In my executive coaching practice, one of the most frequent questions I encounter is, “Tim, do you think I should fire ________?” It is typically an employee who is either not performing (a cheerleader), has a bad attitude (a terrorist), or both (deadwood). My best response to that question is to propose the following three (3) questions: Read more about Three Questions You Must Ask Before You Fire Your Next Employee[…]
On May 17, I am hosting the 5th annual Small Business Matters Conference. This is a tribal meeting. Marketing guru Seth Godin suggests in his best-selling book Tribes that we are all the chief of our own “Tribe”. My tribe includes past Vistage members, GrowSmart graduates, colleagues, and friends. Who are the members of your tribe? Read more about Three Reasons to Host a Tribal Meeting[…]
I joined a book club back in January and Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport was our book selection for March. I was excited about the choice because I remember reading Newport’s last best-selling book, Deep Work, and was anxious to read his most current work. I was not disappointed. Newport’s latest book is a real Read more about Book Review: Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport[…]
I love hearing and asking great questions. It has been a journey of mine for the past 15 years. During this time, I have found several great books on questioning, and bestselling author Warren Berger’s latest book, The Book of Beautiful Questions, is no exception. Berger’s first book, A More Beautiful Question, set the stage for Read more about Book Review: The Book of Beautiful Questions[…]
“This Is Marketing”, written by Seth Godin Seth Godin is one of my favorite marketing gurus. He has a number of best-selling books, several great TED Talks, and a daily blog that attracts millions of followers. His most recent book, “This Is Marketing”, provides a most insightful overview of the state of marketing for businesses Read more about Book Review: This is Marketing[…]
I was hoping that I was not going to have to write this article this month. I was looking forward to writing an upbeat and optimistic essay on what small businesses can expect in the new year. Instead, I find myself going crazy over the U.S. federal government shutdown. Not that it’s having much of Read more about How the U.S. Government Shutdown is Hurting Small Businesses[…]
“Up the Organization” written by Robert Townsend This was one of the first business books I read after graduating from college. It was very different than anything I had learned in business school. Robert Townsend was a very successful CEO at Avis Rent-A-Car prior to writing this NY Times Bestseller. The book continues today to Read more about Book Review: Up the Organization[…]
Three years ago I announced that I would be retiring from Vistage in December 2018. Those three years have gone by way too fast. This month I will be saying goodbye to three Vistage groups that I have become very attached to over the course of the past sixteen years. I have great memories of Read more about My Last Lecture[…]
“Leaders Eat Last” written by Simon Sinek There is a war for talent in the United States today and many small businesses are finding themselves on the losing end of this conflict. Author Simon Sinek makes the case in his book “Leaders Eat Last” that it will be the companies with the best leaders that Read more about Book Review: Leaders Eat Last[…]
A year ago, I was stuck. I had two problems. First, I was not devoting enough of my time thinking strategically about my own business. Like many of my peers, I would wake up early in the morning and go right to my computer, checking emails, texts, sports scores, etc. All of the important stuff. Read more about Buy a Dog[…]