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Marketing, Marketing & Sales
The Only Customer Satisfaction Survey You Should Ever Use
March 17, 2012
It only has 2 Questions: Would you recommend this to a friend? Why or Why not? This is a slightly modified version of John Mariotti's approach. I added the phrase "to a friend" because it adds an emotional element to…
CEO Skills
Do you LIKE being a Firefighter?
February 10, 2012
http://www.flickr.com/photos/devcentre/3664269507/in/photostream I understand the appeal. After all, didn’t we start our companies because we wanted to make money doing something we love? In my experience the things most entrepreneurs love revolve around sales or making product. Then as the organization…
Productivity
Starting the New Year with Zeros and Ones
January 3, 2012
Here's a picture of my desk. It's got ZERO papers on it. If I'm working on something I'll put that ONE thing on the desk. Then put it away when I'm done, or when I'm interrupted. This concept is new…
Marketing & Sales
Think Backwards for Better Sales
December 18, 2011
Most sales people think they are in control and they move prospects through the various steps toward a sale. I'm suggesting that you think backwards - and look at the process from the buyer's side. The buyer goes through 4…
Personal
Occupy Wall Street – Like the 60’s Only Better
October 18, 2011
I visited Zuccotti park on Sunday (Oct 16, 2011) and it brought back memories of marching against the Vietnam war in the 60’s – and yes, despite the fact that I remember the 60’s I really was there. In once…
Advisor Stack, Coaches
When Not to hire a Business Coach (and when you should)
October 15, 2011
Shadow Coaching. Surgeon Atul Gawande has a great article in New Yorker about hiring a coach to help him become a better surgeon. He doesn’t call it this, but what he’s describing is “Shadow Coaching”. A shadow coach watches you…
Growth & Plans
Why Good Companies Stop Growing
September 6, 2011
Imagine you’re climbing a mountain and the fog rolls in. You can’t see the trail as far as you’d like, but you know you’re trying to reach the top. So you figure as long as each step takes you higher…
Community, Conditions, Personal
We Survived Hurricane Irene – and why that matters to Your Business
August 29, 2011
Living in Connecticut with some big trees in the yard, we stocked up on water, food we could eat without cooking, propane and then slept in the finished basement. We spent the entire time with running water (hot AND cold).…
Organizational Design
Why Most CEOs do Nothing All Day
July 12, 2011
By "most CEO's" I don't mean most of the people who have CEO on their business card; not those in charge of very large, public companies. Most of us run companies with less than 100 people. In fact, 50% of…
Community
Is business Bad for Politics or the Otherway Round?
May 23, 2011
I posted four years ago that typical pro-business political positions are often actually bad for business because they are short sighted. In my experience working with business owners, lack of strategic planning is something they are almost always "too busy"…