IDiscover Journal
A Blog For
For Small Business Owners and Leaders
Why Your Strategic Plan Might Be Falling Flat (and What You Can Do About It)
If you and your company have outlined a solid strategic plan and it seems to be moving at a glacier’s pace (or worse), you need to figure out why. Here are some of the biggest issues I’ve seen (and some ideas on how to beat them).
Mistakes Happen. It’s How You Handle Them That Matters.
Our organizations WILL make a mistake sooner or later. It happens. People understand that. Trust is at the heart of any business relationship – whether it’s B2B or B2C. So, how you recover from a business blunder could hurt that level of trust. How you react is critical to your customer relationships. Here are some tips for how to react to a business blunder.
The 4 Action Steps You Can Take in Q4 That Can Lead To a Successful 2021
Many business leaders will be happy to just get 2020 behind us. But in this post I encourage you to make the most of what’s left of the year – and end on a high note. There’s still time to set your business up for success in 2021. Here are some action steps you can take as the year winds down that can really make a difference.
The Simplest Way to Grow Your Business
We are so often looking for that one secret, that one “key” to success in growing our businesses. Well instead of looking for some magic solution, try a simple one that’s right in front of you. Get to know your CURRENT customers and serve them well.
Be Flexible and Find New Solutions
So often we are faced with situations where we envision how things will go and how things will turn out. But life just never works
Risky Business: The Often Overlooked Part of Strategic Planning
When we are planning for the future we often ignore – or at least underplay – risks that we might face. And because of that we don’t have any idea how we would adjust. We’re playing blind. We’re forced to make decisions minute by minute. And we all know how effect that is! This post will help you better navigate identifying and addressing risks you might face.
Leading With DISpassion
We often talk about leaders needing to be passionate about their businesses. And I agree with that wholeheartedly. But we know that crises will arise at some point or another (like now!). I believe that element of DISpassion that can help us lead through those difficult times. You HAVE to be able to back away from a challenging situation and analyze it rationally. Here are some thoughts about how to manage with clarity and level-headedness.
The End of Your Customer Feedback Survey is Only the Beginning
Congrats! You did it! You checked that “customer feedback” item off your to-do list. (But I truly hope that your customer feedback efforts are SO much more than that!) One question we hear is “What happens now? What do we do with what we learned?” Way too often organizations think that once the survey is closed and they have looked at the findings the process is over. But there are is so much more to do that can positively impact your customer relationships. Here are som tips for helping you take those all-important next steps.
Your Strategic Plan’s Concrete Impact on Your Business
What causes hesitation about developing a strategic plan? There are a number of reasons (excuses?) put forth, but one of the main ones we hear is that plans are just a lot of words. It will get put on a shelf somewhere and not make any concrete difference in their business. Well, like anything else, it depends on your intentions and it depends on your willingness to allow your plan to do what they are designed to do – serve as a guide to your future. Your strategic plan should have an observable, tangible impact on your business. Here are some ideas for how to make your plan tangible.
The Success of Your Strategy May Lie in What You DON’T Do
Perhaps the most difficult part of the strategic plan is changing your mindset. It’s not just about the things you will DO to achieve your strategic goals; but also maybe more importantly the things you STOP doing. If we truly want to put on a new face and achieve that big, bold set of strategic goals, the way we’ve done things before often just won’t work anymore. We need to allow ourselves to STOP doing what we often need to think about something new.
This post shares some ideas to consider as you plan and implement your strategic change.