Monthly Archives: May 2012

Go!

Posted on May 30, 2012 | Leave a comment
Inspiration to initiate

Poke the Box

I recently re-read Seth Godin’s Poke the Box.  In the words of the author, this book is “a manifesto about starting”.  I re-read it because of the frequency with which I encounter the disease of not starting.  CEOs I work with sometimes become frozen for a period of time in a state of non-starting.   In addition, everyone who has employees has, at some time (constantly?), had to deal with an employee who refuses to take any initiative.

I have lifted the following four statements directly from the book, Continue reading →

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Your Business Should Be Like Spaghetti Sauce

Posted on May 24, 2012 | Leave a comment
Product Customization

Spaghetti Sauce

Have you discovered your formula for success in business?  Does it include focusing your resources and efforts on being truly outstanding in your industry? If so, great!  However…because we humans are so complex, and because you are doing whatever you do for other humans, being outstanding in your line of work is not enough.

Author and speaker Malcolm Gladwell describes the success of Howard Moskowitz in helping Prego spaghetti sauce achieve leading market share in the U.S.  The secret was not in developing the single, best-tasting sauce on the planet.  It was in realizing that tastes vary from individual to individual.  Prego’s success came from having over 30 different sauces so that each consumer could discover one that delighted.

No matter what product or service you offer and deliver, Continue reading →

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Managing Through the Dips

Posted on May 10, 2012 | Leave a comment
Cycles are inevitable in all areas of life

Ups and Downs

Three things happened within the past 24 hours that reminded me of the value of a leader who can manage effectively through the cycles.

1)    One of my clients was shocked by the sudden resignation of a key employee.

2)    My Major League Baseball team was swept in a three-game series by an intradivisional rival, keeping them in the basement of their division.

3)    One of my clients offered the “Thought for the Day” at the beginning of our peer advisory board meeting that captured a differentiating factor for any successful entrepreneur: belief that their efforts would eventually pay off. Continue reading →

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