Small business owners often dive into a business with just enough knowledge and passion to avoid failure, but not enough to really succeed. The owners of OCSC Sailing were held in that position for a long time, until five years ago, when they began breaking out of the invisible cage.
Lori Bonn Gallagher and CEO husband Bill Gallagher of Lori Bonn Design made the shift to iconic branding and watched their brand value soar. It’s a simple fact: buyers base their purchasing decisions on emotion.
Rich Barbee, CEO of K/P Corporation, changed the company focus from equipment and physical capabilities to personal service and incredibly gifted employees. Your people’s core values mean more to your customers than the size of your printing press.
Product vs. service is an outdated paradigm. Randy Wheeler, CEO and Founder of Valley Oak Systems Inc., made the transition from a product-orientation to product plus service, expanding the business into a related field in response to perceived need.
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).