This blog is for Alan and John (and YOU) to express their opinions, biases, prejudices and thoughts on topics pertinent to small business! Click the headlines at the top of the article to open the full text.
Please join the conversation and add your opinions, biases, prejudices and thoughts to make this a really valuable resource for learning!
In their book “Great By Choice” Jim Collins and Morten Hansen dispel a number of entrenched myths about what makes companies great in tough times. What do you think about them? Please add your comment below! Entrenched myth #1: Successful leaders in a turbulent world are bold, risk-seeking visionaries. Contrary finding: The best leaders we studied… [Read more…]
As business owners, how do we learn anything? What happens in the brain? The four stages of learning, initially described as “Four Stages for Learning Any New Skill”, was apparently developed at Gordon Training International by Noel Burch in the 1970s. (Wikipedia) It’s a great theory for business owners to understand because often we “don’t… [Read more…]
It’s easy to get lulled in to a false sense of security when a business is doing a good turnover and turnover figures are going up. The problem is though that it is NOT about the turnover, it’s all about the LEFTOVER! In other words the profit and growing the profit dollars. So often we… [Read more…]
Business owners: where is your hungry crowd? The crowd of people who are beating a track to your business to get what it is you are selling them. Often the answer when we ask this question is something like “All small and medium sized businesses.” Worse still is the answer “Everybody!” These answers mean the… [Read more…]
Business owners: As a leader, where is your mindset at? A number of years ago a business I was running had one critical safety incident after another. After the third, both the organisation and myself were not managing it well. I was taking action, but was uncertain as to whether it was the right action…. [Read more…]
It’s almost the end of another financial year – well at least it is in Australia. One of the opportunities which is often overlooked by business owners is the opportunity to review and restructure the chart of accounts in their accounting package. Why would you want to do that? In our previous Business Owners Board… [Read more…]
In a Business Owners Board business advisory meeting, when we ask this question, the answer is usually something like “Vitals, what are you talking about?” or “Yes, my blood pressure is a little high. So what?” According to Wikipedia: “Vital signs (often shortened to just vitals) are a group of the 4 to 6 most… [Read more…]
Do you ever get that feeling of wet cement in your stomach? You know, when you are having to make a decision in your business and the stomach starts to churn like a cement mixer. But then you listen to all the other information around you and you decide not to go with that wet cement… [Read more…]
The most underrated tool in business for driving up your results – a good strategic plan! A good plan will fit on one page and be the guiding light for everything that happens in the business. However, success not only relies on a good plan but also good execution. There are many reasons why business… [Read more…]
One One of anything! The numbers in a business are the instrument panel by which an owner should run his business. It still amazes me how many business owners we talk to have no idea and no interest in their numbers – until it is too late! That’s why there are many businesses out there… [Read more…]
