When we start a new venture, it’s tempting to do all our homework first: to try to figure out exactly what it is that everyone wants, asking questions, taking polls, sending out surveys, conducting interviews. Over and over again, round and round we go, doing the dance and gathering the data. While the importance of knowing our customers can’t be …

In business, like life, there’s always a hard part. The thing we dread. The obstacle we don’t feel like tackling right now. The detail that needs to be worked out before we can move on. The linchpin upon which all other success rests. But it’s hard, so we put it off. We’ll work on this other thing instead. It’s easier. …

Most of us, especially those starting out in business, are averse to spending money on the tools of our trade. We know we have to buy these things, but we’re often fooled (by ourselves) into doing it on the cheap. All tools, like everything else in our lives, have a cost/benefit relationship. We’ve been conditioned to expect that this cost/benefit …

Throughout our lives, we produce a lot of things: products, reports, letters, presentations, meetings, conversations, promotional materials, etc.; and almost countless number of creations. Everything we put out there, in one way or another and for better or worse, reflects back on us. We know that all this stuff is going to leave a mark. It’s amazing that, even armed …

Our whole lives, we’ve been taught to avoid risk; that we should steer clear of taking chances. We’ve been trained to resist gambling with our future, and all too often our apprehension has cost us dearly. Without risk, there is no reward. We’ll never get anywhere without taking some chances. Not the ‘risking life and limb’ type of hazardous situations, …

If you found a book with the names and phone numbers of everyone who was getting ready to buy a house this week, would it suddenly turn your home inspection business around? If you phoned each person and told them that you’d found their information and wanted to provide them a service, would that make them any more likely to …

It’s easy to believe that we’re the only one. The only one who’s struggling. The only one who’s not sure they made the right decision. The only one who’s not feeling it today. The only one who’s doubting their abilities. The only one who thinks they’re in over their head. It’s easy to get stuck in this mindset, especially if …

All too often in our lives, we’re stubbornly rigid in our thinking. We force the binary choice: this or that. If we really took some time to think about our options, weighing the pros and cons and having a lively debate (within our own consciousness) about an important issue, we may find that there’s a third option to be considered. …

Do something today to make your offering better. It may not work. It may fall on deaf ears. It may really end up stinking. But at least you tried. Then get up and try again tomorrow. Keep trying, over and over again, until eventually you hit on something good. It’s not that we’re short on ideas to make what we …

When something happens, it’s human nature to either jump all over it as quickly as possible or to ignore it and pretend it never happened. And in our businesses, either one of these “normal” responses is going to get us into trouble. Never ignore a problem, as the odds are that it’s going to get bigger and bigger until it …