You can now download the March 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!
- Dr Lynda Shaw – Maintaining flexibility is key to boosting performance in 2021: Looking ahead to a time when the pandemic is over and a return to the office is possible, how popular is that likely to be and what will the new normal be? Neuroscientist and Business Psychologist, Dr Lynda Shaw, tells us why flexibility is the key to boosting performance and best working practises in 2021.
- David Finkel – Things you should look at before creating your quarterly action plan: The most successful business owners set aside time each quarter to plan out their goals and action steps for the upcoming quarter. Not only does this allow you to focus your energy and attention on the things that propel your company forward, but it will also help you strategize the best way to leverage your team to reach your goals.
- Janet Sernack – Dancing on the edge of your comfort zone: It’s been a tough year for everyone since the COVID-19 crisis began. Some organisations are adapting and holding their own using this time to repurpose, reinvent, and consolidate. Some have been hit very, very hard. Most leaders are struggling with the extreme uncertainty existing within their operating environments, and are seeking to prepare and manage for what might come next.
- Soren Kaplan – No plan for 2021? No problem. Use a project charter to get focus: Having worked with both startups and big companies for more than 25 years, I’ve seen executives get so enamored of their “disruptive” future visions, they neglect the short-term plans that get things going. I’ve also seen leaders so focused on implementation they lose sight of their purpose and strategy.
- Mitch Ditkoff – The first thing a savvy team leader needs to do: If you lead a team of people, the first thing you need to do is let your team know the full scope of your roles and responsibilities. You may think your team understands what you do, but it’s highly likely they don’t — at least not at the level of specificity that a high performing team demands.
- Sunil Bali – It wrinkles the soul….. By all accounts Henry Kravis is a jolly decent chap, with a likeable disposition and good sense of humour.
- Nigel Collin – Do you need a coach or do you need a mentor? Successful leaders and individuals rarely, if ever, achieve success by themselves. They don’t just surround themselves with great teams, but also have coaches or mentors working with them, especially through uncertain times.
- Chromebook – your next computer? When you’re considering buying a new computer it’s always difficult to know which one to buy. This is even more so today than ever before because you have more of a choice. A computer typically lasts for about six years, so making the right decision is important. If you need a computer to browse the internet, or communicate by email, don’t spend £ thousands when for a few £ hundred you can get a better, simpler solution.
- John Stanley – What is your Story? If you look at the research coming out, it indicates that consumers are going to be spending less and looking for a discount.
- Tom Koulopoulos – One quote that every entrepreneur must embrace: The focus on being a billon-dollar unicorn distracts us from an even more important kind of value that companies of every size need to embrace.
- Shelly Greenway – Are concept tests killing real Innovation? The decision about which truly innovative product ideas or concepts to fund in the majority of businesses often comes down to the consumer, not the company. Essentially, the consumer is made to be the ultimate decision-maker of innovations via concept tests. Companies enlist consumers to be the sole judge and jury of their ideas.
- Peter Thomson – The 7 things UK coaches must know about using webinars to get clients: As a professional coach you know webinars are the ideal ‘connection’ method to: Get More Leads – Gain More Clients – Deliver Your Services.
- August J. Aquila –Tomorrow’s Leader: Everything the firm does from this moment on flows from this decision, including the firm’s strategy, reputation, the ability to attract critical talent, and how well it will execute its plans. Selecting the strongest rainmaker or the longest tenured partner, no matter how well liked, can quickly send the firm in the wrong direction if the candidate is underprepared or inadequate leader.
- Amy Vetter – 4 lessons from ancient Mexico for modern business leaders: These words of wisdom can make you a more insightful (and happier) person. I have always enjoyed philosophical books. They offer great insight and inspiration on how to improve my life and how to better approach my work. Along the way, I have discovered that some of the greatest wisdom comes from the simplest lessons.
- Urko Wood – How to create new products that customers want: Some people believe that the most innovative companies create customer demand with breakthrough new offerings. They say things like, “Nobody knew they needed an iPhone until Apple created it. Apple created needs that people didn’t even know they had.” Hence, if you want to be an innovation leader, strive to create customer needs.
- The Team at Serenity in Leadership – What women want in the workplace in 2021: Covid-19 has changed numerous things for women, with many struggling with additional burdens of children missing school, isolation, anxiety about their family’s health and finances; with burnout and severe stress real issues. As a crisis often presents opportunities, to mark International Women’s Day on March 8th, Serenity in Leadership identifies 10 things businesses need to address to dramatically improve gender equality and meet the needs of what women want in the workplace in 2021.
- Paul Sloane – Experiment, Experiment, Experiment: Here is a question for leaders and managers. Would you like your people to try out their ideas for better ways to meet the needs of customers or better ways to run the business?
- Greg Satell – These 3 cognitive biases can kill Innovation: Probably the biggest myth about innovation is that it’s about ideas. It’s not. It’s about solving problems. The truth is that nobody cares about what ideas you have they care about the problems you can solve for them. So, don’t worry about coming up with a brilliant idea. If you find a meaningful problem, the ideas will come.