Being a leader puts you in a powerful position to get more accomplished than doing it alone. But the transmission of that power is team communication. Without systematic and regular communication, you’re demoting yourself from leader to worker.
Robert Sher opens his two-hour Business Planning workshop with the Pro-Track class of the Northern California Chapter of the National Speakers Association.
It’s time for all us CEOs to begin practicing the skills of managing in a rebounding economy. Not that all of us are out of practice; companies rebound in all sorts of economic conditions. And companies go through their own personal “downturns” all the time–even in a strong economy.
When times are tough, people and businesses act badly. But we can insulate ourselves from bad behavior by being essential. People and companies in collaborative agreements where there is mutual dependence will act kindly toward each other. But don’t EVER let the balance slip.
Why do businesses, or projects, or business leaders get stuck from time to time? Much of my consulting practice seems to center around this issue. I’ve identified five reasons why companies get stuck in the first place.
When adversity hit, these leaders battled back and gave us all something to learn. Inside Alliance private working groups, we hear with some regularity jaw-dropping events that land on the chief executive’s desk. Sometimes they are simply challenging opportunities, but often they are disasters that threaten the survival of the business.
Entrepreneurial vision can translate into business success. Cecilia Trost and David Marks of TEECOM demonstrate how discipline and organization can transform potential into performance.
Hard times can befall a business for many reasons, of which the economy is only one. If you look objectively at the situation and find your environment in a temporary downturn, your goal is to outlast that downturn and have a strong company when good times return. Here are the tactics you use before the downturn hits.
Having the cash to grow is usually the last prerequisite before implementation of the growth plan. But there are many other prerequisites that take longer than getting money. You need a proven, repeatable, scalable process that you’ve tested, that can produce predictable results.
Most CEOs don’t start thinking about selling their business until it’s too late. This piece explains why you are better off planning for a sale when things are going well.
Robert Sher is founding principal of CEO to CEO, a consulting firm of former chief executives that improves the leadership infrastructure of midsized companies seeking to accelerate their performance. He was chief executive of Bentley Publishing Group from 1984 to 2006 and steered the firm to become a leading player in its industry (decorative art publishing).