You can now download the June issue of Better Business Focus . Please feel free to e-mail Better Business Focus to your friends or colleagues.
Better Business Focus: Expert Inspiration for a Better Business.
Better Business Focus is the essential key for business owners and managers. It achieves that by focusing on the way in which successful businesses compete and manage their organisations. It focuses on how people are recruited, coached and developed; on how marketing and selling is undertaken in professional markets as well as in markets with intense competition; on how technology and the Internet is reshaping the face of domestic and home business; and on how people are being equipped with new skills and techniques. In short, it offers expert inspiration for a better business.
Below is a selection of articles from this month’s issue, and we hope you enjoy the read!
- Jeff Haden
The 2 words Apple uses most often to sell products might surprise you: Sure, Apple knows how to create great products. But – and this is crucial to the success of any company – Apple also knows how to sell those products. Through dazzling images. Through creative videos. - Dr Lynda Shaw
How to clear your brain fog: Many of us have been talking about brain fog of late, whether that is because of ageing, feeling burnout, recovering from illness, or juggling too many balls in the air during this incredibly difficult last year. So what is brain fog and how does it relate to memory and what exactly can we do about it? - Shelly Greenway
Bad ideas are great fuel for good ideas: We have been indoctrinated in business to focus on coming up with good ideas – something that we feel confident will be accepted by our superiors and colleagues. - Soren Kaplan
The OGSM template is a secret weapon that helps high-performing teams growth: For the past 25 years, I’ve worked with hundreds of groups across dozens of big companies and startups. One thing’s consistent: everyone works in teams, and the ultimate success of any organization relies on the overall effectiveness of the teams within it. - Greg Satell
4 ways to empower change in your organization: In 1957, Ken Olsen founded Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) with his MIT classmate, Harlan Anderson, and by the 1960s, the company had pioneered the minicomputer revolution. Much cheaper than IBM mainframes, but still powerful enough to be useful, these machines helped make DEC one of the world’s leading technology companies. - Tim Stroh
Strategy is about the present but also the future: I was recently asked to comment on Stephen Bungay’s 5 Myths About Strategy (Harvard Business Review 2019). This is a terrific and succinct piece. That said, while I fully agree with many of his points, without clarification his first proposition that “strategy is not about the long term” is dangerous. - Peter Thomson
The yesterday’s road method: How to write a business plan that turns potential failure into future success: I want to share with you the exact steps to take to achieve your goals and become more successful, both personally and professionally. My unique approach is called “The Yesterday’s Road Method”, and using it to write a business plan has helped me and many of my key clients to avoid failure and achieve success. - Marla Tabaka
How to deescalate an argument using emotional intelligence: Given today’s political and social environments, it doesn’t take much for a minor disagreement to escalate quickly. With people’s sensitivities at their peak, strong emotions are likely to emerge at the mere mention of certain topics. This unfortunate consequence of the times can drastically alter the nature of essential relationships. - Paul Sloane
Write your future news report: If you are planning a major change, a big initiative, a new product launch or something really innovative then try writing a future news story. Imagine that the project has been a surprisingly big success. A reporter in a major newspaper or on TV files a glowing report. Write it up. - Marcel Schwantes
What companies are getting wrong in addressing burnout, and what to do instead: The pandemic has created an entirely new set of rules for the workplace, and while the new environment created flexibility, it also eliminated the boundaries between work and life for some. - Bob Apollo
Why being liked should never be your primary motivation: Being likeable is generally a tremendous positive attribute in our relationships with our customers, colleagues and everyone else we interact with. And I’m not suggesting that we should deliberately choose to behave in a dislikeable or disagreeable manner. - David Finkel
You are not your business. It’s time to redefine yourself as an entrepreneur: We are all guilty of this one. Over the last 25 years, I have worked with and coached thousands of business owners across the country to help them grow and scale their businesses. And along the way I have had my fair share of business owners who struggled with anxiety, control issues and fear of the future. There is another mental hurdle however, that I see at an alarmingly high rate and one that can have catastrophic effects on a business owner, particularly when it comes time to retire or sell their company. - Thom Dennis
Business lessons we must have learnt from the Pandemic: Over a year on from the start of the pandemic and as lockdown is slowly lifted, many changes in the way we operate business are most likely here to stay, but what lessons do we need to ensure we have truly learnt from the pandemic? Thom Dennis, CEO at Serenity in Leadership, looks at what we need for a new healthy business lens. - Sunil Bali
Why do we give a Friar Tuck ….. How many people do you think will cry at your funeral? - Tom Koulopoulos
Jeff Bezos started Amazon by answering this simple question: Give an honest answer to one question and even the most complex and intractable decisions become a piece of cake. - Barry Urquhart
Love Me Tender: In business, there is little to love about tenders. Complying and conforming to tendering specifics eliminate the identification and value of difference between the competing entities. Even submissions by advertising agencies, public relations consultancies and promotional firms are often constrained by the strictures of tenders.