Every business has problems. That is why the average life span of a large industrial company is 40 years. Some are learning disabilities where companies are not prepared to learn from their mistakes. They insist on doing the same thing every time. Even when problems occur no one examines the cause of the problem. The problem is an embarrassment that should be swept under the rug and forgotten rather than be used as an opportunity to learn.

Can you imagine going on a road trip without knowing your destination? Or, building your house without plans? The same can be said about running your business without a plan.

They say that -If you dont know where you are going, any road will do.- But if you dont know where you are going how do you know when you get there? Or if the road you are on is the right road or the scenic, roundabout route?

Planning is essential if you have somewhere to go.

The Blind Men and the Elephant

It was six men of Indostan
To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the Elephant
(Though all of them were blind),
That each by observation
Might satisfy his mind.

The First approached the Elephant,
And happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
At once began to bawl:
-God bless me! But the Elephant
Is very like a wall!-

The Second feeling the tusk,
Cried, -Ho, what have we here,
So very round and smooth and sharp?
To me -tis mighty clear
This wonder of an Elephant
Is very like a spear!-

The Third approached the animal,
And happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
Thus boldly up and spake:
-I see,- quoth he, -the Elephant
Is very like a snake!-

The Fourth reached out an eager hand,
And felt about the knee.

The economy may finally be turning around and showing signs of a rebound. Interest rates have begun to rise and the stock market is recovering from the lows it experienced in the last couple of years. Is your business ready to take advantage of these improving times? Can you translate these improvements into increased profits? You can. Read on...

Wouldn't you like to see your profits increase? Sure, but in reality, what influence do you have over any increase? Create a forecast and have profits appear, wow, if only that were true! You have no impact on profits but you do have an impact on the factors that generate your business profits.

Funny how so many organizations offer leadership training. Yeah its a money spinner alright! Money for you? Nah! ROI, puhlease!

Leadership training? Yeah right!

Leaders are people who achieve results. Leaders are those whose attitudes and actions lead to positive results. Sending your staff to leadership training may not deliver the goods you are looking for! It helps them build a foundation for achieving the objectives, if they get to implement the knowledge.

Leaders are people who achieve results. Leaders are those whose attitudes and actions lead to positive results. Sending your staff to leadership training may not deliver the goods you're looking for! It helps them build a foundation for achieving the objectives,
if they get to implement the knowledge. Big IF, some never get the opportunity.

As a company we have spent time with several organizations who send people to fancy schools and programs.

In our consulting we believe that we can and will find the solutions to business problems within the organization in which we work. Often we may need to bring in an outside expert to show how others are doing work, but essentially companies have the solution at hand. Its just not acted upon, for a variety of reasons!

Have you ever heard of the approach or tool called Amplifying the Positive Deviant, which was created by Jerry Sternin? Jerry and his wife, Monique, worked for the Save the Children Foundation in Vietnam during the 1990s.

How important is a vision statement to your company or division? Well, have you ever thought about embarking on a journey without knowing where you are going? The same can be said about running a company, without a vision statement you are going places but who knows if it is in the right direction or even if you want to go there.

A vision statement should paint a picture of what you want your business or division to look like in the future.

In many management situations we find in our consulting and coaching environment we are brought in to solve particular problems. Management and their teams have tried everything they could but like our boiled frog they can't get out of the soup. A consultant is brought in, wearing his bright red cape and carrying a magic wand. After several months' intensive analysis and study a resolution is found.

After Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan published Execution - The discipline of getting things done (ISBN 0-609-61057-0), in 2002, every business on this planet rushed out and dropped copies off to their managers and said "Execute" the quieter implication was, "...or exit."

Why did this happen? Well most managers realize that there is a gap between where they are and where they'd like to be.