Category Archives: management

Business is like Golf

In Six Simple Words

My advice to entrepreneurs, based on thirty years of experience and explained in four published books with a total of about 650 pages, can actually be boiled down to six simple words.

The same words apply to getting better and achieving success at golf: 

Have plan.

Avoid the mistakes.

There is more to it than that, of course. As you may have noticed in my earlier much longer article on why Business is Like Golf, but the same guiding principles apply to both business and golf.

Keep it simple.

Have a plan. Avoid the mistakes.   

Be better. Do Better. Be an Enlightened Entrepreneur.

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management

Remember PDT

A motivating mantra for success

 

As a parent and coach I’ve often repeated the mantra of PDT – Power, Determination, and Technique – to focus on the three key elements required in any development program to achieve superior performance in a chosen sport, career, or business plan.

You may have your own key words or acronym to stay focused on building for success based on these fundamental principles that I summarize in three key words:

 

  • Power: Build and maintain physical and emotional strength, stamina, flexibility, resilience, financial strength, and the support of family and friends.

 

  • Determination: Retain an attitude of confidence, resolve, discipline and dedication to improvement.

 

  • Technique: Take the time and make the investment in learning and practicing the basic skills necessary to perform at a high level in all the areas of expertise required.

 

It doesn’t matter if you want to be a successful concert pianist, research scientist, doctor, engineer, or entrepreneur, remember to work constantly on PDT – Power, Determination, & Technique.

Be better. Do Better. Be an Enlightened Entrepreneur. 

 

Del Chatterson, your Uncle Ralph

Learn more about Enlightened Entrepreneurship at: LearningEntrepreneurship.com Read more of Uncle Ralph's advice for Entrepreneurs in Don't Do It the Hard Way & The Complete Do-It-Yourself Guide to Business Plans - 2020 Editions.

 Read more Blog posts at: LearningEntrepreneurship Blogs. 

 

 

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management

Have a purpose

And a plan

 “Follow your dreams, pursue your passion!”  That’s the usual useless cliché offered by successful superstars as advice to people who want the same level of success for themselves. It’s not helpful!

It’s better to tell them to stop dreaming, get to work! Learn what you need to know and apply your passion to getting better and doing better.

For ambitious entrepreneurs – young and old, new or experienced – my own advice based on more than thirty years of entrepreneurship and consulting can be summarized in six simple words: Have a purpose and a plan.

Plus a bonus of three more important words: Avoid the mistakes.

Even better you can learn from all the words in my two short books for entrepreneurs how to successfully start and grow a valuable sustainable business: The Complete Do-It-Yourself Guide to Business Plans and DON’T DO IT THE HARD WAY.

Both books offer ideas and inspiration based on stories of my own learning experience with clients and other business owners, including the mistakes we’ve made and how to avoid them. Learn more at: LearningEntrepreneurship – Business Books.

You can be better and do better. Be an Enlightened Entrepreneur.

Del Chatterson, your Uncle Ralph

Learn more about Enlightened Entrepreneurship at: LearningEntrepreneurship.com Read more of Uncle Ralph's advice for Entrepreneurs in Don't Do It the Hard Way & The Complete Do-It-Yourself Guide to Business Plans - 2020 Editions.

 Read more Blog posts at: LearningEntrepreneurship Blogs. 

 

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leadership, management

Hard-ass Management

Doesn’t work anymore

 “The players wanted a change. His style wasn’t working anymore.” Those were the parting words from management when Darryl Sutter was fired as head coach of the Calgary Flames hockey team at the end of a losing season, just one year after being named Jack Adams Award winner as the NHL's top head coach. 

Apparently tough, demanding, hard-ass management works for a while, but not for long. “Break 'em down, then build them up,” was Sutter’s approach. Not many respond well or want to sign up for more of the same treatment. Young athletes and employees, who have prepared and are ready for the big time, have more confidence in their ability to contribute and want a voice in how the job gets done.

It takes more empathy and understanding and better two-way communication to get the most out of top performers and to build a winning team. Good coaches, consultants, and managers know how to balance critique and encouragement. Screaming insults and abuse may get attention and an immediate response, but it’s not likely to get a continuing commitment to better performance.

That style of management usually leads to a request for change. “Either he goes, or I go.”

Be better. Do Better. Be an Enlightened Entrepreneur.

Del Chatterson, your Uncle Ralph

Learn more about Enlightened Entrepreneurship at: LearningEntrepreneurship.com Read more of Uncle Ralph's advice for Entrepreneurs in Don't Do It the Hard Way & The Complete Do-It-Yourself Guide to Business Plans - 2020 Editions.

 Read more Blog posts at: LearningEntrepreneurship Blogs. 

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management

Biggest Entrepreneur Mistake #5

Marketing is NOT Everything

(An extract from DON’T DO IT THE HARD WAY – Avoid the Seven Biggest Mistakes that Entrepreneurs Make.)

Marketing is not everything. But it is the first important step in a three-part process to deliver satisfied customers who keep coming back for more. That’s the primary objective of every business: building loyal, long-term, profitable customer relationships.

It’s a Three-part Process: Marketing + Sales + Customer Service to achieve that objective.

Marketing is an area that many entrepreneurs often neglect or do the absolute minimum badly. Marketing is similar to the restaurant business; we’re all exposed to it enough to think that we understand how it works and we can do it ourselves. It’s never as easy as it looks. Both marketing and the restaurant business present challenging requirements for both expertise and creativity. Success is never guaranteed.

In the three-part process, marketing, sales and customer service activities must all be aligned to deliver a consistent customer experience with the company and the brand that builds a customer relationship from first-time buyer to long-term customer. The marketing and sales efforts bring in the first order and customer service delivers on the rest.

Each step has to be done consistently well for consistent profitable growth to be achieved.

Don’t make the Biggest Entrepreneur Mistake #5 – Marketing is NOT Everything  

Be better. Do Better. Be an Enlightened Entrepreneur.

Del Chatterson, your Uncle Ralph

Learn more about Enlightened Entrepreneurship at: LearningEntrepreneurship.com Read more of Uncle Ralph's advice for Entrepreneurs in Don't Do It the Hard Way & The Complete Do-It-Yourself Guide to Business Plans - 2020 Editions.

 Read more Blog posts at: LearningEntrepreneurship Blogs. 

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customer service, management, marketing, sales

Biggest Entrepreneur Mistake #4

Neglecting Key Relationships

(An extract from DON’T DO IT THE HARD WAY – Avoid the Seven Biggest Mistakes that Entrepreneurs Make.)

The key relationship for any business is the one between management and staff. Effective two-way communication in that relationship is essential to providing strategic leadership, receiving constructive feedback, and ensuring that management and staff are working effectively as a team toward common goals.

Sometimes we’re distracted from our most important relationships by the most annoying and challenging ones – especially if they’re employees or customers. However, the most productive employees and the biggest customers are not often the squeakiest. Just the most important.

Do you need to squeak more yourself to improve key relationships?  Do your suppliers appreciate you enough?

And what about your banker. Is your bank a welcome and willing partner in your business?

Building and protecting these key relationships are essential steps to keeping your business on track and meeting your strategic objectives.

Don’t make the Biggest Entrepreneur Mistake #4 – Neglecting Key Relationships

Be better. Do Better. Be an Enlightened Entrepreneur.

Del Chatterson, your Uncle Ralph

Learn more about Enlightened Entrepreneurship at: LearningEntrepreneurship.com Read more of Uncle Ralph's advice for Entrepreneurs in Don't Do It the Hard Way & The Complete Do-It-Yourself Guide to Business Plans - 2020 Editions.

 Read more Blog posts at: LearningEntrepreneurship Blogs. 

 

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Enlightened Entrepreneurship, leadership, management

Biggest Entrepreneur Mistake #3

Focused on Profit

Being focused on profit doesn’t seem like a mistake. After all, isn’t that the whole purpose of running a business? No, actually it’s not.

If you accept the principle that the fundamental objective of any business is to build sustainable business value through loyal and profitable customer relationships, then focusing on short-term profitability can be a distraction and detrimental to that objective.

Many short-term profit-oriented decisions can hurt long-term value. Cutting expenses in staffing, marketing, and maintenance might have an obvious and immediate impact on improving profits and cash flow, but they may also have irreversible negative effects on corporate culture, branding, operational effectiveness, and the continued support of key employees and customers.

Most entrepreneurs are dedicated to managing the bottom line by monitoring sales, gross profit margins, and operating expenses. They always know those numbers. But they too often neglect asset management and the performance variables affecting cash flow and the ability of the enterprise’s infrastructure to generate sustainable and profitable long-term growth.

Managers need to monitor all the key performance variables and react quickly to avoid big mistakes that might be fatal. Focusing on short-term profitability may be a dangerous distraction.

Don’t make the Biggest Entrepreneur Mistake #3 – Focused on profit

Be better. Do Better. Be an Enlightened Entrepreneur.

Del Chatterson, your Uncle Ralph

Learn more about Enlightened Entrepreneurship at: LearningEntrepreneurship.com Read more of Uncle Ralph's advice for Entrepreneurs in Don't Do It the Hard Way & The Complete Do-It-Yourself Guide to Business Plans - 2020 Editions.

 Read more Blog posts at: LearningEntrepreneurship Blogs. 

 

 

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leadership, management

Keep it simple

Focus on the fundamentals.

Canadian tennis hero, Felix Auger-Aliassime, at the Australian Open this week came back from losing the first two sets in a five-set match to suddenly overpower his opponent for the next three sets and win the match. What happened?

“I decided to keep it simple,” he said. “The first two sets I was trying too hard to analyze his game and find a strategy to beat him, making it complicated. It’s tennis, just hit the ball inside the lines.”

Good strategic advice for entrepreneurs too. Keep it simple. Focus on the fundamentals.

I’ve written thousands of articles and two books of advice for entrepreneurs (which I recommend you read, of course), but it can all be summarized in six simple words: Have a plan. Avoid the mistakes.

Go back to the fundamental principles that still apply and are consistent with your vision, mission and values. The challenges will be complicated enough without your help.

Be better. Do Better. Be an Enlightened Entrepreneur.

Del Chatterson, your Uncle Ralph

Learn more about Enlightened Entrepreneurship at: LearningEntrepreneurship.com Read more of Uncle Ralph's advice for Entrepreneurs in Don't Do It the Hard Way & The Complete Do-It-Yourself Guide to Business Plans - 2020 Editions.

 Read more Blog posts at: LearningEntrepreneurship Blogs. 

 

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entrepreneurship, management

So far, so good?

Or too soon to tell.

We’re only into the second week of 2023, so it’s too soon to tell if we’re making progress on our plans yet, but let’s check that we’re off to a good start.

Presumably, we have defined our reasonably ambitious goals and objectives for the year and we have a plan to accomplish them. Now comes the hard part – implementing the plan.

We need more than an Action Plan with names, dates and budgets assigned to it. We need to clearly communicate the guiding mission, vision, and values that were applied to the plan. We need to ensure that everyone who is required to participate in the implementation has also participated in the development of the plan; understands the rationale for the decisions and choices that were made; and is committed to supporting the implementation of the plan.

If you can check-off those items, then you're off to a good start. There’s still time to correct any deficiencies and a good start does not guarantee a good finish, but it does improve the odds. Have a good Year!

Be better. Do Better. Be an Enlightened Entrepreneur.

Del Chatterson, your Uncle Ralph

Learn more about Enlightened Entrepreneurship at: LearningEntrepreneurship.com Read more of Uncle Ralph's advice for Entrepreneurs in Don't Do It the Hard Way & The Complete Do-It-Yourself Guide to Business Plans - 2020 Editions.

 Read more Blog posts at: LearningEntrepreneurship Blogs. 

 

 

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Enlightened Entrepreneurship, leadership, management

Brave New Plans for 2023

Find a new comfort zone

After two years of living with pandemic restrictions and one year of navigating through an apocalyptic world of continuing health risks, social disruption and discontent, geopolitical conflict, climate disasters, and humanitarian crises, it’s time to make brave new plans for 2023 to find our place among our fellow passengers on planet earth.

Let’s find a new comfort zone for our own peace, security and prosperity while developing new approaches to making it a better world for everyone.

Let's widen our point of view, look large at people and the planet; seek to understand, listen and learn; consider alternate beliefs and value systems. Share our own values and beliefs. Speak up against lies and bigotry, racism and hate, ignorance and misinformation and false faith in simple solutions.

Be aware of the needs of family and friends, associates and colleagues, the neighbours and communities around us. The world is waiting; it needs more of us to do better; and it needs more of the best of us.

Small steps can make a big difference. One friendly gesture; one generous act; one thoughtful contribution of time, talent, knowledge or experience; applied to one person, one family, one community at a time.

It will be another challenging year. Let’s not deny the truth or hide from the ugly facts of life. Let’s change our attitudes and our actions to make life better for ourselves and for others.

Have a great start to the New Year.

 Del Chatterson, your Uncle Ralph

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leadership, management