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Why Market Leaders Look to the Future to Act Today
If there is one thing we can agree on, it’s that the marketplace is quickly evolving and changing. The factors that drive business success today may not be the same factors that will drive future...
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Social Media: What is it? How should I use it?
Social media continues to be the hot topic that everyone is talking about – but what is it, and how can it be optimally leveraged to positively impact your business? Here’s a textbook definition:...
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Strategic Planning or Strategic Execution?
Is strategic planning a valuable exercise – yes! Is it all about developing the plan – no. All organizations, large and small, commercial and not-for-profit, can gain from strategic planning. The...
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To Brand or Not to Brand – That is the Question
What do Disney®, Starbucks®, Apple®, Coke® and Nike® have in common? They are all iconic brands with evangelistic customer franchises. You may think that branding is an investment that your business...
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Do I Need a Vision to Pursue a Mission?
Whenever this topic comes up, there seems to be widespread confusion regarding the difference between “mission” and “vision”. Many think these are the same thing. They are not. “Vision” addresses...
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Is Cost Based Pricing Fair?
The temptation is always there to determine a fair margin above the costs of goods sold or hours expended in the provision of a service, and then price products and services accordingly. So many of us...
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Customer Delight = Value Creation
How many times have you heard: “the customer is always right”? It’s so over quoted, it almost sounds trite. However, the underlying principle is that most of us are in business for one and only one...
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What’s Your Purpose?
As we approach the end of the year, it’s traditional to reflect upon what we have accomplished in the past twelve months and our goals for the coming year. This is fine when you’re thinking about...
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Ask, and You Shall Get
Many people find selling to be a tremendous challenge. Some fear hearing “no” – others might lack sufficient confidence in their product/service offering to ask for the sale in a concise and...
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9 Reasons Why “Less is More” in Business
#9: “Power Brands” earn their top-standing status by consistently communicating a singular positioning concept – i.e., Disney = magic, Coke = refreshment, Apple = awesome design. #8: Organizations with...
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What We Can Learn from Steve Jobs
I recently read Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson (see http://amzn.to/wO6Ffg). I highly recommend this book – not only a great read, but full of practical wisdom that you can apply in managing your...
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It’s Not What You Say As Much As How You Say It
Did you know that according to studies, only 7% of what your audience “hears” is based on the actual words you express? David Mann (www.davidcmann.com), a corporate communications trainer, notes that...
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Innovators Come in All Forms
All too often, we think of innovation as just the creation of a new idea – but, what matters most is bringing that idea to life to accomplish great things within an organization or society as a whole....
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Power Brands Are Built on a Firm Foundation
Many mistakenly think that brand development is a creative process – with the main output being an engaging logo. No doubt, a compelling tagline and logo which clearly communicate the brand’s core...
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Collaboration – The “Plastics” of Our Time
Remember in the movie The Graduate when Dustin Hoffman’s character, Benjamin Braddock, got advice from Mrs. Robinson’s husband regarding where the future lay: “One word, plastics”. Well, that was the...
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Summer Musings on Leadership
Leadership is an elusive concept. Many leadership theories abound – but oftentimes these theories are more complex than they need to be. At the most fundamental level, we all know that “if there are...
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How to Best Develop Yourself for Leadership
Recently, I heard a leadership consultant address the topic of “how to make yourself indispensable to your organization”. He provided a somewhat new perspective on an old topic – what does it take to...
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Regular or Long Corndog?
Recently, I saw a state fair trailer stopped on the highway shoulder with a banner that read: “Regular or Long Corndog”. Interesting choice. Perhaps your doctor would express it differently: “corndog...
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Are You Keeping Your “Campaign” Promises?
If you’re like me, you are probably ecstatic that the flurry of political ads has finally come to an end. How many campaign promises did you hear over the past few months? Do you feel confident that...
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What If?
On the surface, this is a very small question. But, I contend, it is also an extremely powerful one! As we enter the holiday season, it is traditional to take time to reflect upon the past year and...
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