The Entrepreneur's MentorThe Entrepreneur's MentorHelping you overcome obstacles to business success by David Sorin. Articles
What Are Our Weaknesses?
2008-06-04 00:00:00 Entrepreneurs tend to be optimists. We don't see the obstacles between us and the goal line. We typically just see the goal line. We don't want negativity around us. We want people that share our vision. In some way, we...
What Do You Want?
2008-05-26 00:00:00 In the initial thrill of a new idea, we sometimes forget to begin to think about the long range strategy that needs to operate in the background behind it. Short term thinking is "This is a great idea. I can...
Where Do I Get My Funding?
2008-05-26 00:00:00 I don't really get involved with the funding of businesses, even clients. But I do try to help clients think through their strategy for coming up with necessary funds. Every source of funding wants to see the entrepreneur have some... More About: Funding
The Five Most Important Questions
2008-05-24 00:00:00 Peter Drucker, perhaps the greatest business consultant of all time, lived from 1909-2005. He is responsible for much of the management theory that came into being in the 20th century. Well, we are now in the 21st century, and one... More About: Questions
Growing by Acquisition
2008-05-15 00:00:00 Organic growth is not the only way to build a company. Some entrepreneurs, seeing opportunity for more rapid growth, look to make acquisitions. Typically, this is done to expand a geographic or a product market. Let's look at a couple... More About: Growing , Acquisition
Meeting Madness
2008-05-05 23:51:00 Most employees of the average business feel that they are forced to attend too many meetings, and that most of the meeting time is a waste of time. In many instances, they are not wrong. Those calling meetings need to follow some simple rules. Every meeting should have an agenda and every attendee should have the agenda in advance. Every meeting should have set rules regarding behavior and expectations. Every attendee should be prepared for the contribution required of him or her. The purpose of the meeting should be clear to all who are asked to attend. Every meeting should have at least one clear outcome, and responsibilities and accountability should be assigned. Time is money, and entrepreneurs do not have time to waste. While it is important for all to have their say over issue involving their interests, that does not mean that everyone "gets the floor" for an unlimited amount of time. Clear and fair limits on discussion need to be enforced. Meeting s are ... More About: Madness
Why Them and Not Me?
2008-04-28 00:00:00 I read the newspapers every day, just like everybody else. When big companies start to go bad, do their banks call their loans? Do their creditors cut them off or sue them? No, of course not. When Bear Sterns looks...
Time Management Again-Another Look
2008-04-25 00:00:00 During the current ongoing Presidential campaign, I have heard it said more than once that if you have to change what you say depending on who is in the room, you have an issue with truthfulness that will come back... More About: Management , Time , Time Management
Keeping Track of What is Important
2008-04-14 00:00:00 This blog is important to me. I like to feel that I am reaching people who need some words of encouragement or a "wake up call." I want to help people keep from making some of the mistakes i have... More About: Track
The Law of Process
2008-04-03 00:00:00 Last week a colleague and I were co-facilitating a session with a group of middle managers. These folks are smart and motivated but beaten down from above and not really supported from below. In our session, my colleague brought up... More About: Process
Business Cycles
2008-03-29 23:00:00 In my last post I was excited about the prospects of the Villanova Wildcats in the NCAA Tournament- and rightly so. They won two big games and made it to the Sweet 16. Then they crashed back to earth with... More About: Business , Cycles
Where Does the Time Go?
2008-03-23 00:00:00 I mean to market, I really do. I am sure you do too. Why do we let it fall to the bottom of our priority list? When I owned a decent sized business, I was constantly pushing sales and marketing... More About: Time , The Time
All Work and No Play .....
2008-03-23 00:00:00 Sometimes work just doesn't need to come first, even for entrepreneurs. It is Spring Break, and entrepreneurs with young families should be enjoying them on a beach or on a ski slope or at home. It is March Madness, the... More About: Play , Work
Where Can a Mentor Help an Entrepreneur? Part One
2008-03-17 00:00:00 Entrepreneurs take leaps of faith all of the time. They make moves without knowing how they will turn out. They have visions without necessarily filling in the blanks before pursuing them Small businesses can grow organically or by acquisition. There... More About: Mentor , Entrepreneur , An Entrepreneur , Part
Part II
2008-03-17 00:00:00 In the last post we talked about acquiring a business as a way to fuel your growth. There are a lot of land mines buried around such transactions, but they can work. What about taking on a partner? If he... More About: Part
Are You Having Fun Yet?
2008-03-11 00:00:00 We spend a lot of time at work. We are constantly conceiving new strategies, altering our sales tactics, launching new marketing initiatives and finding ways to lower the cost of our goods or services to stay competitive. We are obsessed...
The Future of Management
2008-03-05 00:00:00 Gary Hamel's books have always been fascinating and relevant, but perhaps none more than his most recent, The Future of Management . He argues strongly that management innovation will deliver big payoffs in the future for businesses which adopt it. Hamel... More About: The Future
Supporting Entrepreneurialism
2008-03-05 00:00:00 If you are a believer in global warming and want to do something about it, there are certain steps that you can take. If you are a believer in a particular political candidate, there are any number of things you...
Critical Thinking, Part 2
2008-02-14 00:00:00 Critical thinking is multi-layered, multi-dimensional. It is not simply considering more than one solution to a problem before making a decision. It is also looking at the problem through multiple lenses. What is our vision and mission? Which solution is... More About: Part , Critical thinking , Thinking , Critical
Critical Thinking
2008-02-09 00:00:00 One of the key competencies required of business leaders is critical thinking. Everybody has it to some degree. Utilizing it to the right degree is very important in business success. Many entrepreneurs are solutions oriented. They see a problem. They... More About: Critical thinking , Thinking , Critical
Stages of Entrepreneurial Growth
2008-02-05 00:00:00 Entrepreneurialism is a state of mind. We know that. It is what pushes people to start businesses or alter the course of existing businesses. It is what fuels ideas and turns them into evolutionary or revolutionary products and services It... More About: Growth , Ages
Will a Recession Kill You or Make You Stronger?
2008-02-01 00:00:00 There has been much discussion of late about whether we are in a recession. To me, it seems like a lot of hair splitting, but to economists, who apparently believe in precision, there is some dispute. Nonetheless, there is no... More About: Make , Kill , Recession , Stronger
Two Way Traffic
2008-01-28 00:00:00 I was in Mexico with a client this week and had quite an interesting time. The meetings were very good, but it is interesting how what you learn in meetings doesn?t always leave the room with you. Most of the... More About: Traffic
Results Do Count
2008-01-22 17:38:00 Post after post, we discuss a variety of strategies and tactics to help entrepreneurs achieve their goals by overcoming obstacles. Through all of the different discussions and threads, there should be one constant: Results Count ! We can be busy and treat that the same as being productive; we can commend effort; but at the end of the day, what really matters is results. If we are not getting results, something needs to change. Imagine trying to sell the following statements to your investors or bank or board of advisors: We are doing a great job. I don't understand why we are close o bankruptcy. Our people give total effort but we are still not achieiving our goals. I know what we are doing is the right thing and I can't understand why it isn't working. We're sure this is a great product. It just hasn't caught on yet. Joe is a great salesmen. He has had a lot of bad luck in not making his numbers for the last 3 quarters. Sally is a fantastic manager, yet all of her pe...
Check Your Ego at the Door
2008-01-22 00:00:00 Often times, small business people become obsessed with getting their name well known. And as a rule, that is not a bad thing. But sometimes it pays to keep it under your hat. Subcontractors may need to remain anonymous and... More About: Check , Door
Need vs. Demand
2008-01-21 00:00:00 I was working with a group yesterday working through a case study considering alternatives for corporate spending. One of the choices was a good sized initiative in China. In the course of the discussion, the size of the potential market... More About: Demand
Is Your Pricing Strategic?
2008-01-21 00:00:00 Many entrepreneurs have the opportunity to interact with the non-profit world in some way or other. The interaction may not always end up as positive for either side. How many of us have been asked to lower our prices because... More About: Strategic
Sprint or Marathon?
2008-01-10 00:00:00 The US Presidential political race continues to fascinate. And it begs the question- sprint or marathon? One month ago it looked like a sprint for Hillary Clinton. She was expected to win the early primaries in a runaway and coast... More About: Sprint , Marathon
Is it Spin or is it Optimism?
2008-01-04 00:00:00 In case I haven't said it before, I am a political campaign junkie. So, last night's Iowa caucuses were big excitement for me. The excitement was just as much about those who didn't win as it was about those who... More About: Spin , Optimism
Change: The Only Constant
More articles from this author:2008-01-02 00:00:00 Change has been a topic of this blog on a number of occasions. This political season drives the concept home quite emphatically. From week to week, even day to day, the pundits are re-ordering their favorites to take home presidential... More About: Change 1, 2, 3 |
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