Archive for the ‘Finding Efficiencies’ Category

Whether you’re new to managing a business or are an old hand at using management tools, practices and literature, there is no doubt that you’ve been touched one way or another by the writings and insights of management/leadership guru, Dr. Henry Mintzberg. For over 40 years, Mintzberg has been the Canadian business thought-leader.

With 15 internationally acclaimed inventive and practical business books to his credit, Dr. Mintzberg has added a new title to his repertoire — and, it just may make him a household name on the scale of Malcolm Gladwell (The Tipping Point), Jim Collins (Good to Great) and Tom Peters (In Search of Excellence). The new book, entitled,  “Management? It’s Not What You Think!” is written for today’s busy manager/leader — in that its structure, content and language reads more like a series of provocative and insightful blog articles than a lengthy academic tome.

For BusinessCast #170, Robert and I sat down with Henry Mintzberg to talk about his new co-authored book, some of his previous best selling books, and to get his insights into today’s most critical management/leadership issues. We were surprised with his take on some of the challenges central to the success of all managers/leaders…and we suspect you will be too.

Listen to BusinessCast #170 and find out what the Nation’s business thought-leader has up his sleeve.

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As your business grows, have you ever hoped, perhaps secretly, for some way to avoid those costly and time-consuming pitfalls that are a natural, but painful, part of your inevitable success? Well as it turns out, entrepreneurs just like you often confide in Robert and me a desperate need for practical ways to steer clear of common business hazards.

That’s why for BusinessCast #162, we sat down with Rick Spence to uncover today’s most common “entrepreneur bear traps” — those traps that snare even the most thoughtful, innovative, well-funded and profitable businesses.

Rick shares our passion for helping entrepreneurs achieve professional and personal success. For over 20 years, he has shared his observations and insights in many of North America’s most widely-read online and offline business publications. Together with Rick, we identify and tackle today’s “entrepreneur bear traps” in business strategy, marketing, operations, financing and human resources.

Listen to BusinessCast #162 and avoid some entrepreneur bear traps before they catch you off-guard.

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Every industry has important lessons for entrepreneurs — and one industry that often goes untapped, because of its complexity, is retail. That’s why for BusinessCast #159, we interview Lloyd Perlmutter — former Canadian President of retail giants including, The Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy as well as EVP for Indigo Books and Music.

Lloyd cuts through the clutter associated with industry-specific dynamics and shares his insights about how the retail industry successfully tackles key business challenges such as integrating new technology, recruiting staff and harnessing the “customer mindset”. Listen to BusinessCast #159 and you’ll get some nuggets that you can use to ensure your business’ success — regardless of your industry.

Lloyd also shares his wisdom about the retail industry regularly on his blog: www.theretailthereapist.wordpress.com.

**Recommended event for business leaders/managers: Online Marketing Summit (in Houston on July 23).**

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When we chat with North America’s business leaders, we’re always focused on identifying guiding principles and practical tactics that you, as an entrepreneur, can apply to enhance your own business success. But, our guests always have unique definitions of current success and predictions for future success.

That’s why for BusinessCast #158, we launch the first in a new series: “The BusinessCast Top 10 in 10“. In each BusinessCast Top 10 in 10, two of our guests answer 10 critical business questions in the span of just 10 minutes! For the first in this new series, we turn to two recent guests: Carl Yankowski — former CEO of Sony Electronics, Reebok and Palm as well as Steve Smith, former CEO & President of WestJet and Zip Air.

**Recommended Event for business leaders/managers: Online Marketing Summit (in Chicago on June 30).**

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Not all growth is equal, nor is it all good. That means a major challenge for leaders and managers is to manage “smart growth” — the kind of growth that leads to more efficiencies, more revenues and more successes. That’s why for BusinessCast #157, we sat down with Bruce Hunter who helps entrepreneurs across all industries identify and harness growth that makes sense for them and their businesses.

Bruce, a former VP & GM at Kraft, identifies common pain points that entrepreneurs face at one of the most critical stages of their business’ development. He also provides some insights for successfully addressing these challenges. Finally, he makes available a survey to help you determine, and potentially head-off, some of these natural growing pains. Managing growth is always a challenge but, listen to BusinessCast #157 and you’ll find yourself managing growth smarter.

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