planning

Balancing Your Perspective

By: Tom Cramer

Split personalities are normally thought of as a problem or the key element of a crime drama. However, the successful business owner and manager is forced to develop something of a split personality to successfully accomplish their unique jobs. Dealing with the wide range of issues, challenges, and decisions faced day after day requires the ability to rapidly switch perspectives from strategic to tactical, short to long term, and people versus mission. Fighting the Tyranny of the Urgent One of the best ways to …

Who’s On Your Bus?

By Tom Cramer

We all have a variety of opinions about the thousands of business books that are available, many promising to answer all your questions. While we know that few of them deliver on that promise, there are some gems every business owner and manager should take time to read and contemplate. Jim Collins is an author who has cracked the code in speaking about several practical business issues and how to help be better operators. His first book was Built to Last and speaks to key elements for long-term success. A later book, Good …

Checkpoints for Yearend and More

By: Tom Cramer

No doubt about it. These are challenging times for leading a business enterprise. CEOs, founders, and professional managers of small and mid-sized companies are feeling pressed on many sides while recovering from the pandemic, dealing with a new management environment, and wondering what new concerns the economy will deliver in the coming year. The Leadership Turf The stark reality is that managing a successful enterprise has always been and always will be a tough job. It may not be what you thought it was going to be when you …