Best known for The Lean Startup, Eric Ries tackles a different question in Incorruptible: Why do good companies so often lose their way? His answer is both provocative and practical. Companies don’t necessarily go bad because their leaders suddenly become unethical or incompetent. Instead, success itself can create powerful pressures that gradually move a business Read more about Book Review: Incorruptible[…]

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It’s football season, and no better time to consider the fundamentals, the “blocking and tackling,” of your small business. I first wrote this article over twenty years ago, and I am pleased to share it with you again. My dad used to love the old Green Bay Packers. Coach Vince Lombardi was an icon to Read more about Blocking and Tackling in the Game of Business[…]

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What can a small business learn from a baseball team that wears yellow tuxedos, puts players on stilts, and lets fans catch foul balls for outs? Quite a lot. Banana Ball: The Unbelievably True Story of the Savannah Bananas by Jesse Cole and Don Yaeger is the story of how the Savannah Bananas transformed themselves Read more about Book Review: Banana Ball[…]

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My first question to each of my executive coaching clients, mostly small business owners, this past month has been the following: “What was your very first job, and what did you learn from that experience?” The responses have ranged from shoveling snow in Chicago to working as a dishwasher in a restaurant and as a Read more about My First Job[…]

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Most business owners spend their time trying to remove constraints—more capital, more people, more time, more options. David Epstein turns that thinking on its head. In Inside the Box: How Constraints Make Us Better, he makes a compelling case that the right constraints don’t hold us back—they make us smarter, more creative, and more effective. Read more about Book Review: Inside the Box[…]

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Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends? President Abe Lincoln said this in response to an elderly lady who had chastised him for not calling Southerners, whom he had referred to as fellow human beings who were in error, irreconcilable enemies who must be destroyed. I have always been highly Read more about Embrace Your Enemies[…]

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If you run a small business, Unreasonable Hospitality: The Field Guide is a powerful reminder that customers rarely remember transactions — they remember experiences. Guidara, the former co-owner of the world-renowned Eleven Madison Park, argues that businesses win lasting loyalty not simply through great products or efficient service, but by making people feel genuinely seen, Read more about Book Review: Unreasonable Hospitality: The Field Guide[…]

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This is an article I first wrote 30 years ago about customer service, my son, and the national pastime. It is the best example of “Unreasonable Hospitality” I have ever experienced. As baseball season is now upon us, I am pleased to republish the article once again this month.   I often receive my best Read more about Lessons Learned at the Ballpark[…]

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I speak to Vistage groups across the country on “Understanding Financial Performance”. The one book I recommend on this topic is Financial Intelligence. It’s a great book to help small business owners and operators better understand their company’s financial performance. Here’s a recent book review. If you’ve ever felt that your financial statements are telling Read more about Book Review: Financial Intelligence[…]

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I have wanted to be a coach ever since I was 16. I wasn’t good enough at the time to play varsity sports at my high school of over 4,000 students, so I decided to do the next best thing…coach. I volunteered to coach Little League basketball and baseball. It was a ball! Not long Read more about My Favorite Coaching Questions (Part I)[…]

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