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One of the key roles of a business leader is to engender trust amongst their team. One exercise that we recommend to do this is called Stop/Start/Continue. Stop/Start/Continue helps to build trust by having each participant communicate what each other needs to stop doing, start doing, and continue doing in order to achieve the business plan. Instead of seeing this activity as one to judge or criticize other leaders, see it as a way to drive constructive communication and trust. Start/Stop/Continue is used to help everyone be more successful, which will lead to the growth of the business. Start/Stop/Continue Exercise…

Why do I want to sell my business?   I asked this question before.   I was a business owner and founder that was consumed by long hours and overwhelmed by demands. For 18 years, I led an aviation company called EMTEQ.  I would get frustrated with the long hours, people issues and lack of instant success.  At times it literally felt like the whole world was on my shoulders. For these reasons, it made me think about selling. Other times it made me wonder about the price where I would get up and walk away from the business.  …

Business owners have many challenges that they face daily.  Some of the challenges include finding new customers, supporting the sales staff on that next killer presentation and proposal, helping to land that next big order or handling a major customer complaint.  Next, they could be trying to keep up with regulatory requirements, company audits, tax laws, or international trade practices.   How can one prioritize when everything seems to be a priority?   Owning and running a business is extremely complicated. From the outside looking in it may seem like maximum freedom and flexibility. After all, you are your own…

The Co-Founders of STUCK, LLC first went around the room and asked what everyone’s pain points were. What brought them to a strategic planning session at 8am on a Tuesday?   Some attendees came because they needed more effective tools to use for their business. Others came because they wanted to try a new planning process. Or, they came because they needed a better way to communicate their goals to their staff.   As the topics varied, everyone had something in common. They all wanted to transform their business from its current state to its ideal future state.   A…

It may be difficult to implement continuous improvement into your business. Business is extremely complicated with parts that are always moving. Complexity, layers of management, time constraints, and lack of prioritization are areas that can get in the way of implementing continuous improvement.   Due to this complexity, identifying areas for improvement may be difficult.   Where to start, whom to engage, what to improve, and how to prioritize can lead to a lack of action, a lack of alignment, and utter frustration.   Continuous improvement has been perfected in areas like manufacturing environments.  In real time, different areas in…

The life of a small business owner ebbs and flows. It is very difficult getting out of the day to day when so many people, including your customers, key employees, and suppliers rely on you. After a period of time there actually becomes an adrenaline rush of being the person that can figure things out and make things happen. A traditional firefighting mode sets in. Something unplanned always happens. A major challenge with delivery, a product failure or a key account leaves. Perhaps a key employee that you cannot live without decides that your place is no longer for him…

People and Process aligned with strategy and how you execute thereof. This theme became ingrained in my thought process after reading Larry Bossidy’s book: Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done. A business plan can be the basis of this alignment. Some companies do not have business plans while others have elaborate plans. These elaborate plans perhaps get shared with only bankers, investors and board members. Oftentimes when business plans are created, they get dusty, cluttered and not really used.  At least that was what happened to me in the early stages of my career. You need to have a…

Successful companies are extremely innovative. By listening to market trends, talking with customers and solving problems, they oftentimes come up with products or services that are novel, new, or applied in a manner that has never been done before.  There surely is value in this new concept, product, or service that they are bringing to the market. Therefore, it is proprietary in nature. Protecting your intellectual property, especially for smaller companies, offers some interesting challenges and different points of view as to what to do and how to do it. When considering the different points of view, always make your…