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Small business advice

July 16, 2013

Four simple solutions if you’re “Stuck”…

“You don’t look like a chemical engineer,”another (male) chemical engineer said to me, upon being introduced as his new colleague, as if I was some strange aberration of the “species”.  (Twenty years later, I still get a laugh remembering his reaction.) “What’s an engineer supposed to look like?”, I asked him with a smile.  It wasn’t the first time that I had heard that type of comment from a man upon introducing myself (certainly not the last) and why get angry when humor can often be the best response?

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May 7, 2013

A 3 Step Cure for “Customer Amnesia”

Dave Power, of Power Strategy, a former CEO and private equity guy, loves to talk about Top Line Growth – and how to get more. Some of you may remember Dave from when he came to Philly last year to talk at our Growth Strategies Summit.  He’s passionate about the subject of beating the “S” curve and I’ve learned a lot from him about staying on top of your market and NOT resting on your laurels.

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April 23, 2013

Do you have a “tsunami” goal?

If a tsunami affected your business tomorrow, would you still stay on track with your plan? A few years ago, that exact scenario happened to one of our clients, who was implementing the “Habits”.  Thanks to the Habits, the executive team had a plan, were aligned to their priorities, and had great meeting rhythms. The whole company remained focused, despite the turbulence and they still hit most of their goals for the year. So what's your "tsunami" goal? If your business was affected by a major crisis tomorrow, would you be able to stay focused on your goals and deal with the disaster too?

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April 9, 2013

Have you hit “the wall”? Or are you just running in place?

Someplace between $5M and $25M, most companies hit "the wall", and executives feel like they’re running in place – no matter what they do to try and grow their businesses. Not a straightforward or simple task as many of you know. Predicting, delegating and managing effectively take more than having the right talent.

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March 26, 2013

How to create a Culture of Accountability…

For the fourth year in a row, “Holding key people accountable” has been in the top 2 challenges that CEO’s have cited on our Growth Strategies Survey of small and mid-market businesses throughout the region. When one CEO in the audience, somewhat perplexed asked, “Why does that keep coming up? Aren’t you helping them to do something about it?”  I was a bit stumped for a minute. The answer seemed obvious to me - but maybe not to him.

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