Nothing destroys a work day like distractions. Ever realize that it’s “suddenly” dinner time and all you remember doing since lunch is reading Facebook? That’ll show up nicely on a deposit slip. Hello, stress. Distractions are a product of your work environment, your work habits and how those two things are communicated to others. Your […]

During a recent trip to Oregon, our journey took us to a dockside seafood restaurant in Newport. As you can see from the photo below, this restaurant offers fresh local seafood in addition to meals made with the local catch. Print readers, see http://www.flatheadbeacon.com/images/uploads/freshlocalsalmon.jpg Take another look at the sign used to describe this salmon. […]

Think about the process you go through when preparing for an important business trip. You make a todo list so you’re sure you get all the bases covered. You think of every scenario that might come up at home while you are gone and every scenario that might up come while out of town. Based […]

Many of us have something about our business that acts as a barrier that limits what we can do. In many cases, this barrier isn’t real – it’s simply a belief we’ve allowed to infect our mindset. The trouble with this is that if you believe there’s a limit to your business – there is, […]

How we talk, write, stand, sit or hold our hands and arms plays a huge part in how effective we are in helping others understand what we have to say, much less keep their attention long enough to finish the message. If they don’t get it all, at best you may as well have said […]

One of the first questions I ask business owners when we start working on their company is “What will it take to transform your business?” I’m asking for several reasons – each of which are critical to knowing where you are with your business. I want to find out what is top of mind – […]

This past weekend, I took one of my favorite drives of the year – that first drive after removing studded snow tires. I enjoy the feel of a performance tire in a tight turn and that’s something studded tires just don’t offer. As I waited for my tires to be swapped and munched on Les […]

While I doubt it was their intent, the soap makers at Dove created something that perfectly illustrates the power of one of the best sales and marketing tools you can use. It might be the best demonstration of that tool I’ve ever seen. Print readers, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpaOjMXyJGk&rel=0 The experiment The Dove “Real Beauty” experiment has […]

As someone on the dark side of 50, I’ve earned the right to use the “O” word. So what exactly was I referring to when I said “old”, and who’s doing the suffering? You might’ve heard of the term “SME”, or subject matter expert. Depending on the business, your SMEs might be young, old or […]

Like a lot of people, I was drawn to this TED talk by the death of Roger Ebert. Print readers, see http://ted.com/talks/roger_ebert_remaking_my_voice.html As you watch it, imagine how it must’ve felt to see that as a member of the speech synthesis team at Apple. Hearing Roger appreciate what they have done and describe how meaningful […]

Go ahead, admit it – if it fits. Your business plan doesn’t really reflect your real business. You may not even use it. Ask yourself these questions: “Do you use it to run your business day to day?” “Does it bear any resemblance to what really happens at your business?” “Did you write it just […]

You’ve probably seen this AP image contrasting the crowds at St. Peter’s in Rome over the last eight years. Note: Print readers, see the image at http://www.flatheadbeacon.com/images/uploads/Changes2005vs2013-294×300.png The first photo was taken by Luca Bruno in 2005 during preparations for the public viewing of Pope John Paul II’s body – almost two years before the […]

So…it’s almost the end of March. Seems like the day before yesterday, the new year started. Like many, you probably thought over some goals for the new year and made plans to make them happen. Maybe you even got started on the work required. But again, it’s almost the end of March and in just […]

You may not like to sell, particularly if you are a technical person. It’s even more likely if you’re a technical person who has built a job rather than a business – meaning you might be chief cook and bottle washer as well. It may be an overused stereotype that technical people don’t like sales […]

Are experts cheap or expensive? You may not be old enough to remember the Fram guy, but he’s the perfect example of the expert who can be cheap or expensive. The cheap expert is the one who gets paid to take care of routine maintenance that prolongs the life of your asset – in this […]