In business, you need to learn when and what you need to control. Figuring out this formula can be the difference between growth and stagnation. One day I came to the realization I was stifling the growth of my business because the very skill set that allowed me to get to a certain success level…
Easter is often a wasted opportunity for churches. “Easter attendance looks good in the reports, but the extra people show up for that Sunday but they don’t come back until the next holiday” said the disappointed pastor on the other side of the table from me. Unfortunately, he was right. A lot of people come…
In our pursuit of improvement, of becoming our very best, we can find ourselves always looking for the negative in every situation. As a consultant, I’m paid to figure out how to improve communication, technology, and create new and better systems. Being critical is part of the skill set that forces me to see what…
The difference between success and failure in any venture often cannot be attributed to a single incident or cause. It’s usually a culmination of factors including timing, execution, assumptions, economic factors, and more. While much has been written on the success of start ups, one factor usually sticks out in my mind. Recently a friend…
Last week I attended the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. It’s the industry’s biggest event, drawing over 72,000 attendees from over 200 different countries. The event was massive in both size and scope: booths, the size of city blocks, from the likes of Samsung and Sony to small software developers for mobile devices. Everything…
Some believe happiness comes from finding themselves in the right places, relationships, job, or income level. I don’t believe that, and in recent years there is enough evidence from the field of psychology in what I have believed all along: happiness is not a byproduct of success. The opposite is actually true: happy people become…
Words are powerful. They can move people into action. They inspire, they challenge, they amuse, but words also sell. Regardless of your industry, you are in sales. We all are, especially those who are in the non-profit sector or church leadership. It’s perhaps the most important of all sales: hope for better days and the…
“I’m not sure what to do next with my life.” It’s a familiar phrase I hear quite often these days. The economic downturn has created uncertainties and opportunities. People have lost jobs. Career paths that seemed promising a few years ago are now no longer viable. Quite often I talk with people whose lives are…
Messaging is critical in any marketing campaign. The wrong message to the wrong audience and all you your effort is a miss. No organization has only one audience. Even if your organization has the most homogeneous target audience, say retired male teachers, it might be at different levels of engagement with the organization: some have…
“Every leader must learn that just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should.” That’s what I came up with after the lady asked me to write down my favorite quote. Nothing had come to mind but that statement. That was it. Of all the books I’ve read and of all the people I’ve…