In these times of COVID-19 crisis, businesses face unusual and dire choices. You need a 90-day plan to cope with the stress
I was stopped on a small goat trail near the peak of Mount Fitzwilliam, frozen by indecision. It was the summer of 1996 and I was following my buddy Terry Brock on a expedition in B.C.’s Mount Robson Provincial Park. I couldn’t go forward and I knew I couldn’t go backward. I was scared and…
Identify the fear, consider its possible outcomes and their impact on your business, then develop a plan to tackle each outcome
Like most people, I’ve been really scared a few times in my life. You know the feeling – the adrenaline rush that hits when you believe you’re about to lose something. It increases your heart rate, tightens your muscles, shortens your breath, and narrows your focus on the moment and your surroundings. If you think…
Cuts in staff are often followed by a reduction in service, followed by a loss of more customers. It's a losing cycle
In 1988, I approached successful land developer Louis Matte to see if he would be interested in investing in a medical supply business. He told me he wanted to start a religious book store, but we could combine them and he would invest if there was an opportunity to add a business that was recession…
Are you a manager who feels trapped, underappreciated, struggling with no sense of ownership or purpose? You’re not alone but there are solutions
How often have you seen management who look like they would prefer to be anywhere else but at their desk? Lately I’ve been working with a couple of managers of different organizations who are exactly in this position. They lack energy, having worked to exhaustion for the company. They’re starting to be short with their…
Every day in every way, continuous improvements can have significant impacts that will make us better people and better organizations
When I was a child, Mother (who either believed she was on the cutting edge of learning and psychology or just hoped we would grow up quickly) made my brothers and I repeat daily the phrase: “Every day in every way, I will get better and better and better.” Because we were often in trouble…
Owning a business is usually very hard work. We don’t have one boss – we have many
I should have paid more attention to the fact that my parents and their friends were rather tipsy from the wine they were drinking when they proposed an idea for a new product. However, being 21-years-old, having just finished my business program at college, full of energy and looking for a world of excitement in…
If an entrepreneur wants to manage their business and increase their profits, they need to focus on three types of customers
A few years ago I was talking to a clergyman who was struggling with declining church attendance. We had a discussion about the reasons for that and I was telling him that there was not much difference between a church and a business. To overcome his skepticism of my argument, I put it to him…
Understanding how you feel about tears and having a plan to deal with them will make crying less awkward and intimidating
I don’t know if I have an innate ability to make people cry but it seems in the last week, I faced lots of tears. I had clients crying, members of a company where I was working crying and members of the basketball team I coach bawling their eyes out. In 30 years of business…
Entrepreneurs are especially susceptible to burnout and depression. Here's how to conquer those issues, for the betterment of yourself and your business
When winter seems to drag on with dark clouds, snow and short days, I start to feel in the doldrums. I lack energy, enthusiasm, I don’t want to be around people, my projects seem to drag on and I get a sense of dread at the thought of more work. I’m especially cynical of news…
Creating a fun culture in a business environment starts with the leader. When employees enjoy their work, they’ll be more productive and satisfied
We were down by 14 points at halftime and the team seemed defeated. Our star player was frustrated. Her shots weren’t going in and neither were her teammates’ shots. As a coach, I was unfazed. Having been irritated with the refereeing in the first couple of games, I had decided that my fuming wasn’t going…