What can you and I learn about ourselves and our organizations from a 20th century French writer? I have to admit, I’ve never read one of Anaïs Nin’s books – her genre isn’t my thing. But since the first time I read this quote many years ago, I’ve thought about it hundreds of times and…
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Most business leaders are looking for three things in the fourth quarter – a strong finish to the year (in some industries, this might be your best quarter), solid preparation for a fast start to next year, and some quick wins to keep your team engaged, growing, and productive. How about a quick win activity…
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Thanks for inviting me. While you’re enjoying the Photoshop version of me awkwardly crashing your staff meeting, I hope you’ll carefully ponder your answers to the questions. For all of these, I’d want to go around the table and hear from you and your leadership team. What are you working on right now that has…
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Title Loans, Payday Loans, Loan Sharks. If you annualized the interest rate on a title loan, it could be as high as 300%. If you annualized the interest rate on a payday loan, it could be as high as 459%. So why do people risk their future fiscal health by utilizing these financial tools? Desperation.…
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Several weeks ago, I recorded the ESPN documentary on the 2024 version of Tight End University but just got around to watching it. There’s something we can learn. If you’re not familiar with Tight End university here’s the summary from their website. Founded in 2021 by NFL Tight Ends George Kittle, Travis Kelce and Greg…
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There’s not consensus on who coined the phrase, but I’ve thought about this bit of genius hundreds of times over the course of my work and personal life. Sometimes problems are hard to solve because the solutions are hard to execute. The solution might require a very difficult conversation – a conversation that will elicit…
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Whether it’s new locations, new products, or accelerated growth in your existing locations, there are a handful of non-negotiables. There will more likely be less of your personal presence but it will require more of your professional experience. Here’s what I mean – If you’ve read a few of these posts, you know I’m a…
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If you want a high-performing team, they need more than a paycheck. Let’s be clear, very few, if any, of your employees will keep showing up if the paychecks stop, but creating an engaged, creative, and productive team goes far beyond tapping your checkbook every couple of weeks. In 2009, Dan Pink dipped into the…
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The quote is typically attributed to management guru Peter Drucker but that’s been disputed a bit since it’s not found verbatim in any of his writing. No matter who said it, it’s good shorthand for the outsized impact of culture in an organization. But back to the question at hand, “If culture eats strategy for breakfast,…
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Everything about your organization might not be perfect, but there’s probably more going right than going wrong. This is probably the wrong way to start an email from a guy who sells consulting services. 20.4% of small businesses fail in the first year, 49.4% in the first five years, and 65.3% in the first ten…
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I obviously can’t make you do any of them, but if you do, you’ll change the trajectory of your organization in 2025.
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“Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.” Archimedes He was a Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor who lived in Sicily about 250 years before Christ. Some of his inventions are still in use today. But Archimedes thoughts on leverage should…
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It seemed obvious to me, but it was invisible to them. I think it’s baked into the plot of every reality TV dating show ever made. There’s one potential partner that is clearly a disaster but the contestant doing the choosing is inexplicably drawn to them until their defects are exposed later in the season.…
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If it feels like every big problem in your organization sprints towards your desk and lands with a crash – keep reading. You’re a leader in your organization. You get paid to solve problems. In fact, it might seem that some days it’s all you do. The trouble comes when the time devoted to solving…
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I’ve been asking myself that question. And now is the right time to ask it. The time between now and mid-December has been called the “100 day sprint” or “the most important 100 days of the year”. Why? Because everyone is back in the office after summer, back in the routine and hunkered down for…
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It’s been my privilege to work with several family businesses over the last 13 years. In some, the owners have no day-to-day responsibilities, but have turned over operational responsibilities to a CEO or GM. In others, they are both owners and operators. These clients have spanned several industries. However, in one business discipline, for both…
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I recently read Jim Collins newest book, Turning the Flywheel, in which he drills down on the Flywheel concept introduced in Good to Great. For a quick refresher, the flywheel for an organization is a virtuous cycle of actions, each building on the previous, that, when executed consistently and with excellence, build self-sustaining momentum for…
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I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that six years ago, you had no idea what shiplap was. Neither did I. But thanks to Chip and Joanna Gaines and their hit HGTV show FixerUpper, shiplap is now part of the national consciousness. Everyone wants at least an accent wall’s worth of…
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I received a referral for a new client a few months ago. The person who sent it was certain this business owner could benefit from working with me. Given the strength of the referral, I worked especially hard to make contact with the prospective client/business owner. I just did a quick count of the text…
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When a new initiative is rolled out in an organization, it’s often with a great deal of hype and enthusiasm. Everyone buys in and adoption is good, but then work life starts to happen. And that’s the problem with work life – there’s so much of it. The initial enthusiasm for the new initiative gets…
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Commander’s Intent first appeared in the US Army Field Manual 100-5, Operations in 1982. However, it wasn’t original with them. It was borrowed from the Germans who developed it as they fought Napoleon during the French Revolution. The Germans called it Aftragstaktik. So, what does this 225 year-old methodology have to do with your organization…
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I have one of those jobs – Strategy Consultant. Even after following the advice of branding and messaging experts, what I do doesn’t seem to be crystal clear to the people I want to reach the most. Thankfully, I got some help recently from one of those very people. This potential client and I have…
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For those of you who had a quick flashback to high school sports complete with cheerleaders, sorry about that. But, in the age of POS systems, big data, analytics and visualizations, it’s hard to believe we’re still asking this question. Most of our businesses, even small businesses, are awash in data – transactional data from…
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There’s not a better job in the world than being a consultant. I have the opportunity to see the inner workings of multiple industries and competitive companies inside those industries. And, I get to work with great, smart people all the time. The one thing I can’t do, however, is make decisions for clients. I…
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In my work as a business consultant and grad school adjunct professor, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve invoked Dan Pink’s three-point outline from his brilliant 2009 book, Drive. Employees want three things in their work life – Autonomy – the ability to control what they do, how they do it, when they…
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Sorry to bring this up, but in just a couple of months it will be tax time. Very soon the Finance folks will be talking with us about deductions, assets, 1099s and more. One of the conversations will likely involve depreciation. Depreciation is the mechanism that allows us to account for the portion of an…
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2016 marked the 40th anniversary of Rocky – the story of a down-on-his-luck boxer who won the heart of Philadelphia when he went the distance with the undisputed heavyweight champ, Apollo Creed. There’s no question that Rocky was a compelling character and the star of the movie. But let me make the case for a…
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Know anyone that could use a second set of eyes for their small business? This is a chance for you to give your business owner friends a free business assessment. To celebrate the 10th birthday of ClearVision Consulting, I’m giving away three free Business Report Cards. The Business Report Card is a one-day assessment focusing…
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This month marks 10 years in consulting and therefore the 10th birthday of ClearVision Consulting. I count myself one of the fortunate few who get to make a living doing what they love. A giant thank you to dozens of clients who have invited me into their businesses and trusted me to help them build…
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You’re making money, customers are buying your products or services and your employees seem happy? Do you really need a strategic plan? Isn’t strategic planning for big companies with lots of money and lots of employees? Or maybe for companies that are struggling? If things are going great, why mess with it? Read the ten…
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“Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.” -Aldous Huxley “The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it.” – Flannery O’Connor “It is better to disappoint people with the truth than to appease them with a lie.” – Simon Sinek “and you will know the truth, and the truth…
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I love March Madness – three weekends of great college basketball filled with drama, athletic prowess, underdogs and Cinderellas. Between TV, radio, print and the web, each team’s journey through the NCAA tournament is chronicled hundreds of times. We learn about universities, individual athletes and coaches. Often times, these stories propel people into the national spotlight…
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It’s not good advice for safe motoring, but it is the name of two exceptional books about workplace performance. The books were written 10 years apart, but as I recently read both of them, almost back-to-back, I was struck by the complimentary messages. First, Break All the Rules by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman was the end result…
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