How to Sharpen Your Delegation Skills and Empower Your Team As a business owner, one of the most important skills you can develop is effective delegation. Learning to hand off responsibilities to your employees is key to growing your business and stepping into a stronger leadership role. However, for many entrepreneurs, delegating tasks—especially important ones—can…
How to Identify and Avoid Organizational Growing Pains in Your Small Business Growing a business is exciting, but can you grow too fast? Absolutely. While rapid growth might sound like the ultimate success, it can be more harmful than helpful. In fact, research shows that businesses growing over 25% annually are at a higher risk…
10 Ways to Get Great Referrals (Even if You Stink at Asking for Them) When it comes to sales tools, few things are more powerful than customer referrals. They’re simple, effective, and absolutely free. We love when referrals come our way. Yet many entrepreneurs are reluctant to actively request them. If you’re one of them,…
How to Diffuse Workplace Conflict and Create Consensus I recently conducted a workshop on a highly emotional topic: humans in the workplace. After all, every human being—employees and bosses—shows up for work accompanied by their unique drives, triggers, and tendencies. All things considered, it’s a wonder we get any work done at all. My message…
Being a Good Manager One of the advantages of running a small business is that you can manage your employees on an individualized basis. A savvy boss identifies each worker’s hot buttons and work style, and manages employees accordingly. And if you’re super-savvy, you’ll factor in the cultural generation your employees belong to as well….
Inspiring Employees vs Motivating Employees Inspiring employees is a lot easier than you might think. There are managers who “lead” through bullying and intimidation, but demeaning people doesn’t inspire loyalty, only fear. Dictatorship isn’t leadership, and most people don’t perform their best under stress, anyway. True leadership means creating a gratifying employer/employee relationship that starts…
How can you work smarter? Are your days so busy that you rarely get to the most important items on your to-do list? Work smarter. According to small business peer board members, success came easier once they learned to concentrate on tasks that matter, instead of spending time on trivial activities. They learned to harness…
