Archive for 'Management Action Items'

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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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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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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SALY

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SALY

SALY

A short title, yes.  But, it’s a short title with big implications.

What is SALY?

SALY is not the name of your sister, mother, wife, or girlfriend.  After all, it’s not even spelled correctly.

SALY is simple: It stands for Same As Last Year.

Where did SALY Come From?

SALY is a term I came across ages ago when I was discharging my duties as a CPA.  I was privileged to work with a firm called Coopers & Lybrand – a Big Eight firm.  Back ...

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Black Friday

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Black Friday

Black Friday

Black Friday.  My earliest memory of this term was when I was a student in the school of business at Cal State University, Fullerton.  It was sometime in the 1980s.

I really had no idea as to the meaning of the term.  I was young (e.g., hadn’t been around that long) and I was a young man (e.g., typically not the demographic of a serious retail shopper).

Black Friday – the meaning

Accordingly, I could only hazard a guess as to the ...

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Vision and Leadership and Effectiveness – Oh My!

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Vision and Leadership and Effectiveness – Oh My!

Vision and Leadership and Effectiveness – Oh My!

Vision and leadership and effectiveness are the proverbial lions and tigers and bears of business and life.  All are big things in and of themselves – even more so, when taken together.  Whether you are a student, a solo entrepreneur, or the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, all these are necessary for success.

Vision

Vision is where you want to go.  Every successful endeavor must have an end goal in mind.

Where there is no ...

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Equilibrium or Not?

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Equilibrium or Not?

Equilibrium or Not?

Have you ever noticed that all of us tend to want to find that comfortable little place I will call equilibrium point.  It’s that little “pocket” where things feel just right.  Whether it’s your exercise routine (or lack thereof), your relationships, your diet, or the business you manage, we tend to find ourselves stuck in these spaces in life that we find down right comfortable.  The problem is, over time, those equilibrium points tend to get ...

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