Archive for 'Leadership'

The Great Illusion (Symptoms and Causes)

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The Great Illusion (Symptoms and Causes)

The Great Illusion

In life and in business, we often notice the symptoms before the causes.  Symptoms are by-products.  They are not causes.  And though symptoms will make you miserable, they are not causational.

Fever is a sign of infection.  Where is the infection?  Smoke is a sign of fire.  What is on fire?  Those are the real questions.

In business, a lack of sales is a sign that something is amiss.  The lack of sales is a symptom.  The inability of an ...

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Know Your Number

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Know Your Number

Know Your Number

Only God knows.  You never know when someone might offer you an unexpected sum to buy your business or organization.

Would you sell it?  Would you keep it?

Many moons ago, I learned of someone who was offered an untold amount to buy his business.  It was a large sum.

The offer would be passed up.  And many years later, the M & A (mergers & acquisitions) market would not be friendly to the industry.

Should the person have sold when he ...

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Hard Work

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Hard Work

Hard Work

In one of our Membership articles, we provided our Member clients one of Blue Elevator™’s secret formulas for success in business.  Whereas we won’t spill those beans here, we do want to provide you with another secret.

It is the secret of hard work.  And that being: hard work is a limiting reagent.

I learned the concept of a limiting reagent from my high school chemistry teacher (i.e., thank you, Mrs. Connie Grosse).  I will summarize it here.  A limiting reagent ...

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Excellence As An Ideal

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Excellence As An Ideal

Excellence As An Ideal

Something’s amiss.  Sometime, in a galaxy far, far away, something changed.

As far back as I can remember, we were equipped for excellence.  The pursuit of perfection.  Excellence as an ideal.  I seemingly and simultaneously straddle two generations: The Baby Boomers and Generation X.  It depends upon who you ask.  It depends upon what chart you look up.

I was born in the summer of 1965 – my birthday often falling on the last day of the school year.

Things ...

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The Problem with Self Reflection

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The Problem with Self Reflection

Dedication

This article is dedicated to all present and future clients of Blue Elevator™.  Business is a tough sport.  And sparingly, there are few courageous enough to embark on the ongoing process of rigorous business advisory.  You have taken the road less traveled by.  This article is dedicated to you.

The Problem With Self Reflection

There is a problem with self reflection.  The very exercise itself is almost guaranteed to reveal an opportunity to improve.

Why the Trouble?

Reflecting back on the past several years, ...

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Ready to Engage

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Ready to Engage

Ready to Engage?

In a preceding article, Business Consulting – Then and Now, we made the case for cutting-edge business advisory.  We finished with the question: Are you ready to engage?  Generally speaking, the answer is usually “Yes!”

  1. “Yes, let’s go!”
  2. “Yes, I would like to, but … things are slow right now and I need to close a few more deals so I can build some cash to start work.”
  3. “Yes, I would like to, but ...
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Taking Inventory

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Taking Inventory

Taking inventory

The phrase “taking inventory” conjures up different ideas for different people.

At face value, “taking inventory” has an accounting flavor to it.  In fact, the first time I heard the phrase was in an accounting class at Cal State University Fullerton.  The professor shared with the class these comments.  “You guys will be doing accounting work.  However, this work should not be done in a vacuum.  You have to get out of your seats every once in a while.  You ...

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Go To Plan

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Go To Plan

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Leadership and the Silent Majority

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Leadership and the Silent Majority

Leadership and the silent majority

So you want to be a leader?  The leader title doesn’t just apply to those in positional leadership, such as the C-Suite (e.g. CEO, CFO, COO, etc.) – it applies to all of us who desire to make a positive impact on our workplace, ministry, and the world.  As we will address, it is important for the leader to know his or her respective constituency – and specifically, a group we will call the silent majority.

As ...

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