Numbers alone don’t tell the whole story. In addition to Quantity, we also need to look at Quality such as feedback, interviews, case studies, and narrative analysis.
Continue reading “Interpreting the Qualitative Data (Experiences and Emotions) in Your Business”
Many of us get stuck in a bad cycle where we try to get results, but we end up feeling powerless to actually get the tasks done.
Let me share what I have learned about helping customers, and why it’s better to define your philosophy, write out policies & procedures, and expect at least a few people to be unhappy no matter what you do.
Continue reading “6 Things I’ve Learned After Serving Non-Ideal Customers”
Do you hate reviewing your business financials? If so, you’re not alone.
In this article, I’ll explain:
Continue reading “Interpreting the Quantitative Data (Numbers) in Your Business”
How well did your business do this year?
Answering this question can bring up a lot of emotions, especially if things did not go as expected. You might feel the pressure of setting end-of-year deadlines. Looking back can result in guilt if we didn’t reach our goals, or anxiety about setting new ones.
Many business owners feel a tug-of-war between accomplishing daily duties AND stepping back to see the “30,000-foot view” of their company. But even though it can be really scary, doing a Year In Review is very helpful. That’s why I recommend taking time to look back at what happened using data that is quantitative (numbers) and qualitative (experiences). Once you review the results (good and bad), you reduce the risk of failure by making adjustments to your plans for the next year.
Here are six helpful resources to guide you through the process.
Continue reading “6 Resources That Can Help You Analyze the Past Year”
“Be sure to take your vitamins!”
This is the message we hear starting in childhood: that supplements are an essential part of a healthy lifestyle.
But despite a widespread belief that they are safe because they are natural, the truth is that some supplements can be quite dangerous. Rather than enhancing health, consuming them in high quantities (or in conjunction with other medications) could result in terrible health outcomes.
Continue reading “35 Potentially Harmful Dietary Supplements You Should Know About”
The Chernobyl nuclear disaster, which affects millions of people to this day, is now available as a 5-part HBO mini-series.
Here is what it taught me about having the courage to speak up.
Continue reading “HBO’s Chernobyl, Risk, and the Devil’s Advocates who Kept Us Safe”
Direct Sales companies, also known as Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) and Network Marketing, are growing exponentially. (Check out a list with hundreds of MLMs around the world.)
But despite their popularity and far-reaching impact, the MLM business model is often predatory, unethical, and at times illegal.
In this post, I want to evaluate the Disclaimer of one MLM company to shed some light on how this model works, how these organizations view risk, and why you should proceed with caution.
Continue reading “Analysis of the Disclaimer from a Direct Sales Company”
Today, I want to share a really useful tool that can help you identify your best customers. It’s called the Ideal Customer Bubble Graph.
This is a great way to know which of your customers are Ideal—individuals who have following qualities:
Continue reading “How to Create an Ideal Customer Bubble Graph”
Some years, things go really well.
And some years, they do not.
If you’ve experienced a lot of difficulties in your business, you may be tempted to see it as a massive failure:
“What a crummy year! It was so terrible. I can hardly wait for it to be over.”
“The new year can’t come soon enough.”
Even you were not able to meet your strategic business objectives this year, I encourage you to consider the positives that happened, rather than speeding past it.
Continue reading “What to Do If Your “Year In Review” is a Disappointment”
One of my favorite TV shows is “The Profit,” a CNBC production starring multi-millionaire entrepreneur Marcus Lemonis.
In each episode, Marcus evaluates a small business and decides whether to invest in its growth. The main tool he uses to make business decisions is called the “3 P’s of Business Success”: People, Process, and Product.
I was curious about who first developed this concept. Was it Mr. Lemonis?
It turns out this concept has its origins in Lean (a systematic processing method used to eliminate waste). After doing some research, I discovered 5 additional versions that can add depth to your understanding of how to run a successful business.
In this post, you will see each of the six examples and illustrations, along with ideas on how to increase your level of business risk intelligence.
Continue reading “6 Versions of the 3 P’s as seen on CNBC’s “The Profit” with Marcus Lemonis”
