Growing your Business with Discipline
Published November 10, 2023
Lately, I have been thinking a lot about discipline and how the consistency that comes with it can have a profound effect on your life. The problem that we all face is finding a way to lock in those good habits that we know in our hearts will improve our lives. The difficulty is that we are wrestli...
Avoiding the Circus Culture
Published September 11, 2023
Running a small business can be an exhilarating yet challenging journey. Many small business owners pour their hearts and souls into their ventures, only to find that over time, the once vibrant company culture starts to fade away. It's not uncommon for business owners to feel like they are stuck in...
Minimize Headaches Before Expanding
Published July 24, 2023
Are you considering expanding your business by opening a second location? Congratulations! But before you take that leap, let's talk about an essential step that can make a world of difference – documenting your processes. In the hustle and bustle of running a successful small business, it's easy...
Improve Your Company Valuation with Systems
Published May 31, 2023
During the process of selling your small business, as an owner the valuation is all that matters. If you think the company is worth $$$$ and the numbers come back as $... you will likely be shocked. The gap between your fictional gut feeling for value and the sudden smack in the face of truth is oft...
Key-Person Dependent
Published March 30, 2023
Everyone Is Replaceable, Unless you are Key-Person Dependent What risks do you face when your company is Key-Person Dependent? The phrase itself is enough to keep any business owner up at night, worrying about the organizational pickle they have found themself in. But what exactly does this i...
A Strategy to Manifest Your Scalable Business
Published January 31, 2023
You know that you want your company and your life that revolves around it, to be better; more efficient, and more profitable but you are too busy putting out daily fires. This blog is a quick overview of how I walk clients through a transformation that allows them to understand the why and how o...
Interview with Authority Magazine
Published December 19, 2022
How To Delegate Effectively and Be Completely Satisfied With the Results Republished from the Dec 19, 2022 issue of Authority Magazine by interviewer, Ben Ari. Link to article ONLINE: As part of my series about the “How To Delegate Effectively and Be Completely Satisfied With the Results”...
Debunking the Top 5 Myths Against Systemizing
Published October 28, 2022
Debunking the Top 5 Myths about Systemizing Your Business TYPICAL MYTHS WE TELL OURSELVES: “My key employees who know the most about our business won’t leave me” “I’m not a process-orientated person so I know I can’t create them myself.” “I don’t think my team will want to follow do...
More Stressed Then Ever
Published August 31, 2022
Not all of the anxiety and stress you feel as a business owner is necessary. So, you’ve done the hard work of getting your business off the ground and profitable. Maybe a couple of years have passed and now you are wondering why you aren’t living the lifestyle you imagined you’d be when you s...
Invitation to a Guilt-free Vacation!
Published July 14, 2022
As a business owner, when was the last time you went on a guilt-free holiday? I’m talking about the last time you went away to recharge and refresh - without feeling guilty and worrying about everything falling apart as soon as you stepped away from the day-to-day grind? Maybe you’ve gone o...
Business Peer Pressure
Published May 27, 2022
With NO pressure, in only three short months, you can be just like the other cool companies in town... Others are Doing it Why Not You? “Our business runs like a finely oiled machine.” “We can now scale dramatically and handle more work.” “Everybody is finally on the same page in the...
Six Ways to Sell Your Team on Systems
Published March 31, 2022
Six ways to sell your team on a systems-based culture... it's not as hard as you might think. In life as it is in business, you have likely heard me say that “Improvement isn’t inevitable, change is”. When anything new is presented to your coworkers or employees, the first reaction is usually...
What's Missing?
Published January 28, 2022
Stop wasting time and profit by doing work more than one time. Picture this… Running a big, beautiful business that doesn’t suck your time and energy - and finally being able to create the life you’ve always wanted for you and your loved ones. Imagine running a business that allows you to...
The System of Growing Bonsai Trees
Published December 16, 2021
I grow bonsai trees as a hobby. I guess it makes sense that I like to unwind with this type of activity because it requires focus and constant attention to do it right. And sometimes “doing it right” just means that the trees stay alive from year to year, which is no easy task. Growing bonsai is...
Tried and Failed?
Published October 29, 2021
Have you tried unsuccessfully to tighten up your team's playbook? Don't give up until you've systemized with my 3-month solution! ❌ Hiring more team members ❌ Working with more experts ❌ Spending more on marketing Those are some pretty common ways that people try to solve problem...
Lessons Learned From Bonsai
Published August 1, 2021
Next month the US National Bonsai Exhibition will take place in Rochester NY. It was postponed a year due to the pandemic. When there you are surrounded by small trees that were up to thousands of years old, you can witness firsthand the simplistic power of that saying. Everything has its own pa...
Contemplations of a Lean 5S organizer
Published July 1, 2021
With Summer in full swing, many of us start thinking about organizing our cluttered garages after years of neglect. Why not take that concept and turn it on to your working environment this year? One of the easiest ways to improve the performance of your office, manufacturing space, or even your...
When Inspiration Meets Motivation
Published June 1, 2021
It doesn’t happen all of the time, but we certainly know when it hits us, right? Inspiration is that sudden rush; that “ah ha moment” when a force brings clarity to a puzzle that you have been pondering for the longest time. Inspiration can come in many forms such as hearing a slogan at just the...
Its Time To Celebrate!
Published May 1, 2021
You are busy. Your team is goal oriented. No time to waste. Meet that objective at any cost. You did it, you did it! Now... on to the next? Not so fast! Acknowledging a success no matter how small seems simple enough - but in everyone's daily rush to meet goals and avo...
Have You Taken a Gemba Walk?
Published March 1, 2021
If you are in charge of a group or lead someone other than yourself, you need to get walking... now! When it comes to Lean process improvements, I prefer concepts that are sustainable. There is no sense in reading all about a complex tool that you will never be able to properly implement at your...
Resolving to Get Focused
Published February 1, 2021
So how many resolutions did you make this year: Five? Ten? Did each facet of your life get covered such as: Personal, Career or Health? Once you start adding them all up you will either be overwhelmed or more likely, guilty that you have such a big list! The initial hurdle isn't in your big list...
Point of View Awareness
Published December 1, 2020
Your point of view is formed over time by the experiences that you encounter from day-to-day. Before you know it you may have forgotten about how another person, culture or class lives their life. Our world is so diverse that even with the Internet, you are likely to never even know where many...
Finding Gratitude in Your Day
Published November 1, 2020
I read a nice article in a back issue of SUCCESS Magazine by Rochester's own Melissa Balman from the UofR. She talked about finding solace in simple, small, often momentary beauty during your day - which can be carried into the rest of your daily life such as work or family time. These moments c...
A Selection of Solutions
Published November 1, 2020
Last week my wife and I were invited to a surprise birthday dinner for four at the Culinary Center in Canandaigua. We have eaten there before and my friend, whose birthday it was, is a big fan of the establishment. As the reservation was made over a month ahead, we called the restaurant the day...
Did You Know...
Published February 2, 2020
Greenwashing is a term that has come about in the last 10 years to describe overly exaggerated claims about environmental issues which lead to false beliefs. I'm very much all for ecological protection, new solar and hydrogen power initiatives, etc however the usage of trees to make paper often...
Efficient Overstaffing?
Published January 11, 2020
If you have ever spent the time to analyze your company's process efficiency or workflow, you know how large and ongoing the program can be. Whether you are fine tuning a world-class corporation or just beginning to clean up a dysfunctional organization you are typically looking for the larges...
What's your perspective?
Published November 1, 2019
It's amazing that we accomplish most of our goals each day. The fact that we all come from such variegated environments, backgrounds, and educations should surely, on the surface develop more unproductive conflict. What pushes us past our difference and allows us to get things done? Is it raw to...