If you are looking only at your income statement to see how your business is doing, you need to look elsewhere. Cash is the only thing that pays your suppliers and employees. Look first at your cash flow statement to see how your business is doing.
As business owners, we often expect to have the right answer. After all, it’s our business, right? We should understand what’s happening and why.
From jhhwild via Flickr
However, the search for the right answer often leaves us unable to ask the right questions about our business. Leadership expert John Maxwell wrote a great blog post last week highlighting why asking the right question is more important than always having the right answer.
I learned business as an accountant. Like in many businesses, many people come to me looking for “the accountant” to solve their problems. I quickly learned that I needed to know how to ask the right questions for several reasons.
Questions challenge the process – We all get stuck in ruts far too often and do things because “that’s the way we’ve always done it.” A well-placed question will help others challenge their own assumptions.
Questions draw upon others’ strengths – Good leaders and business owners know how to draw the most creative and strongest attributes from those working with them. Questions help your team search within themselves for the right answers.
Questions show you are not afraid to involve others - The image of the “lone wolf” business leader is a myth. A “leader” who sits in an office all day will quickly lose the trust of staff, suppliers, and customers.
I still struggle with focusing on the right questions, because I like helping others and sharing my expertise. However, I work hard every day on searching for the right question instead of trying to deliver the right answer. Smart leaders should do the same.
url=’http://www.dallonc.com/2010/08/work-is-changing-change-how-you-work/’;username=’@dallonc’;When I was a junior at the University of Illinois, I read Charles Handy’s book “The Age of Unreason”. More than any other book I read while in college, I keep returning to this book for what it told me about the future of work. Handy predicted a future where businesses would have a very [...]
url=’http://www.dallonc.com/2010/08/friday-focus-dont-hit-the-wall-with-your-planning/’;username=’@dallonc’; My apologies for not having a video last week. I had some dental work done late in the week, and talking was a difficult task! The concept of the fiscal year-end has been around for decades. Unfortunately, year-end often means our planning period becomes shorter as the year moves on. You need to keep [...]
One of my biggest marketing tools is my writing. I write three blog posts a week and at least one article or book review every weekend. Now that I have my iPad, I have another tool to help me keep current with my written content. Over the weekend, I tried two approaches to writing and editing articles with my iPad. One method takes full advantage of Google’s cloud-based technology, while the other method uses Apple’s web integration with its native iWork program.
I heard this quote from an executive at a recent conference I attended: “If data were dirt and information were water, we would be buried alive and dying of thirst.” Unfortunately, I think many of us can relate. We always hear about the need to make decisions based on data. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
While many organizations are focusing on cost-cutting in today’s very competitive environment, two Florida professional sports teams are showing how creative pricing can maximize revenue. The NBA’s Miami Heat and the National Hockey League’s Florida (Miami) Panthers are using unconventional ticket pricing to boost revenue in a competitive entertainment market. The Heat have intentionally kept some single-game tickets available for sale so they can adjust ticket prices for the quality of opponent or night of the week, while the Panthers are asking fans to name their ticket prices in an effort to boost attendance and revenue from concessions, merchandising, and parking.
url=’http://www.dallonc.com/2010/08/doing-business-on-the-ipad/’;username=’@dallonc’;I feel like my boys at Christmas right now, because I’m writing this post on my new iPad! I won the iPad in a random drawing during a continuing education webinar from Business Finance magazine three weeks ago. As an admitted gadget guy, I’m looking forward to using my new toy. However, it will not [...]
The finger pointing will go on for years, but both BP and the government are at fault for failing to plan for a catastrophic event like we have experienced. As business owners, we should take this event as a lesson to consider the worst-case scenario for our business and think of how we can anticipate the right course of action. This may mean you bring in outside help, such as university professors or consultants.
url=’http://www.dallonc.com/2010/08/in-business-sunk-costs-can-sink-you/’;username=’@dallonc’; We’ve all faced a situation where we have invested a lot of time and/or money,have known we are fighting a losing battle, but still continue to invest. A smart business will realize sunk costs should not impact an important decision.