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As a business owner, you know what it’s like to lie awake at 2 a.m. Maybe it has happened when you are excited and full of new ideas for your business. More often, it’s because you are worried about issues you will face the next day. Sometimes, it’s because you just woke up with the solution to a problem. I’ve experienced all those emotions about my businesses over the years. Awake at 2 o’clock? is where I share them with you, and hopefully help with answers that will let you sleep.
John F. Dini, CExP, CEPA
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Small business owners are the Hunters of the 21st century. We are 3% of the US population, and yet we create over half of all American jobs. As Hunters, we may not be inclined to manage by the numbers or stick to systems. Are you a Hunter or a Farmer?
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How prepared are you to exit your company?
The Assessment breaks down the four major categories of exit readiness; Finance, Planning, Operations and Revenue/Profit.
Tag Archives: leadership
You Shouldn’t be Your Own Second in Command
Business owners are accustomed to wearing many hats, and many don’t have the financial resources or personnel to field a full management team. The owner winds up wearing one or more functional hats in addition to that of the CEO. If you have … Continue reading
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My Interview with Robert Morris: Part I
Robert Morris is the number one reviewer of business books for Amazon.com. A few weeks ago he posted a great review of Hunting in a Farmer’s World, and asked if he could interview me. Bob’s questions were really fun, and the interview … Continue reading
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Meetings Part IV: Action!
Meetings are for the sole purpose of making decisions. Sharing information is important, but there are many far more efficient and cost effective ways to do it. As an aside, unnecessary meetings are frequently excused by “But if I send a … Continue reading
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Meetings Part III: The Meat of the Meet
We will presume that you’ve started your meeting with the proper preparation, as discussed in last week’s column. Now it is time to get into the business of the meeting, the meat of the meet as it were. This week, we will … Continue reading
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Meetings Part II: Start Right
Thank you to everyone who posted or emailed their suggestions for productive meetings. Please keep them coming! By far the most frequent suggestion was to have a written agenda. That is as good a place as any to start. Distribute … Continue reading
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Meetings should end with agreement on the text for, “Actions Arising From This Meeting”. Where appropriate, the actions should include designation of the person responsible for the activity, resources that will be applied, next task review date, and delivery date. Most likely these last details will require time to flesh out but the process of having them called out as line items in the meeting agenda minimizes the risk that nothing will get done.
Another good practice is to hold “Standing Meetings” where literally all attendees stand. This works well for Monday morning meetings to remind everybody of the targets for the week and quick assessment of any new issues. If the meeting is limited to 30 minutes, it is useful to have some hand signals, (eg throat swipe to cut off a topic needing more time or a different audience), to keep the meeting brief.
One more item for the “meat of a meeting”. Punctuality. A company I was with in the ’80s charged $1/minute after 3 minutes. The money went in a jar (literally) and when there was enough we all went out for a round of drinks after work. This policy did not hurt anyone financially, but it had a huge positive impact on punctuality.