Sometimes you have to lose a battle before you can win the war. There’s nothing appealing to me about losing anything–not a battle, not my keys, not even weight these days. But in business, as in life, we must pick our battles carefully even to the point of letting go of what we are certain of in order to accomplish the bigger goal.   I was reminded of such dynamic as I saw a large Interstate billboard featuring a campaign The A Group has developed. There’s nothing wrong with the billboard. It’s well designed, legible, and its message clear. The main problem is that it’s not the most effective way to market the product. The return on investment (ROI) on the expensive billboard is not proven. So why do it in the first place? The billboard was an important piece for the client. The ability to see their marketing campaign…

“The two greatest enemies of vision: being sedated slowly and being seduced by momentum.” Those were the words of my Pastor, Pete Wilson this past Sunday. As I thought about that statement for the past day, it still resonates with me and my experience in both growing my business as well as consulting with organizations world wide. When you are a new business or brand new non-profit you cannot help but be laser focused if you are going to succeed. After all, the competition has more resources, and both broader knowledge and bandwidth to get things done. Start ups cannot compete on the broader spectrum, they have to go deep in one area, a niche, if you will. But the larger and more “stable” any organization gets, it becomes easier to start going wide and to lose focus in order to pursue other fun and interesting options that most likely…

When I first started The A Group, we were mostly a marketing agency focused on design, print, and some web work. Today, we are two strong divisions: a marketing agency and a technology company. Throughout our 10 years in business I got a lot of advice from friends and mentors, but one tip has paid off more than any of the others, and it has helped grow my company even in times where a lot of similar businesses have struggled. I remember telling my friend Mike Miller that I used my organizational and leadership knowledge skills as a valued added for my clients who were buying marketing services from us. His reaction was unexpected: “you’re doing this upside down! The strategy is what matters the most. Anyone can come up with design. Your consulting is what you should be charging for.” He was right. And that day I began to…

I have made a lot of mistakes in my business career. Thankfully, I have made some good choices that have paid big dividends. Recently I was talking with a friend who is assessing the possibility of buying an existing business. I asked him to answer these 3 questions:

“How do you sleep at night knowing that so many people are dependent on you for their livelihoods?” Asked a friend I hadn’t seen since The A Group was in its infancy. As a young entrepreneur he is quite aware of his responsibilities for those whom he hired. The question prompted a few realizations: The A Group has currently the largest overhead in its 10-year history Our projects are larger and more complex than ever before I sleep more soundly now than ever before By all accounts, my level of anxiety and stress should be proportional to the growth of my company. But the opposite is true. It’s not that my work has gotten easier with the growth of the company; it has, however, become more strategic. While there might be a number of factors that have contributed to my being in such professional place, I can think of one…

Facial hair has made a come back in the past decade as a fashion statement for the guys. Sorry ladies, not so much for you.  Interestingly a recent study in the Journal of Marketing Communications found that men with beards were deemed more credible than those who were clean-shaven. The study showed participants pictures of men endorsing certain products. In some photos, the men were clean-shaven. In others, the same men had beards. Participants thought the men with beards had greater expertise and were significantly more trustworthy when they were endorsing products like cell phones and toothpaste. Take a look at these trustworthy and famous bearded: But before you decide to grow a beard, take a look at the chart below because not all beard styles are created equal and while some might deem you trustworthy, others might make you not only un-appealing, but downright threatening. Since I first posted…

Working hard and working smart are not synonyms. Yes you can work both smart and hard, but you can also spend a lot of effort and fail at the end of the day. Here are 5 more principles that will help you create and maintain a healthy and productive work environment. Ignore them at your own risk. Rebuke privately. Praise publicly. Getting these principles right has the greatest impact on morale for both paid or volunteer staff. One time I almost, and should have, fired a staff member for publicly scolding a volunteer that was late for a key rehearsal. The same is true for praise that’s done privately. If you’re happy with someone’s performance, make sure you praise them in front of their peers and superiors. Monitor morale. Leaders are always looking ahead to figure out what’s the next move. If morale is eroding for whatever reason, it’s your…

You can cultivate talent, but you cannot teach, coach, or even motivate people into developing skills they do not posses or are not naturally gifted. I used to believe that with enough effort, people could do anything they want. After all, I was told growing up that I could do anything I wanted to do as long as I set my mind to it and worked hard enough at it. Well, that’s a lie. A big fat lie. One of the reasons for whatever success we have seen at The A Group rests in our ability to hire talented people and challenge and resource them to continue to grow. I’m proud of the work of we do, but I’m mostly proud of the team that output so much quality. I have seen companies twice our size that are not able to accomplish as much. Here are some skills you cannot…

I love the fact that what I do for a living matters.  I could make more money if the core of my business served more corporate clients instead of not-for-profits, churches, authors, and Christian publishers. But I know I wouldn’t be any more fulfilled than I am today. Walking side by side with men and women who have given their entire lives to serve others has been humbling and yet so rewarding. As I spend time in Europe with people who have given their lives to bring hope to the often called “dark continent,” I’m reminded that what I do and what my team does is making a difference. My prayer today is that you’ll look for ways to live out your dreams and find the courage to seize the moment when opportunity presents itself. If you were able to chose any profession or line of work you want, what…

Organizations are always looking for a competitive advantage that will get them more consumers, clients, or traffic. After all, times are difficult and most businesses, specially retail, are in survival mode. Often it is not the latest social media strategy or expensive marketing campaign that is the difference between winning or losing a sale, but making sure we do the basics well that will make the most difference. My traveling companion’s computer bag ripped. Yesterday afternoon we walked the streets of Madrid looking for a replacement. We had passed a store with a great selection and reasonable prices, even for Europe. After lunch we decided to purchase a bag there. We arrived at 4:30 pm and the store was closed for “lunch” (the Spaniards take lunch around 2:30). They were not set to open until 5:30. We walked a couple of blocks and bought a more expensive bag from their…