Where is YOUR Omaha? If you were about to take a multi-day cross country drive with your family, would you just say, ‘Ok everyone, get in the car; we are going for a ride’? Of course not. You would take some time to plan, discuss options with your family and sooner or later pull out […]
Do you lead or do you do more jobs than you should because you think you need to? Delegation of authority is sometimes a hard thing to do and it is not appropriate in every situation. However, when a lack of delegation is the rule rather than an exception, it can severely hinder a business […]
You just received an offer for your business…now what? If it hasn’t happened to you yet, it probably will…IF your business is something worth buying. It sometimes starts with a casual conversation with a competitor or it could be an unsolicited call from an investment banker on behalf of a client, or from another direction […]
In my ‘Metrics Should be Everywhere Part 1’ post I started a discussion about metrics and discussed how they can be used for competitive advantage at the employee level in terms and measures they understand. In this article I want to discuss how those bottom-up metrics align with your top-down strategies. The top-down strategies are […]
The Edge – January 2013 – What is My Business Worth? by Tom Stocker The answer is…it depends. Many business owners ask this question in the form of a statement or even a conviction; “I need to get $X” being the most common. However, the reality is that although you may be able to influence […]
Are You an Octopus? by Tom Stocker Is your business in control or do you control your business? Being an octopus stifles growth; revenue, creative, personal, profit and worker to name a few. Evaluate yourself. And be candid. Does everyone in your organization come to you to make a decision, big or small? Do you […]
Call “The A Team” by Tom Stocker Back in the 80s there was a TV show called “The A Team”. The main characters were a group of four ex-special forces mercenary do-gooders wanted by the law. Each of them had a specialty making them invaluable to the team. They were always called in by some […]
Our comfort zone provides us with a sense of security because we can predict and control the outcome of many of our actions in that zone. It is a place in our minds where we find a sense of control and where the world immediately around us has a sense of order. This business transition […]
Metrics Should be Everywhere (Part 1) by Tom Stocker Everyone uses metrics. You, your management team and your employees. (Yes, even your employees at the lowest level). But many in management don’t realize it or believe it. Some folks really don’t think much about metrics, or only equate them to financial indicators. But non-financial metrics […]
So you aren’t a financial wizard. That’s OK. Most business owners aren’t. In fact, there are a surprising number of successful business owners who really don’t understand how to read or use financial statements. Some of you may think your tax returns are the only financial statements you need. However, each of you has your […]
