It’s getting close to the end of the year, and what happens typically in a business? It is probably the time for annual performance reviews. Everyone who has worked for any period has perhaps had a performance review at one time or another. They either loved it, hated it, or dreaded it and very likely…

Every business, large or small, has a culture. Maybe, it’s called a business culture, corporate culture, or organizational culture, but they are all the same. The culture that is right for one company may not be the right culture for another company because each company is unique and has its own culture. Business culture is…

Success in a small business does not happen in an instant. Many small business owners and managers worry more about failure than anticipating and planning for success. While failure is a reality for small businesses, this is not where the focus should be. Obsessing about failure keeps a business in the present time. However, planning…

An efficient, no-cost way to improve operations is to observe employees, customers, and competitors. The best part of the observation, which includes oversight and listening, is that there is no cost to the business, and lessons learned can be implemented immediately. Observe Employees Employees are always doing something or should be doing something productive and…

The most successful businesses operate with efficiency. Regardless of the number of employees, businesses should review every process and procedure and determine how each can be made more efficient. Small business managers never seem to have enough time, are always rushed, have an overabundance of tasks that need to be completed, and constantly worry about…

Almost every business, at one time or another, finds the dilemma of being in an inflationary cycle. Businesses cannot control the economy but can take precautionary steps, so the economy does not completely control the business. Businesses find that they are confronted in two different ways regarding inflation. On one side, their operating costs are…

What is it that every business wants? Sales, of course. Unfortunately, a sale is often never made because all the business is interested in is making a sale! Prefer to watch it? What’s Important? While making sales is an essential ingredient for the success of any business, winning over the customer must be a higher priority….

Would you rather watch than read?\ Another question might be, “Should there even be a difference in how prospects and customers are treated?” Many business owners will immediately assume there is no difference in how prospects and customers are treated. They think and believe that both are treated the same. But are they treated the…

Most of us have a rough vision of where we’d like to take our organization. But sometimes, knowing where and how to begin can be challenging. This is where the process of gap analysis comes into play. Gap analysis is a great strategic tool that gives us a broad framework for defining not just where we are…

Would you rather watch than read? Click here. Although anyone with a small amount of capital and little or no experience can start a business, this does not mean that success will follow. Globally, small businesses and SMEs fail miserably. To counteract the staggering failure rates, a small business or SME owner needs abundant knowledge…

Can employees of a small business be empowered? Frequently, we hear about techniques that are employed by larger companies to empower employees, so why can’t employees at smaller businesses be empowered, as well? They can and should be empowered. Empowerment What is empowerment? It might be described as a management philosophy that places importance on…

Project prioritization is more than just resource allocation. It is, first and foremost, a strategic decision. Whether you prioritize your projects effectively depends on the clarity of your strategic intent and the accuracy of the expected value generated by each project. If you nail these two, your project prioritization effectiveness could very well shift the…