James Short talks about the different ways we can measure success besides money.

Developing your team members’ individual strengths not only shows your dedication and concern for the company’s future but also shows them their value and the importance of their roles within the company. It helps boost their confidence and drives them to become the best versions of themselves. You get all the pros without the cons. With that said, how do you develop your team members’ strengths? How do drive them to become the best?

Growing your business means competing with other businesses and as you already know, the competition is fierce. All of you are trying to take a piece of the market share and there isn’t enough to go around. The pressure and stress that comes with growing a business can be so overwhelming that some just plain give up while others kept on going through sheer willpower. Those that do are rewarded with either business success or gained new experience to try again. It’s a win-win situation if you ask me.

As an entrepreneur, what does it take to gain the consumer’s trust? Or better yet, what does it take to gain customer loyalty? Is it providing the best product in the market? Or how about providing top-notch customer support? Both are correct, however, there is one more thing that is sometimes overlooked. A company’s corporate accountability.

We are all familiar with the phrase “Promises are meant to be broken.” We have heard it countless times before that it has become the norm for most of us. However, it has no place in your personal life as well as in business. Especially when running a company where you are not only risking […]

Setting goals for the next 10 years is daunting and from what we have learned from the past year, life will throw a curveball at you which can mess up your plans. Take it one year at a time. Start setting up goals for the current year before moving on to the next. This will not only ensure that you will not be overwhelmed with too many goals but will also ensure that you will accomplish most of them by the end of the year.

Just because 2020 is behind us does not mean that its effects are no longer being felt. Businesses, both big and small, are still trying to get back on their feet. Small and medium-sized businesses are still trying to stay in operation even with reduced staff and resources. Big businesses are still trying to recoup […]

I already talked about this in the previous article but I feel that there is just so much more to talk about. So here it is. A follow up to the last article so you will be more properly prepared for this year.

Despite the pandemic, the holiday season will always be a busy time for both your business and personal lives. There is no way around it unless you completely ignore all the traditions associated with it and just focus strictly on business. In short, become like Ebenezer Scrooge. Again, no one wants to be that guy. You have to strike a balance. Enjoying the festivities yet still preparing your business for the coming year. Make it easier on yourself this year by checking out these tips on how to prepare.

How often did you assess your business’ performance this year? Do you do weekly, monthly or quarterly reviews? I will bet that you are at least doing quarterly reviews. With that said, how often do you self-reflect? With how busy things are, I’ll not be surprised if you answered never. With the coming of the new year, it’s time to change things up. Let’s look at the different benefits self-reflection can do for you professionally and personally.

Just because COVID-19 is making it harder for businesses to stay open does not mean that your company culture should be allowed to fall by the wayside. In fact, you should be investing in it. It is one of the keys to keeping your business healthy, as well as your employees, during this challenging period. Remember, your greatest asset is your team. The best part is, you only need to spend time and effort to strengthen and nurture it.

Your corporate or company culture is the type of working environment and employee behaviours the company has. Do you know what type of corporate culture you have? Let’s look at two of them and hopefully you can get some ideas on what you want yours to be.

Are you maintaining or still building your team culture while working remotely? The answer to that question should be yes. We know how important culture is to any company. With that said, how do you build and maintain it while working remotely?

What do you do when you fall down? You get up of course. It’s easier said than done when you put it in a leadership or business context but it can be done. With the right mindset and attitude, being a failure can be a factor in your success.

How many of you have had the goal of landing a leadership position? When you finally achieved it, what was the first thing you realised? The pay is certainly better and you have more responsibilities. You might not see it at first but being in that role is not the end of your journey. You […]

It’s no question that the most critical part of being a leader is the ability to inspire confidence. A leader can be the most organised, a brilliant strategist, and an innovator yet without confidence, the people under him/her would have second thoughts following him/her.

Most of you are already probably aware of how self-confidence affects leadership. When you build self-confidence, you believe in what you are capable of and you know what you are talking about. Being confident in your abilities leads to better decision making, building trust, and speaking up when everyone else is hesitant. With all that being said, let’s look at the different ways you can build self-confidence.

Despite all you have achieved, there is a voice inside of you telling you that it was all because of luck. You didn’t really succeed because of hard work and your skills. You’re just one lucky fraud and don’t deserve your achievements. What is this voice inside of you? It’s called the impostor syndrome and it is more common than you think.

It’s no question that overcoming challenges is a big part of being a leader. It just seems that you are being bombarded on all sides yet you still manage to come out on top. Even if you don’t, you are still able to find ways to make the best out of a negative situation. With all the challenges that you face every day, what are the ones that really stick out? What are the common challenges leaders need to overcome?

Running a business is challenging yet fun. It can also be confusing especially for small business owners. As was mentioned before, a business might just be successful enough to stay open but has no plans and strategies for the long game. The market is uncertain. The future is unclear. Do you keep soldiering on hoping for future successes? How do you know that your business is moving in the right direction?

Whether it’s a business goal or a personal goal, staying on track or sticking to your plans is not as easy as it sounds. It takes a lot of willpower to stay on track. With that said, how do you stay on track?

Success can mean different things to different people yet the effort and dedication they put into achieving success are the same. However, the desire to be successful can become so strong that regardless of what we do, we feel that nothing positive seems to be coming out from all our hard work. We criticize ourselves so much that we become clouded to our own successes.

What are the signs that you’ve finally made it? What are the signs that you’ve finally achieved success?

Growing too fast is just as detrimental to your business as no growth at all. You have to strike a fine balance between healthy growth and maintaining your business foundation. You cannot sacrifice one over the other. Businesses today want rapid growth. Everything needs to be done as soon as possible not knowing that impatience is the most common cause of financial disasters. Some things just take time and that includes company growth. If you are currently in the stages of upscaling your business, watch out for these signs of growing too fast.

For most small businesses, and even some big ones, growth is the main objective. Personally, I love that as a goal. It’s a goal worth pursuing and the journey towards it is exciting. If there is room to grow, why not go for it? Challenge yourself. Let your genius work. Yes, failing is a possibility but with the right mindset, failures just become tools that can be utilised to achieve one’s goals. With that said, planning on upscaling your company is completely different from actually executing it. You will encounter issues that if are not dealt with will cause your business to suffer.

Growing a business is a complicated endeavor. You can’t always stick with what works when upscaling. You may need to completely change your processes or at least adjust them to be just as efficient during large scale operations. Just like when you were just starting out, the more information you have at your disposal, the better your chances of succeeding. So what are the challenges you are expected to face when growing your business?

A company’s success relies on your team’s ability to be able to effectively execute strategies and carry out complex projects. Plans and strategies may look perfect on paper yet it is up to you and your team to actually put them in motion. In this article, let’s discuss what are the benefits and the value of accountability.

What does it take to get most of the work done in your company? What moves your company towards its goal? What is it that keeps your company operating on a daily basis? Is it you, the business owner? Partially, yes. However, you cannot do it alone. You need a team to help you run your business.

In fact, by not following-through, you are wasting any time and effort you have already spent on achieving the goal. It’s just smart and logical to follow-through. It’s a simple choice yet why are we not doing it?

As an entrepreneur, you want your staff to have the same level of passion you have for the business. You want them to have the same enthusiasm as you do in trying to achieve the company goals. When the team has this type of attitude, taking ownership of one’s work is just second nature. As the business owner, how can you accomplish this?

Following up is the communication-based of building trust while following through is the action-based of building trust. Following through continues until the action is completed. If you don’t have one, you are not alone. Generating and following up on leads is already common knowledge in business. What is often overlooked is following through. This stage is where things get done. This is what seals the deal.

Accountability is just the willingness to take ownership of an outcome, both positive and negative. If you have this willingness to take ownership, it means that you are confident and proud of your work. Improve your personal accountability and your team will follow your example.

The market is always changing and as such, your company needs to continually adapt. Sounds easier said than done – but it actually is simple. You just have to build a learning culture. How important is a learning culture? A study done by IBM shows that 84% of employees employed by top organisations receive all the training they need. Another study also shows that 94% of employees said that training and development is one of the reasons why they stay with an organisation. A company with a culture that is centred around learning is a company that is focused on growth. So, how do you promote a learning culture within your company?

In a highly competitive business environment, we sometimes forget the one thing that is crucial to a company’s success. Trust. Entrepreneurs and leaders can get so worked up on hitting their targets that cultivating a culture of trust within the organisation is sometimes put in the back burner.

Without a strong culture, your team’s skills and talents would not be utilised to their highest potential. With that said, there is one aspect that is rarely mentioned when talking about company culture. Trust.

Having an amazing team culture will not only attract them but will also retain the ones you already have in your employ. Let’s check out some of these successful companies’ cultures and learn a thing or two to help you stay ahead of the game.

Toxic work culture makes going to work an ordeal. It makes minutes in the office seem like hours. It makes you feel like everything that you do is under scrutiny. There’s no room to stretch and is suffocating. It kills motivation and makes even the high performers contemplate quitting their jobs.

Sometimes, if you want to see progress in your business endeavors, you have to take that big leap of faith. With that said, how do you take calculated risks?

Leaders are some of the most strong-willed individuals that you are going to encounter. If you are a business owner or in a leadership role, you might have already had the pleasure of leading other leaders. It’s a totally different yet rewarding experience.

We are already in the second quarter of the year – do you have a concrete plan on how to spend the next 90 days? Here are some questions that can help us achieve our goals this quarter and on the next.