Have you ever seen one of those connect-the-dots books that children love so much? They form the outline of a figure of some sort. Children delight in following the numbered dots to reveal an object, person, or animal.
But in business, there are plenty of dots . . . but no numbers to tell us how to connect them.
That's why you need to check you assumptions before acting on them....
What's the essence of a good strategy?
Exploit opportunities that no one else is willing to consider.
You can use human nature to your advantage to accomplish this desirable result.
Our senses are finely tuned to react positively to what we like and to what we are accustomed. We reject anything that looks, smells, tastes, feels, or sounds different than what we prefer.
Our...
You want to create a successful business. What's the right approach? Many choose to invest time and money in what seems hot right now. That can be an unfortunate decision. Why?
Everyone is hobbled by false perceptions of opportunities and threats that lead to wasteful and inappropriate efforts. Millions establish internet based businesses and few make significant income because they...
When I launched my consulting firm, one of the first questions I was asked to consider was whether there would ever be computers small and powerful enough to be located on a single desk top. To me, that question was a no-brainer because I could see the steady progress of electronics making computers smaller and more powerful. But my business clients couldn't see the event very clearly, even...
Two people are out on a windy day. One person stops to pick up a quarter. While he is stopped over, his companion chases a crumpled hundred dollar bill and captures it.
Many times the same effort can provide vastly different rewards as in this example.
Let me remind you of what the eight step process is for creating breakthrough improvements:
1. Understand the importance of...
Making breakthroughs requires you to stop doing things that waste time and resources. Tradition often binds us into keeping harmful habits. Check to see if you or your organization are following any of these practices.
If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It
A newly wed couple are making their first roast beef dinner. The wife quickly cuts off both ends of the roast beef and prepares to throw...
Are you ready to run fast to make breakthrough improvements in the short and long runs?
Each day that passes cannot be recovered and put to another use. In that sense, we are all in a marathon race that lasts a lifetime to accomplish whatever we can.
On other days, it's more like a sprint. There's a short-term need to accomplish and only one person will benefit from the accomplishment....
Many people feel overwhelmed when they first think about learning how to accomplish 20 times as much with the same time, effort, and resources. Some assume it will take years to master this new discipline. That's not the case: Most people will be able to create their first breakthrough solution (accomplishing 20 times as much) with less than 80 hours of individual effort.
In this article, I...
Improve your accounting and you'll get the good or bad news about how you are performing a little faster and more accurately. Improve your new product development process, and you'll grow faster and make a lot more money.
Most choices about what to improve aren't so clear cut as that comparison suggests. For example, how should you choose among potential product development projects with...
What's a leader for? Above all else, leaders help set an organization in the right pathway and direction to gain advantages versus competitors in serving customers.
Consider the significance of Bill Gates choosing to make his breakthrough in operating software for IBM personal computers. If he had worked on check balancing software instead, Microsoft might not even exist today.
Many...
