- May 1, 2018 -

Imagine putting Donald Trump and Kevin O'Leary in a room together.

"You're fired!"

"You can't fire me...because you're dead to me!"

Two ego-driven personalities going head to head.

O'Leary, the Shark Tank producer-appointed villain encouraged to be a little more evil in the early seasons, once told a crying female contestant, "Money doesn't care. Your tears don't add any value."

Trump, portrayed on The Apprentice as smart, decisive, blunt, rich - really rich - and never wrong, most probably benefited from the franchise becoming the launchpad for his presidential campaign.

Both shows were/are hits. Rating bonanzas that became national phenomenons.

While I've enjoyed [...]

- April 30, 2018 -

Now it seems like a lifetime ago.

When I was active in the network marketing and MLM arena, I never missed the monthly pep rally.

Top sellers were recognized...usually the same as the month before.

Another “rags to riches” story was told...always ending with “And YOU can, too!”

I knew I was good at sales. So what was the problem?

There was no logical reason why I couldn’t build a massive downline like so-and-so.

I worked just as hard as the top earners did.

So I'd vow to myself:

I … MUST … SHOW … THE … PLAN … TO … MORE … PEOPLE

I [...]

- April 26, 2018 -

I can't help but enjoy passing on a bizarre restaurant story.

It was way past noon the other day, and the thought of heading back to the office to my "same old, same old" bag lunch was not very appealing.

So I stopped at a local Subway shop to grab a sandwich.

I'm eating my turkey with provolone while catching up on my emails...and the restaurant phone rings.

Normally, it wouldn't even phase me...but the one-sided conversation (I'm assuming the manager took the call) caught my attention.

Keep in mind, this is one-sided - but it's not difficult to fill in [...]

- April 25, 2018 -

I've talked before about my affinity for the show Mad Men...in my opinion the last great drama of TV's golden age.

Alpha male Don Draper struggles to stay on top in the high-pressure world of Madison Avenue advertising agencies during the '60's.

Mad Men was about nostalgia...like Big Bands and jazz.

It was a throwback to the era of three martini lunches. Not sure if I could even function anymore after three martinis. Lol

It was about sales.

And when I think of sales...I think of David Ogilvy (dubbed the "Father of Advertising") who in my mind was the quintessential Mad [...]

- April 24, 2018 -

Ever have those days when you find yourself fantasizing about doing something completely and utterly different?

Well, it's not like you can just stay in bed, close up shop and wait for a better idea to materialize out of thin air.

Most business owners at some point want to just start over. Design a different day job.

And it's usually because of boredom and/or exhaustion.

You've lost the excitement you had when you first started your business. The fire you used to have in your belly is going. Going. Gone.

There's no challenge anymore.

From talking with business owners who are frustrated [...]

- April 23, 2018 -

Have you ever played the "What if?" game?

Come on...you know you have.

+ What if I'd just bought Apple stock back in 2002? (Well, a $1000 investment would now be worth more than 100 times that.)

+ What if I'd followed my gut and done "x" instead of "y"? (I'll leave that one open-ended.)

+ What if I'd decided to go to college...or decided to join the military instead?

+ What if I'd gone on to grad school?

I'd already switched my major to business, and in my senior year I took a course called Business Law.

I freaking loved it!

Read every [...]

- April 19, 2018 -

I'm a terrible teacher. I admit it. It's just not in my DNA.

Both of my sisters are teachers. One of my nieces is a teacher.

I suck at it.

Which made breaking in new employees about as enjoyable as getting a colonoscopy.

Everyone involved was frustrated.

And a valuable lesson in hiring and delegating resulted...

I've talked before about how I use the Kolbe personality test. (If you missed it, you can read about it here.)

See, there's a very distinct pattern in the way that most business owners delegate:

+ First I'll learn to do it myself and get really good at [...]

- April 18, 2018 -

Last Tuesday, Mark Zuckerberg sat in the hot seat and faced a congressional hearing about whether his company adequately protects Facebook users' data.

Twitter blew up when two pages of his notes were shared thousands of times after a photographer captured them.

And interestingly enough investors seemed to like Zuck's debut on Capitol Hill...Facebook stock ended up 4.5% on Tuesday and up another 1.5% in trading Wednesday.

Just in case you're not up to speed on what the whole brouhaha was all about...

Cambridge Analytica, a data firm with ties to President Donald Trump's campaign, accessed information from as many [...]

- April 17, 2018 -

I can hear the rumbling already starting.

“But I’m an MBA, and we were taught to have to have a business plan.”

Yep...I know that according to Price Waterhouse Coopers, two thirds of CEO’s of fast growth organizations develop some type of business plan.”

We even say on our website's blog sidebar that “Businesses don’t plan to fail…they just fail to plan.”

All true.

In fact, one of the first things we do when working with new clients is to develop a strategic business plan…just not a 5-year plan.

Ever.

And here’s why:

It's just fact of [...]

- April 16, 2018 -

With so much of my time spent driving to and from appointments, it's always interesting to see which restaurants consistently have crowded parking lots.

Even more interesting...finding out which ones never seem to have empty tables.

Which ones don't have empty bar stools.

Is it because their food is exceptional?

If that was the case...how does McDonald's continue to serve garbage yet make a profit year after year after year?

If you've never watched, listened to or read anything by Jon Taffer - he's an interesting guy.

An entrepreneur whose background is in the bar and night club industry, he's known for [...]