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Name of author Rick Baker, P.Eng.

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Layering On Business Achievement

by Rick Baker
On Sep 13, 2012

If you want to ensure your business is solid from top to bottom and from bottom to top, consider building a solid 3-layer pyramid:

 

 

The first layer to build is: Solving Problems. There are 3 major considerations:

  1. People: you and your people must have the right attitude and the right strengths...analytical, creative, experiential, etc
  2. Process: you and your people must have access to good problem-solving systems and tools...as one example, P=2S+O 
  3. Situations: you and your people must be able to not just analyse but also anticipate situations 
 
The next layer to build is: Growing Profits. There are 3 major considerations:
  1. People: as above and remember, people have radically different views about money and many handle it poorly
  2. Process: key considerations are finger-on-the-financial-pulse measures and metrics, performance tracking models, and cash-flow forecasts 
  3. Situations: as above and work to look at things from different perspectives...including your banker's perspective
 
The final layer to build is: Increasing Value. Again, there are 3 major considerations. In fact, Business Contains Only These 3 Things:
  1. People: as above and business value increases as value delivered to clients, employees, suppliers, & owners increases
  2. Process: as above and more - the process must fit the people, and vice-versa
  3. Situations: as above and more - the business culture must be constructed so situations are easier to anticipate and it is the responsibility of the leader to guide people and guide processes so situations are constructed
 

Tags:

Entrepreneur Thinking | Solutions & Opportunities | Vision: The Leader's Vivid Vision

Thought Tweet #540

by Rick Baker
On Aug 10, 2012

Thought Tweet #540 Some say, "Forget your mistakes". That's not good advice.

 

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

  1. Our brains are powerful machines, designed to remember, not to forget. Why waste brain-energy fighting the natural flow?
  2. Invest brain-energy learning from mistakes and then celebrate that learning.

Tags:

Brain: about the Human Brain | Solutions & Opportunities | Thought Tweets

Thought Tweet #535

by Rick Baker
On Aug 3, 2012

Thought Tweet #535 Better to fix the problem than to fix the blame.

 

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

Winners seek solutions and think of better places.

Losers agonize over problems and fear uncertainty.

Tags:

Attitude: Creating Positive Attitude | Solutions & Opportunities | Thought Tweets

Bad Signals & Signs of Existing and Impending Business Problems

by Rick Baker
On Jul 24, 2012

All businesses experience a series of problems. Solving problems is essentially what business is all about. However, business should not be a strung-out set of stressed-out problem-solving experiences. Business should not be that painful.

When you boil business down you find people. 

So, restating the above:

People's jobs and careers should not be struggling, painful experiences dragged out over long periods of time.

People should step back every once in a while and check the health of their job, career, and business.

Does their workday contain any unhealthy symptoms?

As introductory examples, people could check for:

  1. Failure to reply to phone messages and email messages...2 main reasons why this is unhealthy: it closes the door to potential opportunities, especially the value embedded in weak links and it brands you and your company as self-focused....this is especially a problem if you and/or your business are active with other aspects of social media such as LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, and You Tube. [another idea to consider - ] Successful People Have More Time
  2. Stalled Sales...there are root causes. What are they? [an idea to consider]
  3. Chronic errors...there are root causes. What are they? [an idea to consider]
  4. Software or process technologies falling behind [an idea to consider]
  5. Tightening cash flow [an idea to consider]
  6. Increased disharmony among employees [an idea to consider]
  7. Increased turnover [an idea to consider]

Thought Tweet #497

by Rick Baker
On Jun 12, 2012
Thought Tweet #497 Tackle problems: hit them high, hit them low...rip the ball out from their hands.
 
The Thinking Behind The Tweet
 
Unresolved, lingering problems gnaw away at your brain energy. Attack problems and pluck that destructive power away from them.

Tags:

Beyond Business | Brain: about the Human Brain | Humour | Solutions & Opportunities | Thought Tweets

Thought Tweet #462

by Rick Baker
On Apr 24, 2012

Thought Tweet #462 Many people find it much easier to choose from options (a),(b),&(c) than to create their own option.

 

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

There are 3 good options: (1) help those people by providing options, (2) help those people by providing decision-making help such as P=2S+O tools, and (3) help those people develop imagination and creativity

Tags:

Delegation & Decisions | Solutions & Opportunities | Thought Tweets

Copyright © 2012. W.F.C (Rick) Baker. All Rights Reserved.