good times

Like this article? PLEASE +1 it!

good times Tagged Articles

Profit Covers Many Sins --- Cleaning Up the Mess

Simply put, there are good times when things are going well and it’s easy to make money, and there are bad times, when it’s much more difficult to make money. Prior to 2008 we had a run of good times that exceeded most of our expectations. I have often said that it didn’t take a genius to make money during that run. However, “Profit covers many sins”. That means that many of us got a little complacent. Maybe we didn’t quite run our business following absolute best practice. Maybe some of us overlooked less than the best performance expected from our employees. Maybe we were a little too compassionate regarding employee effectiveness and as a result we haven’t “weeded the garden” to allow our good employees to flourish.

Lesson #4: Look Hard to See the Mighty Oak in the Acorn

Everybody knows somebody who did not succeed, somebody who got caught in a web of difficult circumstances and could not find their way out in order to fulfill their goals. Pemberton had a good idea and a good head start, but he had never managed to get it off the ground. What was it about Candler that made him different? Why was Candler able to build Coca-Cola into the international success it is today and Pemberton was not?

A Tough Life: Carnegie Makes Good with Steel
By the late 1880s, Carnegie had established himself as the world’s largest manufacturer of raw iron, steel-rails and coke. After purchasing rival Homestead Steel Works in 1888, Carnegie integrated his assets together under the Carnegie Steel Company. Worth an estimated $25 million, Carnegie became the proud owner of the world’s largest steel company.

The Art of Firing
A few weeks ago I covered the topic of laying people off. In a sense, this is an easier process because it usually happens in bad times, and it doesn’t single a person out. A firing, by contrast, can occur in good times as well as bad times, and it’s highly personal.

The Person Responsible for Your Success
It's time to meet the person who has been responsible for the life you live right now.

Weathering the Market
With the current state of the market, everyone keeps asking me what to do with their money.

Are You Waffling?
Politicians are often accused of waffling between stances on issues in an attempt to broaden or redirect their appeal. Well, I’ve run across a small business or two plenty guilty of the same.

Focus on Positive Leadership - When Things Go Wrong

Are you appreciated by company managers? Do you have the opportunity to do your best work? Are you clear on what is expected of you at work? Does your manager provide employees focus? People at work who are fully engaged can answer these questions expressing gratitude with a happy yes! Most of us start a job motivated to perform our best, but sometimes working for an ineffective manager can negatively affect your motivation. Positive leaders help people tap into their intrinsic motivation to improve performance. Optimistic leaders inspire people to a shared future. They have a strong sense of significance. Are you a positive leader in good times and bad?

The King of Good Times: The Early Years of Vijay Mallya

In his home country of India, he can hardly even go out to a restaurant without police and armed guards by his side, but Vijay Mallya is enjoying every minute of his fame and fortune. A billionaire businessman who is best associated with his popular beer brand Kingfisher, Mallya was thrust into the business world at the young age of 27. Today, he is active in everything from the alcohol and airline industry to Formula One, not to mention he is a Member of Indian Parliament.

Lesson #3: Make a solid brand your company’s backbone
Mallya might like to joke that he is “The King of Good Times,” but it is no joke at all. That slogan, and Mallya himself, represent billions of dollars to the UB group. “I am the brand ambassador,” he says.

Lesson #4: “When you are weak, you must act as if you are very strong”
Biver has built a reputation for himself by bringing companies back from the brink. Blancpain, Omega, Hublot – all three had fallen into relative obscurity before Biver stepped into the picture. After a short time there, each had risen to the top of the industry. Thus, when the recession hit in the late-2000s, Biver was qualified more than most in knowing how to get through it.

Sales and Selling - Which Has Evolved More?

What I found amazed me and will surely amaze you. Ready? Salespeople have not changed in any way since the recession. The statistics are identical with one exception - the percentage of salespeople who are hitting their numbers has declined significantly. However, the skill sets have not improved despite the need for them to. And the weaknesses are just as plentiful as they were, despite the need for them to be overcome.

Watch who you let near your mind

With the Sub-prime market issue in the US and its effects on countries and the world’s stock markets featuring as a daily major news item at present who can blame people for getting a bit nervous and worried about the future. You can see it with the panic selling of shares and so forth. However if we let this and other issues get to us and allow ourselves to blow things out of all proportion we can, in turn, create our own demise. Whilst it is critical for business owners and sales people to keep abreast of market changes and challenges we can let real and, more often than not, perceived threats get the better of us.

How to manage the stress of being self employed
Running your own business hve you overwhelmed? Here's a few tips to regain control.

Special Alert! Announcing Special New Sales Closing Incentive To Make Black Friday Sales, Every Day Sales
After reading this short article, you will feel confident that you are armed with two of the most powerful closing tools in the business world today.

Mean Girls Don’t Always Finish First
You see in movies and TV all the time that the successful businesswomen are cold hard witches (The Devil Wears Prada anyone?) Well why does this have to be the case?

Human Connections
In order to lead a healthy, well balanced life, it is important to have some special people in your life. This makes you feel connected, loved, cared for and valued. We all need human connections to thrive and also to be the best we can be in this world. There are many qualities that make up a good friend. Here are three important ones:

Count your chickens

Everyone I am speaking to, at least, are aware they are working in a softening market. Some businesses of course are counter cyclical, meaning they can make money in these tougher times i.e. outplacement firms for all the obvious reasons, but they are more the exception. If you market is softer or heading or a down turn it doesn't have to be all gloom and doom. It's true now you have to earn your real money through proactive sales practices. So with on the agenda, one of my clients in regional Australia kindly sent me a great article on "The three basic sales strategies in a softening market".

The importance of understanding your buyer relationships - especially in a tough economy
The tough economy is leading to many nasty surprises for sales organisations. In many cases the surprise, or the extent of the surprise, could have been avoided if the sales organisation had better information about the relationship that they have with with their buyers. in this article Keith looks at the different ways of determining the relationship you have with your buyers.

Leadership: These Seven Challenges Help Managers Succeed
We learn best from experience. Even though the school of hard knocks is time consuming and expensive, no amount of management training can completely prepare you for what you will experience as a manager. These seven challenges and experiences help managers succeed.

Cutting Costs Now: 9 Hot Areas for Creative Small Business Owners
In good times and bad, it is always a good idea to look over your business costs. Keeping an eye on the bottom line means watching both the income and the expenses. Here are the hottest ideas my clients are implementing right now.

Let Your Hair Down
When I first named my business, MasterPeace Coaching & Training, I envisioned all my clients playing BIG, peacing out and having a good time. I had no idea how many people thought that you either made a lot of money or you had fun. They didn't think it was a reality that you could have both.

What Do You Need to Do To Move Your Sales Team To That Next Level?
A recent on-line poll at SmartBrief of nearly 1,400 respondents asked what was the most important skill in this current economy. Even though this was not scientific, the results were interesting especially when looking from a sales management perspective.

Sales are Probably Down if You Are Doing These Three Things...
"When your market isn't growing, it is not business as usual and holding your breath and hoping is not the right strategy." This according to Casey Coffman, my guest on...

These Are The Good Old Days
Are you going through a time of struggle and uncertainty these days? Are you questioning what tomorrow may bring? Well, realize one thing for sure, you're not alone.

Using Employee Engagement & Satisfaction Data to Strengthen Company Performance
Article discussed the differences between employee satisfaction surveys and employee engagement surveys as they relate to company performance.

Self-Leadership Success - How to Mend an Interrupted Dream
Should you languish over the past and try to relive it, you can’t! Nothing stays the same. You may want to hold onto what once was, but the dream as you remember it is gone. That isn’t to say you should ignore the wonderful memories and attributes of your past dream. These qualities which are still alive can be used to mend the interrupted dream to new wonders and possibilities.

Installment 2 of the Top 10 Secrets of small business revealed
The - absolute - undeniable - must have - rockbottom - can’t do without - believe it or not - Top 10 (and beyond) - Secrets of Sustainable Small Business Growth, in good times or bad

The Economic Recession Blessing
How to recession proof yourself, and noting the difference between the successful elite and the regular professional.

Run And Hide
You have choices during these tough times. You can run and hide or be bold, brazen and brave - it's up to you!

Leadership Development - A Strategic Need?
Leadership development budgets, that are based on only good intentions and general ideas about leadership, get axed in bad times and get extravagant during good times. If having great or good leaders at all levels is a strategic need, as the above top companies demonstrate and as many leading management experts assert, why do we see such a stop and go approach?

From Cancer to Career
Christina Pirello tells her story on how she evolved from having cancer to having her own cooking show.

Good Times, Bad Times
Good times and bad times are like day and night. They alternate and affirm the passage of time.

MANAGING THROUGH MELTDOWN: 12 Things You Must Do to Exploit Tough Times

What do great leaders do when there's a meltdown? They don't think about merely surviving, or even just thriving. They think about, they focus on, how to exploit those tough times. We're going into the heart of meltdown management. This is a no-baloney, hands-on, take-no-prisoners guide. Being tough is part of the equation, but you have to know how to be tough. With the right tools and toughness you can turn potential disaster into real wealth.

Surviving through troubled times demands Marketing Excellence
An economic downturn is not the time for companies to start cutting back on their marketing activities.

Play the Full Table
During uncertain times (like today!) most leaders and business owners play it safe. This means that if you want to distinguish yourself during tough times, the bar is pretty low. Now is the time to play the full table! Don't restrict your strategies to the sure shots. While your competitors are playing it safe, try new shots, explore the edges of the table.

The Sales Force with Over Achievers Who Don't
I think that many CEO's are in denial. Despite the struggles of their sales force, they continue to look at the pipeline and say to themselves, we'll be okay as soon as these deals close. But the deals aren't closing and with each passing day companies are less okay then they were the day before.

Thriving Through the Downturn Eleven Strategies That Will Make Your Company Boom

Every day we hear doom and gloom in the markets and the media. “The sky is falling” appears to be the refrain repeated around the world. Entrepreneurs, business owners, and their senior executive teams could easily succumb to the fear factor generated by all this coverage of market changes. Market corrections can be a superb time for companies to take advantage of incredible opportunities to not just thrive, but to grow and succeed beyond their wildest dreams. David J. Greer surveyed over two hundred entrepreneurs with experience in downturns to discover the best ways to manage through the current business cycle. In this article, he provides eleven strategies that you can use today to make your company successful, not despite the current market conditions, but because of them.

How to Attract More Legal Clients for Your Small Law Firm & Thrive in a Recession
The key to survival and success lies in expanding your reach. Here are 5 Low Cost Ways to Combat the Recession and Attract more Legal Clients for your Small Law Firm

Customer Intimacy

Customer Intimacy is going beyond simply building a stronger relationship with your client base to seeking ways to build solid win-win relationships. It means finding COMPLETE solutions not partial ones, for your ideal clients. It means not reacting to every whim of the customer but becoming an indispensable partner. It means moving from a simple transactional mentality to an investor in the customer's success.

This is NOT the Time to Go It Alone.
It's tempting to isolate when things are tough. We don't want to expose ourselves or express vulnerability. But going it alone - especially during challenging times - is self-defeating and can actually be dangerous. Now is the time to seek out the comfort and refreshment of commmunity. Not only will it assist us but it will serve others.

Ask, and You Shall Receive
“Ask” is a powerful word because it calls upon another person’s most noble motive—to serve. As a result, I’ve found that nearly all people will give when asked. You may recall the greatest teacher said, “Ask, and it shall be given you.” I believe you can get almost anything you want … if you ask.

What to Do When Customers Are Few

The measure of a salesperson is whether they flourish in bad economic times not in good. Peak performing salespeople are always producing. “They do what the average salespeople are unwilling to do.” Average salespeople blame the economy, or the boss for not advertising enough or the pricing for the lack of sales. Are you a typical salesperson, feet up on the desk, eating lunch, reading a book or a newspaper, or chit chatting with the salesperson next to you?

Entering the ‘go-go’ zone with your eyes wide open

The Go-Go zone is that place a business can find themselves in that sounds like heaven. In reality, it is more often hell. It is the place where you have more business than you know what to do with, where it is all you can muster just to get orders processed and shipped. Keeping customers happy gets left by the wayside. This article is my effort to help you understand the pitfalls of this seemingly idyllic situation, and help you prepare for it if and when it occurs.

The right business can prosper in any economy
If you are trying to shield your business from the vicissitudes of economic fluctuation, there is a simple rule you must live by: Focus on customers’ needs. Because of current economic conditions (February 2009), this article focuses on how to ride out a recessionary environment.

Marketing In A Poor Economy
People don't stop searching the web just because times are bad, and the number of searches per person are on the rise, so there is still plenty of traffic to be had. Then it becomes the job of your website to convert that traffic.

Experts Provide Sales Management Help for 2009
A number of experts including, Jill Konrath, Leslie Buterin, Joanne Black, Andy Miller, Danita Bye, Glen Ebersole, Bill Guertin, Alan Rigg, Gregory Stebbins, Jonathan Farrington, and I helped Lee Salz complete his article, Sales Management Speaks Out on Sales Focus Strategy.

Start Off The New Year With A Low Cost Small Business Franchise
2009 is here, and one thing that nearly every economist can agree on is that it takes a different approach to business to survive in the current market. Here's a look at some low cost ways to start a business that can generate serious profit, even in a tough economy.

PR Marketing in Tough Times
Tough times present PR opportunities as well. If everyone else is cutting their public relations expenditure, then the players that remain will be heard more loudly and clearly. You will still want to be prudent and it is wise to review activities and focus on those that make the maximum impact. Here are ten things you should do and five things not to do.

You Can’t Buy Experience
We are often told we need the sad, or down side of life to grow as a person and develop our inner strength to appreciate the good times, but some people seem to be “luckier” than others!

Hard Work: It Really is Worth it

In Kevin Sheedy’s book Stand Your Ground his old coach, Tom Hafey wrote the Forward. He explained that Kevin realised that sport could offer him so many opportunities but they would only be realised if he worked not just as hard as anyone else but harder. This need to work harder was because Kevin did not have the same natural skills as most of his team mates and opponents. Thanks to my parents’ hard work me and many like me in Australia and other wealthy countries have been given a opportunity to live a wonderful, happy comfortable life. The downside of this great gift is not experiencing the hard work that went into creating it and therefore potentially not valuing it as much as it should be valued

How Stuck Are You in Your Job?
How's your level of job satisfaction today? Pretty lousy? What practical steps are you taking to change it? to survive?

When The Going Gets Tough...The Tough Start Looking For New Customers
At the moment the news seems to be full of nothing but doom and disaster, fire and famine, war and pestilence, death and destruction. So it might seem insane to be talking about how to find new customers in these circumstances.

Recession Proof Your Interior Design or Decorating Business
Maybe you’re one of the many trained interior decorators who have ended up working in retail for a 100% commission. If the economy gets worse and you’re working purely on commission, where does that leave you? Even in good times, if you work for 100% commission you might as well be your own boss and have the freedom to market yourself to new clients rather than being tied to any one store.

Working Today to Retire Tomorrow
And now is the time for you to begin to create a business that’s worth a lot of money when you retire. It’s time to prepare your own “house” for that big sale. In other words, much of the exit strategy is getting your business in tip-top shape with systems today, so that it runs smoothly and will continue to run smoothly and efficiently when a buyer takes over tomorrow.

Help! I'm Stressed and Anxious
Having healthy coping skills can help you get through both the good times and the bad times with flying colors. Since stress is an inevitable part of life, learning healthy coping skills is the lifeline to creating a happy, balanced life.

How to Target the Boomers
There are 76 million people alive today which were born between 1946-1964, widely considered the baby boom era. This article briefly discusses how to target this generation with your marketing messages.

Service and Wellbeing
When time is tight and energy levels are low, it is hard to think of the needs of others. When frustrations are high and worry is constant, it feels like we are the ones who need support and help. But we find some magic in the universe when we help others. It is a profound step to reclaiming deliberate control over one's life.

Financial Management

Most entrepreneurs I know have taken few, if any, business courses. They are creative, imaginative, and ambitious to no end, but they couldn’t tell you the first thing about what sound financial management means. If you’re not one of those entrepreneurs, then read no further. Go about your merry sound financial management way. But, if you’re one of those entrepreneurs who are finding themselves drowning in the spreadsheets and jargon of the financial world, keep reading for tips on how to stay afloat.

IN A HURRICANE, EVEN TURKEYS FLY
When times are good anyone can do the job. It's when times are tough the creative people shine.

The PR Advantage
PR is important in good times and essential in hard times. It is always important to promote, market, and advertise your business. The good news is that compared to other forms of marketing, PR is generally less expensive and always more validating.

#1 Killer of Small and Medium Business
In these challenging economic times it is easy to take your eye off the ball. Many times we fail to stay focused on something that is taken for granted when times are good but crucial to stay on top of when times are challenging.

good times Tagged Articles

Other good times Related Articles