“My hiring process assumes that if you’re hired, you won’t be fired.” If you told that to everyone you interviewed for a job opening, what impact would it have on them? On you? Job seekers would know from the onset that your hiring process is going to be different. And you will be much more...

I met three family-owned businesses during my 2016 Summer vacation. I fear only one will survive.  Cook’s Mens Store has operated 51 years on the town square in Memphis, Missouri. But according to John Cook, the 83 year-old founder, 2016 may be its last. Why? Because wishes alone don’t work. John told me that he...

What’s your daily nut to crack?  That’s a question I often ask business owners. What I’m searching for is, “How much do you need to sell today to break-even?” Fixed costs are the shell. Inside the shell are tasty profits. Break-even is sales revenue number your business must surpass to make a profit. Most business owners...

Just because you promise to do something does not mean you’re prepared to do it. Couples make a lot of promises. To love one another in sickness and in health. Whether richer, or poorer. When things are good, or when they’re worse. Most couples spend more time on planning the wedding ceremony than preparing themselves...

Good ideas don’t always spread. Wilt Chamberlain was a great basketball player but terrible free throw shooter. The average NBA player shoots 75%. Wilt made only 51% of his foul shots over his 14 year NBA career. The 1961-62 season, however, was different. During the 1961-62 season someone taught Wilt how to shoot free throws...

“Being a great swimmer in a pool does not mean you’ll be successful in the ocean.” In a movie The Guardian, that’s what Kevin Costner’s veteran swimmer character warns Ashton Kutcher, a new Coast Guard rescue recruit. A pool has a defined depth with a concrete bottom. The ocean has a bottom, but often miles...

Budgets are boring. They’re easy to create. Simply take last year’s spending and multiply it by an inflation factor or an across-the-board budget cut percent. Voila, you’ve got a budget. Easy activities rarely determine an organization’s success. Creating a budget is relatively easy and not mission critical. Strategy is mission critical. Strategy determines success or...

“People are far more interested in what works than what’s true.” This quote by Andy Stanley reminds me of my college macro-economics professor. Professor Hayashi repeatedly said, “In theory, this is how the market is supposed to work.” My professor taught what was true but failed to tell me what works. He taught sound theory....

This was my view for 20 years while I logged 3 million miles on American Airlines. What did I get in return for those miles and years? Lifetime Platinum status on AA. Several million dollars in consulting revenue. And becoming a stranger in my own house. I recently shared with my Junto group three maxims...

“Put it in writing” is some of the simplest, wisest advice I’ve been given. Here are several examples: – Putting her end of life wishes in writing, made the difficult decisions at the end of my mother’s life much easier. – Putting in writing what I want my legacy to be resulted in the publishing...