Running a company is virtually like the inner working pieces of a good-sized machine. There are cogs, wheels and all sorts of things that spin, move or turn, while pistons crank up and down, with the simultaneous distribution of oil to keep the parts from grinding...
Getting some small business owners to be CEOs is almost an impossible task. Why? Because often they are vital to production and operations. They are often in the back examining and working on the patients, fixing cars, or making surfboards. How would you supervise...
After nearly 30 years as a management consultant, I have learned that to make any real difference to an organization you must start with the top person. You can deliver seminars and training to employees. You can work one-on-one with the senior executives. You can do...
Running a company is virtually like the inner working pieces of a good-sized machine. There are cogs, wheels and all sorts of things that spin, move or turn while pistons crank up and down. Simultaneously, the distribution of oil keeps the parts from grinding with...
My profession as a management consultant involves the education of business owners and their staff. Having been at this for 30 years, I wanted to pass on something I’ve learned along the way. When I was a young man, I had an opportunity to learn to play music with...
Sir James Dyson: You know him from his Dyson vacuums. But Sir James is much more than a vacuum inventor. He’s an entrepreneur and leader extraordinaire. How he got there is something every prosperity-minded person will want to know. As a youngster, James Dyson liked...
He was an angry self-starter and a rebel. He was warned by his father not to go into the restaurant business. Today, David Chang is one of the most famous and richest chefs in the world. His success path broke all the rules—except one. Business success can seem like...
In India’s far north, a story emerges, one of a personal quest, ambition minus arrogance, unlimited energy, life-giving water, and a will to make the world a better place, soundly and economically. The unpredictable and cynical age in which we live requires a new...
In the fifties, George Foreman grew up in the slums of Houston, Texas. He dropped out of school in the ninth grade and ran with street gangs. A life of crime was written in the stars. Today, George is worth $300 million. What went right? George Foreman is a raging...
You have heard the story of how one friend tells another friend who tells five more friends and pretty soon you have an economic revolution. Product reputations are built this way. It does not really matter how much money you spend on promotion; what does matter is...
The poster for the film The Martian, based on Andy Weir’s novel, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon, reads “BRING HIM HOME.” The phrase drives the plot and prompts rival nations to cooperate. Like the moon landing of 1969, untold millions of people...
Communication is a two-way trajectory. It means asking questions, listening, and acting where necessary on what you hear. And it isn’t just externally facing—i.e., you and your customers; it’s internal, management to manufacturing, marketing to sales, and so forth,...