Installment 10 in a 10-Part Series It’s irritating when the little notice pops up on the computer advising us an unexpected failure has occurred. Our system crashes and we have to restart. Of course, that’s a minor nuisance compared to the “unexpected errors” that sink businesses. The Bureau of Labor Statistics tracks #smallbusiness failures. Here’s their latest: 20 percent fail in year one, 30 percent in year two, 50 percent fail after five years. Only 30 percent survive

Installment 9 in a 10-Part Series In this #strategicplanning series I’ve been drawing on knowledge gained over my #marketing and #consulting career seeing #planning processes break down and fail. I’ve shared specific insights into where and why it happens and offered counsel around various pieces and parts in hopes of helping you experience greater planning success. I addressed how budgeting cultures suffocate planning; showed the benefits that can accrue when a planning cul

Installment 6 in a 10-Part Series Installment 6 in a 10-part Series Goal-setting has been a constant companion throughout my career. As an ad agency owner we set and met #goals for our company and were accountable to our clients for helping them hit their goals. As a C-Level executive in two publicly-traded companies goals directly impacted performance for shareholders. I always loved creating and placing advertising for #multimarketretailers because they were intensely goa

Installment 4 in a 10-part Series Early on in every #strategicplanning engagement there’s always the discussion of the best people to involve in the process. Over the years, I’ve broadly segmented individuals into two groups – Thinkers and Doers. I like involving people at all levels of the organization … especially those closest to the customers. And, I’ve found when considering high-level #strategicissues, the best results are achieved with the Thinkers. These are smart,

Installment 3 in a 10-part Series These days this #marketingexpert has a “short runway”. In recruiter-speak, that’s code for an executive with an AARP card. However, wisdom is a great by-product of having more career behind you than in front of you. For me, the world started gaining speed the day a fax machine was installed in our ad agency that could get a layout for a national magazine ad to a client 1,500 miles away in six-minutes. Next thing I knew I had a cell phone m

Installment 1 in a 10-part Series In my mid-20’s I crossed the street with my boss from the Tracy-Locke advertising agency in downtown Dallas and entered the gleaming new 56-story First International Bancshares Tower. I was a rookie there for my introduction to annual planning on the First National Bank in Dallas advertising account. My instructions were clear. Speak if spoken to and then keep the conversation to the personal basics – the equivalent of name, rank and seria