Category: Business Builder

If you have ever been on an orienteering activity, you will truly appreciate the value and importance of not only having a compass but knowing how to use it and keep it properly aligned to your destination. If this is a new term for you then basically this outdoor sport is about being given a map and compass and traversing a variety of terrains to move from point “A” to Point “B” in a timely fashion. The best time without penalties wins. 

Purpose and Core Values keep the compass pointing in the desired directionRead More »

It should go without saying but at the core of both personal and business growth are authentic relationships.  As human beings we are communal in nature.  We seek and need interaction with other people.  There may be the occasional loaner type person you come across but even in their desire to seek solitude they are dependent on some interactions with other people.  The key here is that when we seek relationships, they are rooted in trust and are genuinely authentic. 

Relationships – the Fabric of GrowthRead More »

6 months have flown by and now we are into the dog days of summer.  In the northern part of the country the mind set shifts a bit to vacation mode, kids being out of school, etc. The weather is one that invites us to spend some time outdoors gathering up the vitamin D from the sunshine we miss during other parts of the year. Our businesses migrate into covering shifts for missing staff. Our customers might also shift their expectations, wanting things even more timely on their schedule than on ours so they can use the extra time to go out and have fun.

Mid Year check-inRead More »

In our prior Guidepost we covered the matter of growth from failure and how it can either enhance your future success or curtail it drastically.  It is not easy to deal with failure or setbacks or even day-to-day business challenges.  It seems like all leaders do is deal with the issues rather than working on growing the business.

Trust is the foundation of business changeRead More »

Let’s be honest, no one sets out to fail. In fact, many of us build very strong fences around this area of failure so that we can withstand the storm of setbacks. We spend lots of time, energy and dollars doing everything we can to avoid failures.  Even to the point where the sunk cost on a situation would be better to walk away but our ego kicks in and we spend more…

What level of failure are you willing to expose yourself to before you growRead More »

The saying – Nothing happens until the sale happens – is true today and will always be true when a transfer of goods or services are part of the transaction. To cause sales to happen, businesses take any number of approaches.  Marketing and sales work hand in hand to cause brand exposure in the marketplace so that when a buyer has a need, the organization is top of mind to that buyer.

Networking vs Not WorkingRead More »

At a recent conference, the speaker presented an interesting perspective on the attraction factor of bringing talent into an organization. The primary focus was on younger generation talent and how they are looking for something in the workplace.  If you ask them, they can’t define it.  If you probe for it, you are likely to…

People can get motivated by a “Cause”Read More »

A long-time client and colleague of JKL Associates and I have an ongoing dialogue about the value of work any given activity or event has and how it is contributing to the good of the organization. Some of the things a leader gets involved with are very productive and highly contributing.  Others are not as critical for the leadership to be doing and should be delegated to other resources in the organization so the alignment of dollars invested are more appropriate to the return on those dollars.

Working the $40 or $400 deskRead More »

This coming Monday is a national holiday when we pause and remember those who have gave all for the freedoms we enjoy and sometimes confuse. Memorial Day is a day of respecting the Men, Women and even Children who made significant sacrifices, so we have a free nation – Under God and Indivisible.

Memorial Day 2023Read More »

On a recent business trip while waiting at the gate for departure I was catching up on business emails and capturing notes from the day’s events when the large TV screen in the boarding area caught my attention. It showed groups of young individuals (teenagers) in a major US City doing violence and destruction of property. I could not hear the commentary …

Street LeadershipRead More »