Tag Archives: strategy

Posted on

How to Become an Effective and Focused Business Leader

Every business leader must have a rock solid organizational system in place so that they can lead a differentiated business. Failure to differentiate yourself results in a race for the bottom!

In a last week’s post I wrote about how a differentiated leader must have instant access to all of their past and current business notes, data, ideas, and plans. I mentioned that all of this information must be organized and indexed electronically in a manner that allows easy access from anywhere, at anytime, using any platform. Finally, I stated that this is not a product but a system that contains two distinct elements:

  1. a cloud based software tool (see last week’s post for more details)
  2. a systematic approach to organization for an effective business leader

This week we will focus on a systematic approach to organization that will help you become an effective and focused business leader!

Posted on

How To Save $30,000 a Month Using OneNote

Staying organized and focused in today’s fast paced world is a basic requirement for any business leader. However, differentiating yourself and your business requires a whole new level of organization!

A differentiated leader must have instant access to all of their past and current business notes, data, ideas, and plans. All of this information must be organized and indexed electronically in a manner that allows easy access from anywhere, at anytime, using any platform. This is not a simple product but a system that contains two distinct elements:

  1. A cloud based software tool (the subject of this blog post)
  2. A systematic approach to organization for an effective business leader (the subject of next week’s post!)

Gone are the days of taking notes in a paper notebook!

Posted on

Are You Being Killed By Your Business Plan?

If your business plan was written more than one year ago, chances are it is out of date and not in tune with the current marketplace.

The classic business plans in the past relied on 5 year and 10 year horizons that gave the organization a vision and a direction to dominate in their market. But today, the marketplace is changing so quickly that any long-term business plan is a waste of time and, if you follow it, will probably result in your business failing.

Motorola and the Iridium Business Plan

In the late 1980’s Motorola launched an initiative they called Iridium. This was an ambitious 12 year program to launch 66 satellites that would provide global satellite phone coverage. They came up with this business plan because they saw that cell phone technology was expensive for the users and for the companies providing infrastructure.

Posted on

Why You Need to Eliminate Your Single Point of Failure

A single point of failure, SPoF, in your business can literally devastate your business overnight yet many business leaders spend little or no time at all protecting their business against these risks!

In 1995, a rogue trader brought down Barings Bank through fraudulent, unauthorized, speculative trading. The bank, which had been established in 1762, had a single point of failure and did not have controls in place to protect itself. It’s SPoF destroyed it!

Similarly, uncontrolled trading of oil futures has crippled more than one oil company in recent years. Other businesses have been bankrupted due to manufacturing shutdowns caused by natural disasters, social uprisings, political unrest, wars, etc.