to Business Success

I’m going to ask you a question. It’s adapted from one I was once asked by entrepreneur guru, Rich Schefren –‘Which of these attributes most helps you become one of the ‘Elite’ in your business sector? That means the one who’s so successful in terms of performance,...

Many years ago, when I was appointed to run a series of US business operations in Europe, I faced the problem of becoming a good leader. And after a few false starts, I gradually learned the best way of doing it. The hard way. Through practical experience. And now I’d...

It’s not easy to achieve successful change. It requires time, effort and dedication. And all the help you can get. Particularly from your people.So let me explain how I’ve used my ‘Unofficial Influencers’ over the years to smooth-in my change programs. You can then...

In my previous blog (The Road to Business Success 3), I highlighted a small sub-group in any group facing change that I called the ‘Active Negatives’.They account for maybe 5 to 10% of the total group. They see the change program as a threat. They’re the ones who, for...

That great document,The US Declaration of Independence,states,‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal …..’That may be true in a constitutional sense. However, it self-evidently is not true in terms of talent, capability and...

Total quality management flourished in the 1980s and 1990s. It helped companies to continuously improve their quality to customers. Many still use it to this day.However, you can now do so much more to achieve a step-change improvement in quality performance by going...

Most companies include their customers’ requirements in their marketing strategy. And that’s okay as far as it goes. However, ‘Elite’ companies use a trick that makes their marketing strategies much more effective. They take into account the requirements of their...

To grow your business, you need to continually innovate with new ideas for your products, people and processes.Naturally, many of your people want to participate in the ‘glamour’ of these new innovative ideas. But therein lies a potential danger to the business.It’s...

Here’s a technique I’ve used with clients to help them thrash their competitors. It becomes even more relevant when you face financial stress. Work out the average cost of one unit of product (or of service) across the range of your products (or services). Then take...