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Top Six Traits of a Great Small Business Consultant
In my last post I shared my top ten benefits of working with a small business consultant. So now it got you thinking about hiring small business consultant. But what makes up a great small business consultant? Here are my…
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Why Hire a Small Business Consultant?
Why hire a small business consultant? Why not? If your reason has to do with time or money, then my response is you can’t afford to be without one. In today’s very competitive business world hiring a small business consultant…
Read MoreMarine Corps Leadership Basics for Business – Management Tips, Part 3
In this blog I will share the final two bonus management tips that are special to the Marine Corps. 5. Get an Outside Perspective. The Marine Corps is always on guard against becoming stagnant or constrained by one point of…
Read MoreMarine Corps Leadership Basics for Business – Management Tips, Part 2
In this blog I will share bonus management tips three and four that are exclusive to the Marine Corps. 3. Marines Make Every Team Member a Problem Solver. The Corps pushes as much decision-making authority down to the lower levels…
Read MoreMarine Corps Leadership Basics for Business – Management Tips, Part 1
In the next three posts I will share six bonus management tips that are exclusive to the Marine Corps. Here are tips one and two. 1. Manage According to the Rule of Three. This rule dictates a person should limit…
Read MoreMarine Corps Leadership Basics for Business – Senior Management, Part 3
In my last post I spoke about skills three and four that the Marine Corps uses to advance their senior NCOs and senior officers. In this post I would like to share the final two methods. 5. The loyalty of…
Read MoreMarine Corps Leadership Basics for Business – Senior Management, Part 2
In my last blog I spoke about two practices the Marine Corps uses to develop their senior NCOs and senior officers. In this post I would like to share two additional proven techniques. 3. The Marine Corps has a no-frills…
Read MoreMarine Corps Leadership Basics for Business – Senior Management, Part 1
Now that I have discussed how the Marine Corps develops its middle managers, I will move on to how they cultivate their senior managers – senior NCOs and senior officers. I will start with two of the six techniques the…
Read MoreMarine Corps Leadership Basics for Business – Middle Management, Part 3
In my last post I spoke about techniques three and four that the Marine Corps uses to advance their senior NCOs and junior officers. In this post I would like to share the final two methods. 5. The Corps believes…
Read MoreMarine Corps Leadership Basics for Business – Middle Management, Part 2
In my last blog I spoke about two practices the Marine Corps uses to develop their senior NCOs and junior officers. In this post I would like to share two additional solid techniques. 3. Informing your “Troops” is key to…
Read MoreMarine Corps Leadership Basics for Business – Middle Management, Part 1
Now that I have discussed how the Marine Corps develops its front line managers’ leadership skills, I will move on to their middle managers – senior NCOs and junior officers. I will start with two of the six techniques the…
Read MoreMarine Corps Leadership Basics for Business – Front-line Managers, Part 3
In my last post I spoke about techniques three and four that the Marine Corps uses to develop their NCO Marines. In this post I would like to share the final two methods. 5. Instilling a spirit of competition is…
Read MoreMarine Corps Leadership Basics for Business – Front-line Managers, Part 2
In my last blog I spoke about two practices the Marine Corps uses to develop their NCO Marines. In this post I would like to share two more successful techniques. 3. The Marine Corps strives to develop a teaching culture.…
Read MoreMarine Corps Leadership Basics for Business – Front-line Managers, Part 1
Now that I have discussed how the Marine Corps cultivates its Marines, I will move on to how they develop the leadership skills of their front-line managers – NCO Marines. Let’s begin with two of the six techniques the Corps…
Read MoreMarine Corps Leadership Basics for Business – Elite Basic Training, Part 3
In my last post I spoke about techniques three and four that the Marine Corps uses to train their Marines. In this post I would like to share the final two methods. 5. The Corps heavily invests in cross training.…
Read MoreMarine Corps Leadership Basics for Business – Elite Basic Training, Part 2
In my last blog I spoke about two techniques the Marine Corps uses to develop their Marines. In this post I would like to share two more successful approaches. 3. The Marine Corps believes in teaching leadership in small steps.…
Read MoreMarine Corps Leadership Basics for Business – Elite Basic Training, Part 1
Now that I have discussed how the Marine Corps attracts the best, I will move on to how they deliver elite basic training. Let’s start off with two of the six effective basic training techniques the Corps uses and how…
Read MoreMarine Corps Leadership Basics for Business – Attracting the Best, Part 3
In my last post I spoke about techniques three and four that the Marine Corps uses to attract the best. In this post I would like to share the final two methods. 5. The Corps offers guaranteed career paths. If…
Read MoreMarine Corps Leadership Basics for Business – Attracting the Best, Part 2
In my last blog I spoke about two techniques the Marine Corps uses to attract the best. In this post I would like to share two more successful methods. 3. Utilizing an intern program is another great tool. Marines have…
Read MoreMarine Corps Leadership Basics for Business – Attracting the Best, Part 1
As I mentioned earlier, the Marine Corps is well recognized for its world-class leadership program. When it comes to building leaders, no one does it better than the Corps. This exemplary process begins with attracting the best recruits, followed by…
Read MoreMarine Corps Leadership Basics for Business – History
Before we delve into Marine Corps leadership principles, tips and techniques, I would like to share some background on our organization. This will help give you a better understanding of who we are and what we do. The US Marine…
Read MoreMarine Corps Leadership Basics for Business
The US Marine Corps is famous for its world-class leadership program. When it comes to building leaders, no one does it better. Throughout my business career I have utilized the Corps’ bold leadership principles and methods and have found them…
Read MoreStep Six of Half-Retirement©
Our Half-Retirement© program consists of 6 results-oriented steps. The final step in our program is Enjoying Half-Retirement©. Now that you have completed steps 1 through 5 it is time for you to begin your Half-Retirement© journey. To do so you…
Read MoreStep Five, Phase Four of Half-Retirement©
Our Half-Retirement© program consists of 6 results-oriented steps. The fifth step in our program is Setting the Autopilot. Phase four of this step is Management by Walking Around. Management by Walking Around (MBWA) is a style of business management. It…
Read MoreStep Five, Phase Three of Half-Retirement©
Our Half-Retirement© program consists of 6 results-oriented steps. The fifth step in our program is Setting the Autopilot. Phase three of this step is Redesigning Your Financial Controls. Financial controls are the procedures, policies, and means by which a company…
Read MoreStep Five, Phase Two of Half-Retirement©
Our Half-Retirement© program consists of 6 results-oriented steps. The fifth step in our program is Setting the Autopilot. Phase two of this step is Manage by Flash Report. A Flash Report is a measure of change. It’s a one-page report…
Read MoreStep Five, Phase One of Half-Retirement©
Our Half-Retirement© program consists of 6 results-oriented steps. The fifth step in our program is Setting the Autopilot. Phase one of this step is KPIs for Everything. Profit is not a manageable activity, it is the result of activities that…
Read MoreStep Four of Half-Retirement©
Our Half-Retirement© program consists of 6 results-oriented steps. The fourth step in our program is Re-Leverage Your Assets. Every business has under-utilized assets. These assets include your business model, sales and marketing, finance, operations, R&D, and management/HR. The most effective…
Read MoreStep Three, Phase Four of Half-Retirement©
Our Half-Retirement© program consists of 6 results-oriented steps. The third step in our program is Untangling the Owner from the Business. Phase 4 of this step is Measure, Assess & Refine. Prior to using Tiered Delegation™ you must be able…
Read MoreStep Three, Phase Three of Half-Retirement©
Our Half-Retirement© program consists of 6 results-oriented steps. The third step in our program is Untangling the Owner from the Business. Phase 3 of this step is Tiered Delegation™. Tiered Delegation™ is a 5-part delegation process that allows you to…
Read MoreStep Three, Phase Two of Half-Retirement©
Our Half-Retirement© program consists of 6 results-oriented steps. The third step in our program is Untangling the Owner from the Business. Phase 2 of this step is FEVER Delegation™. FEVER Delegation™ is a tool to help you better organize tasks…
Read MoreStep Three, Phase One of Half-Retirement©
Our Half-Retirement© program consists of 6 results-oriented steps. The third step in our program is Untangling the Owner from the Business. Phase 1 of this step is Finding Your Picasso Work™. What are the qualities of Picasso? Only Picasso can…
Read MoreStep Two of Half-Retirement©
Our Half-Retirement© program consists of 6 results-oriented steps. The second step is to Adopt a Half-Retirement© Mindset. In order to get the most from Half-Retirement© some old mindsets NEED to go. You MUST make room for the new Half-Retirement© mindsets. …
Read MoreStep One of Half-Retirement©
Our Half-Retirement© program consists of 6 results-oriented steps. The first step is to Create Magnetism. You cannot Half-Retire© without a solid commitment to make it happen. It is much easier to have a strong positive force “pulling” you towards Half-Retirement©…
Read MoreDon’t Sell Your Business, Half-Retire!
Half-Retirement© is a new and exciting program that Paradigm Strategies now offers. It is a great alternative to selling your business. You work 2 to 3 days a week, doing the work you enjoy, while keeping your existing income. The…
Read MoreGrowth Planning Post COVID-19 Shutdown: Monitor, Evaluate & Adjust
In this blog I will be discussing the final step of creating your COVID-19 shutdown growth plan, monitoring, evaluating and adjusting your plan. Now that your growth plan has been created and implemented you must monitor evaluate and adjust it…
Read MoreGrowth Planning Post COVID-19 Shutdown: Implementation
In this blog I will be discussing step seven of creating your COVID-19 shutdown growth plan, implementation. Now that your growth plan is completed it is time to implement it. This can be a difficult step since it can easily…
Read MoreGrowth Planning Post COVID-19 Shutdown: KPIs & Flash Report
In this blog I will be discussing step six of creating your COVID-19 shutdown growth plan, creating KPIs and a flash report. A KPI is a quantitative business metric that measures a specific criteria’s performance. KPI is an acronym for…
Read MoreGrowth Planning Post COVID-19 Shutdown: Key Objective, Strategies & Tactics
In today’s blog I will be discussing steps three through five of creating your COVID-19 shutdown growth plan, establishing key objectives, crafting business strategies, and constructing business tactics. Key objectives clarify what you are trying to accomplish in specific, measurable…
Read MoreGrowth Planning Post COVID-19 Shutdown: SMART Goals
In my next blog I will be discussing steps three through five of creating your COVID-19 shutdown growth plan. These three steps revolve around goal setting; therefore, I want to discuss SMART goals before we move on to these steps.…
Read MoreGrowth Planning Post COVID-19 Shutdown: Company Vision Statement
In today’s discussion I will cover step two of creating your post COVID-19 shutdown growth plan, defining your company vision. “Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion” –…
Read MoreGrowth Planning Post COVID-19 Shutdown: Growth Planning Overview
In today’s discussion I will provide an overview of growth planning and why it is necessary to have a growth plan in place once the US economy begins to open. Planning is the process of documenting and establishing the direction…
Read MoreGrowth Planning Post COVID-19 Shutdown
With the opening of the U.S. economy the month in most states (due to the Coronavirus), now is a great time for small- to mid-sized business owners to begin drafting their business recovery strategy. Quite honestly, your strategy does not…
Read More9 Hot Facebook Marketing Tips
I have been on Facebook for about a year now. One thing that seems to mystify me – as well as my business consulting clients – is how to effectively market your business on Facebook. Yesterday I came across this…
Read MoreThe 10 Worst Things to Say When You Fire Someone
As a business consultant I have found that one of the most stressful events my client have to endure is letting someone go. Firing an employees is not an easy thing – for both you and the employee. The following…
Read More5 Ways to Keep Your Top Performers
With the economy starting to turn around many companies are starting to hire again. But this more active job market also means that your top performers may be considering moving on – if they are not happy. So how do…
Read More11 Red Flags You Should Avoid When Hiring
With the economy starting to turn-around I am beginning to see small businesses hiring again. One of the keys to hiring good talent is to avoid hiring bad talent. But how do you do this? This article does a great…
Read MoreHow to Diagnose What’s Wrong With Your Business
I recently came across this article, “How to Diagnose What’s Wrong With Your Business.” It does a nice job of helping small business owners determine what’s wrong – as well as right – with their business. If your business is…
Read MoreWhat to Do When You Underbid on a Project
As a business consultant I am regularly speaking with business owners on bidding work. One of the top areas we talk about is what to do if you underbid a project. I recently came across this quick article that provides…
Read More5 Things Every Small Business Needs to Know About SEO
I was recently discussing SEO with a plumbing contracting client. I find this to be a very interesting topic due to its tech nature as well as the results it can produce if done properly – increase site traffic and…
Read More5 Reasons People Resist Change
The new year tends to bring about thoughts of change. Most small business owners assess the prior year and then begin thinking about various ways to improve their business in the coming year. Some even take the step of creating…
Read MoreThe Top 9 Morale Destroyers
Now that the holidays are over and the new year has begun it is a great time to focus on improving company morale. By developing rapport and building relationships with your people you can make a significant impact on employee…
Read More7 Ways To Improve Your Productivity
We are all busy. Many of us are multi-tasking and yet we still don’t seem to get the things we want to get accomplished at the end of the day. There has to be a solution to this? There is!…
Read MoreTop 10 New Year’s Resolutions for Small Business Owners
As small business owners, on January first we all tend to create one or two goals for the coming year. Some are relevant, but then again some are not. To better prepare yourself for 2012, here are the top ten…
Read More6 Year-end Tax Tips for Small Business
With the new year just around the corner, here is a great article on 6 Year-end Tax Tips for Small Business. Although time is limited, you should take advantage of at least one of these tax tips this year to…
Read More7 Small Business Recruiting Myths
With the economy looking to pick up in 2012 many small business owners are contemplating hiring in the new year. If you are considering hiring next year I think you will find this easy-to-read article relevant. It discusses the 7…
Read MoreSmall Business Confidence Is Up
I just finished reading an article in Businessweek regarding small business owner confidence. It seems that for the third straight month small business owners’ confidence is up. The survey found that hiring intentions has climbed and projected sales has improved.…
Read MoreHow Small Businesses Can Profit Using Social Media
I am constantly asked by small business owners about the future of social media and the most effect way to incorporate it into a small business. Today I just read a great short article on how small businesses can profit…
Read MoreOvercoming Procrastination
One of the biggest obstacles to business planning is getting started. Procrastination can be a huge issue for many small business owners. In my organizational behavior class that I teach for the University of Phoenix I share a great article…
Read MorePlan Now for the New Year!
December is a great month to plan for the coming year. Business planning does not have to be a chore. An effective plan can be easily completed in a couple of hours and need only be one to two pages…
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