Consistent excellence doesn’t just happen. Someone planned for it, it is measured and there is accountability.
In my last post, I talked about processes that were not working.
This is about the opposite.
I was at the Minute Lube on McLeod Trail here in Calgary. The lineups were a little long and after I got into the service bay I had to use the facilities. This is a typical assembly line oil change place […]
“When you play the game of thrones you win or you die. There
is no middle ground.”Cersei Lannister in Game of Thrones
Something similar is true in business, you either earn a
profit or your business will eventually die. There is no middle ground.
The difference is that there can be multiple profitable businesses
in the same market.
And if your business dies, you don’t need to perish with it. In fact, you can try again.
Any business that becomes sustainably profitable generates
happy owners […]
Did you know that something like 90% of drivers think they are above average drivers? Almost half of them are wrong.
50% of doctors graduated in the bottom half of their class? Does that scare you?
Many, maybe even most, business owners think they have above average employees… that their employees are their competitive advantage.
Average: Add up the individual measures of each sample and divide by the total sample size.
Mean: The value for which half the sample is […]
There is a distinct difference between these three ways of imparting knowledge and inspiring people to take action both inside and out of your business. Yet, they are frequently misused.
In reality, preaching is […]
In business and in life you have a choice in how you frame failure.
"How much did that mistake cost you?" or "How much did that lesson cost you?"
Back in university one of our electrical engineering professors told us a story about a mistake when he was a young engineer working for a big company that built transformers.
The professor and another young engineer were tasked with stress testing one of those really big transformers.
Apparently, one of the calculations they performed was a wee bit off […]
I stopped by one of our Sea Buckthorn bushes the other night for a snack. The berries are small and a little tart but packed with nutrition.
The bush is characterized by big sharp spikes, generally 1-2 inches long (2-5 cm). They make it difficult to get the fruit but you can as long as you are patient and careful.
It occurred to me.
I am not the bush’s ideal client!
The ideal client are the little birds that clean off the bush in […]
What you see as reality is not what I see. It is not just me or you.
It is everyone.
Everything you see, touch, smell, feel, hear or otherwise interact with is a construct and interpretation by your brain including the filters of your beliefs and world views.
The illusion of reality.
Once you understand this and that everyone sees and interprets the world differently it becomes a lot easier to get along with others, sell your products and services, and create […]
When we spend time doing things that don’t add value and pretending it is work we are stealing. The only question is from whom?
The Law of Value states:
“Your true worth is determined by how much more you give in value than you take in payment.”
Bob Burg and John David Mann – The Go-Giver
As an employee you are paid to deliver value to your employer that far surpasses the amount of money you take in payment. The more […]
Are your beliefs holding you back in sales?
If you don't believe you can sell until…
You won't!
Just like anything else you choose to do, it is extremely difficult to exceed your own expectations.
Sales starts with attitude.
If you are the only one selling, your business will die or at the very least, you will starve.
[…]
Watching how people drive can tell you a lot about how people think. My hypothesis is that people tend to predominantly think a certain way across multiple areas of their lives.
I am not talking about the ages old good versus bad driver. Most people consider themselves to be above average drivers and statistics say half of them are wrong.
This observation first hit me on the long drive from Calgary to Edmonton watching someone else drive. Much of the highway is two lanes in either direction and the speed limit is mostly 110 km/hour. The challenge is to maintain a constant […]