Employees with concrete goals improve their performance by 18 per cent in output
For many years my company floated along without concrete goals, and then one day I came across a sign that said, “Double your Sales.” I posted it above the door in the office that was used by all the staff. I did not actually think much about it, but every day I would see the…
Are you suffering burnout?
Like many people, I was facing significant challenges and burnout last year. It was so bad that I told my team in September that I was going to take a three- to six-month sabbatical starting in December. However, by the time January rolled around, and after just a few weeks of holidays, I was ready…
Reaching out to wayward customers will reinvigorate your sales and allow you to do a lot of market research
Grant was on the ground yelling as I came around the corner at high speed on my mountain bike at dusk. He had flown off his bike instead of hitting a moose standing on the trail. I skidded to avoid him. I could still see two moose, a cow and her year-old calf, on the…
Creative hiring strategies can be the big difference between success and failure
Hiring employees has been difficult for many employers in the current job market. This is a result of a number of factors, including an aging workforce, the "great resignation," and a booming economy. While this will change in time, here are five things you might consider that will improve your chances of success if you…
Those who can adapt will thrive
I once facilitated a meeting of a group of more than 100 retailers. Seventy per cent of them were either fearful or concerned about the future of their stores. And so they should be. Retailing is changing – you would have to be blind not to see that. When I started in retail in the…
It’s hard to be successful if you can’t survive the crashes
I’ve been head over heels in love a couple of times – but in cycling and business, I’ve been head over heels many times. Once, for example, I was on an early-morning ride on my road bike. I was doing hill repeats to get into shape to be able to keep up with the “fast…
Your performance and the performance of those around you are often the results of conditions that are within your control
Unless you are a manager complaining about your employees' lack of performance, most of us don't consider our own performance on a regular basis. But we should. Our performance is typically defined as the level at which we can accomplish our tasks and goals as they relate to the expectations of our employers. If we…
A monthly report card is just good business
The owner of a $100-million company recently told me he wasn’t sure he understood his financial statements. How could someone build a successful business in less than five years while not understanding how to read a financial statement? Because he’s good at hiring great people, including his chief financial officer (CFO), and has other skills,…
Fun doesn't mean goofing off. It means enjoying what you’re doing and laughing when things go wrong
‘Fun’ isn’t a word often spoken in the same sentence as ‘work.’ But Norm and I were driving down a backroad last week in the middle of nowhere when we used those words together. We had just come from a meeting where we were representing our clients in some negotiations and we had really enjoyed…
Self-image is everything. What are you telling yourself about your role at work, at home, in sports or relationships?
I just about quit. I was almost two hours and 55 km into a 152-km GranFondo cycling event in Penticton, B.C., a few weeks ago when I felt like quitting. I had been riding hard and it was starting to get hot. As I struggled to climb a hill, it seemed like 50 riders passed…