As a small-business owner, it’s safe to say, you never set out to fail as a leader. The majority start off with the best intentions and want to grow a team and a company they can be proud of for years to come. But somewhere along the way, things start to get fuzzy. You start working […]
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As a leader, your actions always speak louder than words when it comes to creating a company culture that is beneficial for both your employees and your company as a whole. And, from my experience as a business coach who speaks to thousands of owners every year, there are some actions that speak louder than others. […]
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Remember as a child when you were told, “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all”? Well, that piece of advice is relevant when it comes to managing a team as well. And as anyone who has ever managed a group of people knows, it can be difficult at times with different […]
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Being a good manager is hard work. It’s one thing to get your team in alignment on a task or project at hand to meet a deadline, but it’s a whole other thing to help your team members grow and develop as individuals within your organization. And unfortunately, that’s where many managers and leaders fall short. We are so […]
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Leading a team can be a lot of work, and for many business owners and leaders their first real experience leading a team is when they start their own businesses. This is why it’s imperative that you take the time and energy to hone your management skills along the way to help your business grow and thrive. Today, I […]
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By now we all know that emotional intelligence is important for leaders and managers to be successful. But today I wanted to go a step further and talk about social intelligence. What it is, why it matters, and how you can improve this soft skill to become a better manager and leader for your team. First, let’s define […]
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Are you a manager or are you a leader? As a business coach, this question comes up a lot, and many people use the terms interchangeably. But there is a difference between the two, and there is a time and a place for you to be a manager and to be a leader. So today I want to […]
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In the past, I have spoken about the power of delegation when it comes to growth in your business. If done properly, you can exponentially grow your business without having to work 80-plus hours a week. But did you know that when it comes to delegation there are a few different approaches you can take, and both […]
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In my 25-plus years of being a business coach, I have worked with thousands of business owners across the globe, many of whom started out with no intention of becoming a leader or even a manager. They had a business idea that resonated with a customer base, and took that idea or passion and turned it into a thriving […]
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For a lot of business owners, managing a team is one of the hardest but most rewarding parts of the job. If handled properly, you can grow your business and experience a level of growth and freedom that your competition can’t. But if done improperly, it can really hurt your business and your ability to service your customers. […]
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As a business owner or manager, not only is it your job to help your team celebrate the victories and successes that they experience but it is also imperative that you are able to recognize when a team member is out of sorts and struggling in their current position. And how you approach that conversation […]
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Emotional intelligence is a term that has taken the spotlight a lot over the past few years, and for good reason. As a leader, how you handle your emotions, both good and bad, can have a direct impact on your success or failure as a leader. And as a business coach for more than 25 years, I […]
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As a business coach, I am in a unique position to not only help struggling business owners but also recognize and identify unproductive patterns of behaviors across all industries and business models. This in turn allows me to help others dodge a similar fate. So today I wanted to address the real reason that you are struggling […]
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As a business owner, being trustworthy is a huge contributing factor as to whether you have the ability to scale your business or not. Because as your business gets larger, and the stakes get higher, it is imperative that those around you trust you to follow through. I have seen far too many leaders, who say that they […]
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Over the last 25 years, I have had the privilege of personally coaching hundreds of business owners. And as such, there are so many things that go into teaching and training great leaders, one of which has to do with the ability to lead with integrity. Leading with integrity is so important to help set the right tone, […]
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I talk a lot about time management and focusing on the few things that create the most value for your business quite often here and with my business coaching clients. And for the majority of leaders those two areas will set them up for growth, but there are two more areas that I believe make […]
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As a business coach for over 25 years, I have talked to a lot of business owners across various industries and everyone has a story to tell. They all have strengths, weaknesses and challenges to overcome and while many of them are unique to their specific business, you would be amazed to know that there […]
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When it comes to being a leader, we are all on different journeys and paths. But overall, most of us (or the leaders in our company) fall within one of three categories. And understanding what each category consists of will help us not only identify where our leaders are at present but also where they […]
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As a business coach, I meet with a lot of business owners who have lost sight of their goals within their business. Somehow over the years, their business has started to stray, and it has become increasingly more difficult to get it back on track. And in the majority of cases, the reasons for such a […]
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We all know that deep down micromanaging is bad for our businesses. Yet many, like myself, still struggle with the very real urge to take control and handle things ourselves. So we have to ask ourselves, what drives this behavior? Why do rational people choose to micromanage, even when faced with the inevitable truth of the […]
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As a business owner, the urge to micromanage is really strong for a lot of us. You put a lot of time and energy into building your business. As such, you may have the desire to have a hand in everything surrounding your business. But this desire to control everything, and the micromanaging that follows, […]
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As a business coach, I am in the business of helping business owners overcome hurdles and help them grow their businesses faster than they thought possible. And as such, I have seen my share of leadership issues and problems. And if I had to pinpoint one issue that causes the most problems for business owners- […]
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As a business owner, your behavior has a direct correlation to the success or failure of your business. Especially if you tend to suffer from what I like to call controlitis, which is the overwhelming urge to have your hands in everything surrounding your business. Business owners with this affliction tend to be perfectionists who […]
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When it comes to being a leader, there is a lot of pressure to get things right the first time. You have stakeholders, customers and your team all watching and it can be difficult to admit when we have made mistakes or failed at something we set out to do. But it happens. In fact, […]
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We are officially into the second quarter of the year, and if you are like many of my business coaching clients, it’s been a busy year thus far. Most have taken the time to complete their quarterly action plans and have a good idea of where they want their businesses to grow in the next […]
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As humans, we are creatures of habit. We find a way to do something that is easy and efficient, and it’s much easier for us to continue doing it the same way over and over again than to challenge our preconceived notions of how it should be done. This is even more prevalent when it comes […]
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Over the past 25 years, I have talked to thousands of business leaders from many different industries. I have met with some inspirational leaders who have taken their teams to great heights. And I have met leaders that have subsequently driven their businesses into the ground due to poor leadership. For the most part, both […]
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As a business owner and coach for over 25 years, I have worked with thousands of individuals across various industries and positions. All of them were looking to be better leaders and better managers for their teams. At the end of the day, that is what all business owners ultimately want. They want to figure […]
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As a business coach, I am a firm believer in focusing on the things that you do best and outsourcing the things that you struggle with. For instance, unless you are an accountant, hiring a controller or bookkeeper is probably a good idea for your business. If you don’t have the slightest clue how to write […]
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Being a good manager takes a lot of time, effort and self-reflection. There are so many things that you can do to help support your team members: like coaching for development, recognizing them for their success and helping them grow in their positions. Most new business owners and managers know the basics of what it takes to manage […]
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Being a good leader is a never ending journey of self-discovery. It doesn’t matter if you have been in business for a year or 20, there is always something to improve and work toward. As a business coach for the past 25 years, I have met thousands of leaders across various industries, and I want to […]
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When was the last time you celebrated a business win? Now, I don’t mean jotting it down in your notebook each time you meet one of your goals and then moving onto the next task. I mean really taking a moment to stop and take it in. Taking time out of your schedule to celebrate […]
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Being a leader is stressful. There is a lot weighing on your shoulders, and this year particularly has been a rough one for so many of us. We have been faced with some new challenges, and even the most calm and collected among us are bound to experience some anxiety. This is normal. Your stress is […]
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“Hello, I am currently out of the office, returning Friday, the 13th. If you need immediate assistance, please contact … “ We have all used auto-reply messages or auto-responders at one point or another. And with the majority of us still working from home, I see them more often than ever before. In the past, I […]
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As a business coach, I have talked to thousands of business owners across all industries over the last few months of this pandemic. Many of you have risen to the occasion and found innovative ways to serve your customers and your employees, while others, understandably, are struggling to settle into this new normal. One thing […]
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As a business owner, your plate is already really full. Your to-do list is several pages long, and your calendar is full of meetings and phone calls. Throw in a few fire drills throughout the day, and it’s a wonder that you get anything accomplished. It’s no surprise, when I bring up productivity with my […]
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Being a business owner is never an easy job, but if you add on the past few years of stress, the vast majority of us are overwhelmed. There are so many things on our plate, and it just keeps piling up. As a business coach, I work with leaders every day to help them feel […]
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As a business coach for more than 25 years, I get the unique opportunity of talking to thousands of business owners every year. I get to hear what is working for them and what isn’t, and over time you start noticing patterns that can help predict whether someone’s business is on the right track for […]
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As a business coach for more than 25 years, I have heard a lot of business advice from leaders and other business coaches in the industry. And much of it, while it may seem well intentioned, is actually pretty bad advice. And there are a few pieces of it that I have heard over and […]
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As a business coach, I talk to thousands of leaders every year. Great business owners who have built and scaled businesses to serve their industry and their customers. Yet almost everyone I talk to wishes that they could be a better leader in some aspect. Whether that means being able to coach and support their team members, […]
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Years ago one of my business mentors Roy shared with me on a rafting trip how time away from his business was one of the key tactics that helped him scale it. Over the past 20 years as an entrepreneur scaling companies has taught me that a business owner can cast a pretty big shadow […]
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With the new year upon us, many business owners spend a great deal of time reflecting on the past year and planning for the future. As a business coach, this is one of my favorite times of the year, as I get to sit down with clients and celebrate their victories and plan out the upcoming quarter. So, today […]
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As a business coach, I have helped thousands of business owners grow and scale their companies. And one of the biggest things we look at when scaling, has to do with their labor and talent pool. If you have a solid team behind you, the chance for success is much higher. But for many business […]
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As a business coach for over twenty five years, I can say with great certainty that this is a topic that I feel very passionate about. I have on boarded clients that had great potential and an amazing product, yet they struggled with how best to use and leverage a business coach to grow their […]
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If you’re running your own business, you’ve heard a few different things in your job description. You’ve probably heard about how important it is to be a great leader and how important it is to be a manager. When you hear these two terms used so often, you may start to think that they’re interchangeable. […]
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Every company knows the importance of having a good leader. Every company knows the importance of having a business strategy. When these two things combine to create one powerful leader, the success of your business could improve greatly. What exactly is strategic leadership, and what is the difference between leadership and management? Most importantly, how […]
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If you’ve always wanted to be a true leader but have felt that you just weren’t born with the natural ability to lead, you may have given up on that dream. The truth is, everyone is a potential leader. Sure, some people are born with a bit of an advantage, but leadership is actually a […]
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If you’re reading this, chances are you’re in some type of leadership position or are about to make a transition into one. This also means that you make sure that you’re doing a good job at it, which is a great start to becoming a great leader. To be the best leader that you can […]
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Have you asked yourself “what is my leadership style?” Well, when it comes to leading, we know that there are many different leadership styles out there, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. Ideally, a good leader can understand all of the different styles and implement them at different times, when they are most appropriate […]
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Many of us like to view ourselves as leaders or, at the very least, as people who could become great leaders. But what exactly goes into making a great and effective leader? And how can you become a great leader yourself? You might ask “ what is my leadership style?” While there are many different […]
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As a business owner, you make a lot of decisions every single day. Some big, some small, and some that will change the course of your business if navigated correctly. There is no shortage of opportunities to take a stand and pick a side. But as I have seen over the past 25 years with […]
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If you have been reading my column over the past five years, you know that while I’m serious about business, I’m even more serious about my family. Especially when it comes to raising my three sons. Over the past twenty-five years, I have helped thousands of business owners reach their goals, but I can honestly […]
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As a business coach for over twenty five years, I have pretty much seen and heard it all. But today, I wanted to talk about something that I see more and more in the business community, and why it’s a sign that there is a problem in your business. Let me begin by setting the […]
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If left to my own devices, I have a tendency to be a bit of a control freak, and after twenty five years of business coaching, I can say with great certainty that I am not alone in my need for control. Many business owners feel the need to have their hands in all aspects […]
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I was recently re-organizing my office when I came across one of my journals from 2001. In it, I had written about how hard I was working and how close I was to getting burnt out. I was on the road teaching workshops 10 months out of the year, and it was really taking a […]
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For 25 years I have helped thousands of business leaders grow their company and succeed professionally. Some of these high performers needed help scaling their business, some wanted to be able to step away from it all and spend time with their friends and family and a growing number of entrepreneurs are simply physically and […]
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When I first met Daniel he was at a crossroads in his business. By many accounts he was successful. He had a consulting firm in North Carolina and had recently acquired two firms in California. When he reached out to me for business coaching, he was struggling to put the pieces together. He was working […]
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Three years ago, my company was hosting an awards dinner for our business coaching clients. There at the banquet were the CEOs and owners of over a hundred companies from around the world. One of the final awards we gave that evening was to a quiet woman named Tina, who along with her husband, Matthew, […]
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Over the past 25 years of business coaching, I have had the opportunity to coach thousands of business owners from all walks of life, with great success. Recently, I have noticed an influx in CEO moms looking to scale their businesses and I couldn’t be more thrilled with this turn of events. As I have […]
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Do you wish there was a way to supercharge your staff and help them achieve their full potential? Do you wonder if you are doing your best to support their efforts and put their best foot forward? Over the last 25 years, I have helped thousands of business owners just like you become great leaders. […]
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