As we approach the end of the 2nd quarter of 2021 this is a good time to pause and evaluate the ebb and flow of the business. 2020 was filled with new unknowns as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. 2021 is rolling forward in the midst of coming out of that set of unknowns into a new marketplace which has new and different expectations of our clients and customers.
I was recently asked to come into an organization because they were looking to perpetuate the asset to the next generation of family members. I had no prior knowledge of the business or family dynamics. That is not necessarily uncommon but is always a critical part of determining if JKL Associates can bring the proper value to the opportunity or if the prospect would be better served by an alternate provider.
This coming Monday our nation celebrates those individuals who gave the price of ultimate service to the people of this country protecting our freedoms both on foreign lands and here at home. We have our share of differences and are still trying to work out the best ways to approach our future as a nation. We can never forget those who fought for the freedoms we currently enjoy allowing us choice, input, appreciation and hopefully understanding.
May your Memorial Day 2021 be a time of remembrance of those who believed so much in our future of the nation that they gave so much for it in times gone by.
The first step is to acknowledge that bias does exists. Not just in your business but in society and in the heads of each and every person that is on this planet. Bias is not something new. Bias has existed since the beginning of time.
Let us start with a definition – Bias as defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary is:
an inclination of temperament or outlook : a personal and sometimes unreasoned judgment : PREJUDICE
For the past few weeks, we have been looking at key priorities to operate a Best-in-Class business. We started with the foundation of a solid Purpose which your People are engaged in. We also looked at how time, energy and resources, when utilized at the proper Pace, directly support the Purpose and People of the organization. We then explored the Perception of where your business lives with respect to creativity, innovation and embracing change to support a growth mindset for the future. Today we finally get around to a topic many of you might have felt precedes all the prior elements – that of Profit.
Business has been and always will be about thinking of some new way to either help solve a problem of one sort or another or to bring a pleasure to someone. If we stop thinking about the betterment of the world in which we exist, then it would be quite boring and absent of positive energy. This thinking we do is about creating. When we create, we give of ourselves to the world. The world receives value from our creativity.
For the past 12+ months there has been several shifts in the rate of pace in the business world. Depending on which industry you are in you either experienced a complete shutdown going to a snail’s pace or it accelerated to breakneck speed pace. Although there are always shifts in the pace of a business, they were far more exacerbated in 2020 and early 2021.
There is an old saying in business that nothing happens until the sale happens. That might be true when looking through the lens of the end customer, but without people engaged in the business and the effort to attract customers by them, then no sale would even be possible.
Success only happens when “People” are the priority.Read More »
As referenced last week, the ebb and flow of successful businesses is heavily dependent on the platform it builds upon. Through challenges and times of calm, the business which has its priorities in place will not only withstand the turbulence but will be agile enough to pivot and make lemonade from lemons.
The leaders which walk the halls of business progress today are being replaced by new leadership for tomorrow’s outcomes. These transitions have gone on year after year in the business world. It is the passing of the baton from one generation to the next in one form or fashion. From mother to daughter, father to son, CEO to up and coming emerging executive or any combination of moving the business from one style of leadership to the next.