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fires Tagged Articles



Where there is smoke there is...
Workplace disruptions (fires) are a commonplace event. Prevention is the best course of action since much time and energy is consumed resolving these issues. But since we can’t always prevent them it is critical that we learn to distinguish between those that can cause genuine or lasting damage and those that are false alarms.

Portages: Or, The Economic Past is Here -- It's Just Evenly Distributed
I am fascinated with how we don't notice that much of the past is still with us, that it's so evenly distributed as to be invisible. I often talk about this in the context of urban fire departments, and the small percentage of their calls that are actually for fires.
Lesson #2: Strike Out A New Path
“If you want to succeed you should strike out on new paths, rather than travel the worn paths of accepted success,” said Rockefeller.

Advice du Jour: Do Whatever Gets You Tenure
I was recently talking to a CEO friend of mine who is having trouble with his board. He thinks there is a very good chance that he will soon be fired.
Believe It or Not: An Original Take on Leadership
Dov Frohman is a pioneer in the semiconductor industry. Among (many) other things, he started Intel Israel and was largely responsible for the growth of Israel's potent high-tech sector. With Robert Howard, he has written a truly original book on leadership, Leadership the Hard Way: Why Leadership Can't Be Taught—and How You Can Learn It Anyway.

Maximizing Sales and Profits in Economic Recovery
As the recovery takes hold your organization will start to do better simply because customers will start buying again. While this provides a much needed break from the angst of recession, it will hardly provide the motivation to excel. Instead challenge your organization to achieve its true potential and watch sales and profits soar.
Harness Your Energy
Just like your cellphone you need to take time to recharge. When you take good care of yourself you can be more productive. Here are some helpful tips.

5 Steps to Organizing Your Business
Women entrepreneurs and solo-preneurs have a tough time focusing on business opportunities when their time and energy is taken up by too much to do! Here are five ways to get more time and energy so you can focus on business profitability.
Build your business on the Pillars of Profitably
Most businesses don’t maximize profits. Indeed most businesses fail - usually because owners and managers are reacting more than focusing. “Crisis-fires”, daily and hourly, command their attention and consume the day. As a result, they find themselves staying busy, instead of being highly productive.

Be the CEO of Your Life and Your Business!
Learn how to be a leader and take control...
Top Customer Sales Questions to Increase Profits in 2009
Some salespeople and managers think they’ll keep clients happy by not ruffling their feathers with uncomfortable questions — but customers can’t solve problems they don’t acknowledge. Here’s how to show clients the bigger picture by asking them the right kind of probing questions, leading them to a happy new year of booming business.

Your Profitability is Determined by the Customers you Keep
We've all heard the adage "not all business is good business". With that being said, we are all trying to keep cash flow robust and are challenged to turn any business away. So what can be done in situations where we know the business is not good for long-term profitability and will demand the continued commitment of precious resources?
How Organized is Your Business? Part 4
Yesterday I asked you how organized your business was. Did you consider your answer? Today I'll share a thought on how you can move yourself to a business more organized. Schedule the Strategic and Evaluate Where You Need to Get Organized.
Unleash Your Potential by Changing Your Beliefs
This article has a step by step process to indentify and change any of your limiting beliefs. Beliefs are at the core of all our behaviors. By changing beliefs it is easier to change your behaviors.
What do Barbara Streisand and Tiger Woods have in common?
In addition to being at the top of their respective fields, Streisand in music and Woods in golf, they both work with a coach. Why would someone at the top of their chosen profession need a coach?
Keeping Everyone Happy - A Job To Change Or Quit
Taking on the role of "keeping everyone happy" can be an exhausting and daunting job that can be costlier than you think!

Business Plans 101: Part 2
A business has a substantially better chance of succeeding if the entrepreneur takes the time to write a business plan. Not only can missteps be avoided, but the process of writing a business plan also allows the entrepreneur the opportunity to think proactively instead of reactively. When dealing with the day-to-day needs of a business the entrepreneur is typically in “firefighter mode,” putting out the fires of the day. Writing a business plan lets the entrepreneur take a step back and think about the business in a “big picture” context. This article continues the discussion of what needs to be included in a business plan, specifically outlining what needs to be included in the financial (or "numbers") portion.
Solve Problems Permanently Ask WHY
Someone once said that the real issue behind a problem, is one or more levels below the problem. So, solving problems by fire-fighting when they arise, is firstly, not going to actually solve the problem for good. And secondly, it's tiring, wearing, distracting and worse, it causes a really demotivating environment. Definitely not good - not good at all. So the best thing is to find out what's really going on, and to do this, you need to go deep. Here's how...
Conflict Management
It doesn’t matter what business you’re in or how successfully you think you manage your employees. I guarantee you that at some point in your professional career, you’re going to experience conflict. It might not directly involve you, but if it involves anyone in your company, it’s going to impact you sooner or later. That is why every entrepreneur needs to learn conflict management – and sooner rather than later.
Do you hate the poor enough to be charitable?
You're going to despise me, so let's get that over and done with. It is winter in Cape Town. Temperatures plunge to the low single Celsius digits. Worse than that though is the hurtling, searing, icy bullets of rain thrust malevolently in gales that reach over 100 kilometres per hour. You don't want to be living in a plastic shelter in an informal settlement during one of our winters. Millions do.

Other fires Related Articles

Keeping Clients Happy in Hard Times
We all face difficult times at some point. When problems come our way we can become so occupied "fighting the fires" that we forget our clients in the process.
Too Late to Avoid Warming
Yes, Global Warming is real and is caused by humans. We need to get used to it. We will have more droughts, more fires and more extreme weather events. We can slow it down but we can't prevent it now.
Shift your But
How to get out of fighting fires and crisis management and reduce your stress levels.
It's About Time: The Path to Productivity
How well do you manage your time? Do you sometimes feel like you spend most of your work day putting out fires instead of being productive? Often it seems we’re so busy putting out those daily fires that we don’t ever get to accomplish anything of real significance—those things that would make us the most successful in the long run. Every day becomes something to “get through” instead of an exciting path to greater fulfillment. We all have the same amount of time; it's what we do with the time we have that makes the difference.

Prayer and purposeful action
I awoke early this morning to the sound of gentle rain falling and found myself immediately praying for more. This prayer came automatically during one of the most tragic weeks in Victoria’s history with the tragedy of the bush fires in many parts of our state. As a Victorian I have found myself upping my prayer quotient for rain for some time now, not just for the bush fires but for the many people whose lives are affected by the drought here and elsewhere. In addition to my prayers, like many families, my family and I have been doing our best to save water and change the size of our carbon foot print. Yet at times like this one can’t help but feel somewhat helpless and useless. All I felt I could do under the circumstances was to pray and give money.
Are You Planning To Fail - Or Just Failing To Plan?
Every business owner plans to succeed, but many wind up succeeding by putting out fires every day. Stragic planning is all about preventing fires in the first place. It's not a difficult process, and the results are well worth the investment of time and energy.
Don't Let Those Assumptions Hold You Back!
How often do we not take a positive step forward because we assume we'll have to go through some fires to get there?
INTEGRATE, DON’T IMITATE
What really ignites our passion for our business? What fires up our ambition and causes us to make crucial decisions about what career paths we want to follow – and what level of success we want to attain?
Create a Strategy That Pruduces Sustainable Results
A Sustainable organization is one where all of the parts are working together cohesively as a team to accomplish organizational goals. These organizations are innovative, customer responsive, and prevent fires- they're not spending their time putting out fires. Are you? If not, here is what to do about it.

Leaders Focus on Reflection and Renewal
Very often we find that managers and their teams are so busy working in the business that they have little time to work on the business. Meetings, deadlines, full email in-boxes, phone calls - comprised mostly of operational activities - suck up huge amounts of time and energy. We've often tried to work with such ineffective managers to set up training workshops and off-site planning retreats. But they are typically too busy fighting fires to spend time on any prevention strategies. As they work ever harder, the fires burn ever bigger. Too often this leads to burned-out managers, demoralized frontline staff, and slipping performance.

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