If you take some time to listen to business leaders talk about their journey of business startup through growth and success, somewhere in their story they will inevitably state that they finally had to stop holding onto everything and let their team perform. It is likely stated in a variety of ways but in one form or another the leader had to stop fearing and start trusting.
The Fear of Letting Go – Trusting Others and SelfRead More »
Everyone is familiar with the term Job Description. It is that document which spells out the details of the tasks to be performed, the skills to perform those tasks and a variety of other elements to frame the job for the person filling the position. A challenge with a job description is that many that I read fall short in terms of defining for the person in the role exactly how their participation contributes to the organization. It is like the job description builds a box around the person and holds them to the confines of the box rather than inviting them into contributing to the organization’s future.
As we launch into the second half of 2021, hopefully your organization has begun to find a new framework for moving forward. Some of the changes which caused pivots in the way we conducted business in 2020 will remain and still others will return to their previously executed way of being conducted. With 6 months of transactions under our belt, we can now take the time to evaluate what is working better and what may need our attention to pivot again to improve, innovate or just tweak to make it better.
As we approach the 4th of July, let us all take a few minutes to ask ourselves the important question – what can I do to contribute to uniting our nation for the betterment of all humankind? Our forefathers left their homeland and sailed across the ocean with dreams of a better community to live in, to raise their families in, and to pass on to future generations. As we look at our nation during this holiday, let us ask ourselves how we can pass on a nation which we are immensely proud of to our future generations.
When I look at businesses, organizations, people who are making things happen, one word tends to recur in my mind – relentless. These entities and people are relentless on many levels. They are relentlessly optimistic. A failure does not set them back it educates them, and they push forward. They are relentlessly pursuing action. They take the steps others are either not willing to take or are over thinking if they should take them. They are relentless finding ways to be more effective and efficient. The status quo is not part of their vocabulary nor their day-to-day efforts.
Any successful endeavor requires a team of people to pull it off. Whether you are a solopreneur or a multi-location mega business, it is never a one-person success show. It takes a variety of different talents orchestrated together in just a particular way that allows for the greatest outcomes. Unfortunately, organizations struggle with this concept of teams and success. They get it intellectually, but they do not necessarily execute it behaviorally.
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