Posts Tagged ‘GBQ’

What Place, Happiness?

Having written this feature for a year now, I thought I would reflect on a topic that may not be top of mind for business value improvement: happiness. What impact does happiness have on a business? Isn’t that something that the employees should be responsible for? Should I take on being responsible...

April 17th, 2013 | Growth Strategies | Read More

Tax Headwinds: How to Protect Your Business Investment

I’m sure you’ve heard about one of the many new programs out this year, like the Affordable Care Act. If you’re like most of us, you don’t know what they mean yet. Well, let me rephrase that. You know they mean less profit. What you don’t know is how much less…and...

March 20th, 2013 | Growth Strategies | Read More

Customers are like livestock

Early in my career, I created the customer support department for a software development firm that created hardware and software systems. The running joke with the engineers was that computers were great until the users logged on. I felt differently, of course. My father had taught me that the needs...

February 20th, 2013 | Growth Strategies | Read More

If the business is getting stronger, why am I having to work so much harder?

It’s not uncommon to have a conversation with an owner that goes something like the following. Q: So how’s business? A: It’s going well. We’re growing and making some money. Q: So life must be pretty good? A: Well… The owner then describes how they are spending more hours...

January 23rd, 2013 | Growth Strategies | Read More

How much is enough?

Fifteen percent. That’s enough. Well, that’s enough if you don’t start really questioning the challenging issues. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s start with this simple question: How much should my business be earning so I can be happy with it? You experts out...

December 19th, 2012 | Growth Strategies | Read More

Taking Stock

It’s November. With about a month-and-a-half left of 2012, let’s take stock of the year. Many of my clients, but by no means all, are saying it was better than expected. It was probably a year of changes and shifts for you. Maybe you’re still making some last minute adjustments to...

November 21st, 2012 | Growth Strategies | Read More

Making Customer Satisfaction Pay

“Why should I take the time to survey my customers when they complain for free?” This is a familiar refrain from owners who are struggling to make ends meet. Interestingly, we do not hear this much from the frontrunners. They tend to be a proactive bunch who seek external challenges to breakdown...

October 19th, 2012 | Growth Strategies | Read More

Achieving the Flow State

Businesses have a flow state just like people do. In 1990, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi wrote his seminal book on the flow state of mind in which time seems to fly and our minds operate at optimal performance. Similarly, a business can achieve a flow state in which goods or services and cash flow quickly...

October 12th, 2012 | Growth Strategies | Read More