Clear Window, Foggy Mirror… Honest Self-Reflection Is Harder
As I mentioned the last post, we are in the middle of some cold weather. I was taking a shower this morning and the sun was shining through the window, warming up the room. The steam from the shower fogged up the mirror (which was in the shade) before it fogged up the window. This got me to thinking…
Have you ever seen someone in a bad relationship or pursuing destructive behaviour and thought to yourself, the answer is obvious on what needs to happen next. Same thing when looking at someone else's business issues, the answers are fairly clear to you. […]
Black, White and Shades of Grey
I have two border collies. They are black and white.
Friday it started snowing and really blowing; blizzard conditions. Falling snow is white. Blowing snow causes white-outs, even at night. Ice you don't see on the road is called black ice.
This morning we woke up and our snow was grey, not white. Not a light grey, a fairly dark grey.
The field to the north of us is bare soil. The wind was blowing from the north all night… strong enough to move a substantial portion of the field into our yard along with the drifting snow.
The dogs were outside playing […]
200 Posts and a Little Wiser
Over the last 18 months of blogging I have covered a wide variety of topics concerning business, business strategy, HR, demographics, personal development, software development, etc.
In fact, if you look at the pattern of articles you can see the things that are foremost in my mind over a period of time.
Over the last six months, I have moved a lot more focus onto what makes entrepreneurs succeed. Does this mean I don't care about software development?
Nope, in fact it means that the software I am now interested in building is comprised of tools to help entrepreneurs and businesses succeed. I […]
Information Overload – Blink
Your brain processes things at two levels: conscious and subconscious (not unconscious).
Conscious thought demands information, cost and benefit analysis, pros and cons. We demand more information. But more information does not equal understanding. Understanding vast amounts of information is very difficult. You can still draw the wrong conclusion, especially under stress.
Worst of all, decisions take a lot longer to make. What if we make a mistake? If I just had a little more information I could make a risk free decision. Analysis paralysis. You can also make a wrong conclusion and stick to it because that is what all the […]
Great Leadership and Management
The age old discussion around what is the difference between great leaders and managers continues.
Marcus Buckingham in "The One Thing You Need to Know" sheds a little light on this.
Great managers are focused on maximizing the performance of the people they manage by developing talent. Great managers are catalysts… speed up the reaction between each employee's talents and the company's goals. They are motivated by helping people grow.
Great leaders rally people to a better future. The focus on the future and the drive to accomplish something new/better is what drives a leader.
Some people have both traits […]
Becoming a Small Giant
I recently finished reading "Small Giants – Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big" by Bo Burlington.
I enjoyed the book, though like most of these books, you need to determine how and what you will apply to yourself.
My basic take-aways include:
- Find a product/service that the market needs and is willing to pay for,
- Build a company that is great at delivering that product/service,
- Determine what you really want from the company you are building,
- Let your growth be a result of providing a great product/service and building a great company,
- You have choices: you can be great and stay relatively small […]
Learning from Experience
I have a country neighbour who decided to put up a fence. They acquired those 6 foot high by 8 foot long, pre-assembled solid fence panels and proceeded to put the fence up using 4×4 posts set in dirt every 8 feet.
It gets really windy in this region. Howling windy. And they are located in an unsheltered lot.
They got about 8-10 panels up before the first wind and rainstorm struck from the north. The next day we saw part of the fence leaning at a 45 degree angle, a bobcat (tractor) holding part of the fence up and a bunch of boards holding […]
What Does the Other Person Really Want?
We often go into a situation with preconceived notions about what we want and what the benefits are to the other person or organization.
This applies to partnerships, client relationships, vendor relationships, employee-employer relationships, and personal relationships.
Don't jump to the solution until you really understand the problem.
Otherwise your hammer will make everything a nail.
How do you get this understanding?
You ask and then… listen.
Simple in concept? You bet. Hard for most of us to pull off consistently? Certainly or the world of relationships would be a lot simpler.
Business Owners
What are your personal goals? Does your role in the business align with your […]
Mirror Mirror on the Wall (Self Reflection)
In the last few days I have been looking at myself. Who I am and who I want to be.
You can look in a mirror and see your reflection, but that is just the outside appearance that the rest of the world sees.
If you start looking around at the people in your life and the strength and quality of your relationships you see a different reflection.
You were born into your family. You don't choose those relationships but you choose how you manage them.
You get to choose your spouse and vice versa. Same with friends, business partners, etc.
Then you can […]
A Mix of Messages
What is in a Company Name?
I recently saw a truck drive by with the name "Explosive Landscapes". Not sure I would want my landscape to explode or do they blow up old ones or is that how they dig holes? I would probably choose a landscaping company by referral so the name probably doesn't matter.
That begs the question, does a company name really matter as long as it is easy to remember and spell?
How much time does a startup spend agonizing over a company name and logo? Unless you are going to be like McDonald's your logo is probably the […]