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A book that teaches you how to get rich is flash. A book that teaches you the inner workings of the financial system is substance.
A handbag that has the logo of a company printed all over it is flash. A handbag that lasts for 20 years and remains aesthetically pleasing is substance.
A customer [...]

The average Fortune 1000 executive reads 6.7 books per year. Some even says 9 books.
Bill Gates once said he read 30 books during his vacation.
When a total stranger asked Warren Buffett for a single piece of wisdom, his advice was “Read, Read, Read”.
I think you get my point.

If someone asked you to describe your business in a few words, how would you do it?
If it takes you a few minutes to describe all the things that you do; you probably need to think more about what’s really important to your business. And your audience will probably be stifling yawns.
On the other [...]

A trap many big companies fall into is losing touch with their customers.  Many executives never talk to customers directly, only learning through statistics and demographics.  As a result, they often make decisions to treat their customers like numbers, not human beings.  Customers dread calling into these sorts of companies, like AOL.
Small businesses have the [...]

We’re an odd group.  A collection of small business people, non-profit volunteers, and motivated employees going beyond the call of duty.  We’re scattered all around the world, young and old.  Most of us have never met, maybe only shared a few words by email.  And yet, we share the bond of all being sculptors of [...]

Business owners need to make a lot of decisions on a daily basis.  They range from small ones such as whether to do a questionable refund or not, to big ones such as how much money should they allocate for marketing.  For small business owners, it might be difficult to make the right call when [...]

Nobody is right all the time.  Albert Einstein said, “Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.”  For important business decisions, the consequences of a major mistake can be costly.  A leader needs to form a safety net by encouraging colleagues to point out mistakes early on.
This is not easy.  Have [...]