As a CEO, president or business owner, you need to always be having a conversation with yourself in your head about what’s happening and not happening in your business. Be conscious of your thought process; how positive or negative your thoughts are.
Always be open to learning. Talk with as many people as possible each day. Otherwise, you will just get lost in the day, stuck behind your desk and not accomplish what you’d like to or planned to in your business.
What can you do to lead your company to MORE success and MORE profit every day?
Here’s a list of 10 business strategies to lead your company with more success every day:
- Never Let A Mistake Stop You. Let’s establish a fact right now: You are going to make many mistakes in your business life. Don’t let a mistake paralyze you, figuratively speaking, to the point that you don’t run your business in an effective manner; that you won’t take chances, or calculated risks. To be in business; to be successful you can’t constantly ask yourself: What if I do this – and it might be wrong?! Instead, gather information, think it through, keep asking questions till you are comfortable enough to make an informed decision. Then take the next step.
- Be Assertive, Perhaps Even Aggressive, As Well As Conservative With Your Business. Here’s why: You need to be assertive (or aggressive) in order to get things done and to move your business forward. Otherwise, you and your business will just stand still. Always make sure your business actions are done on stable, solid ground. Think through any unintended consequences. Consider the calculated risks involved. But always keep moving forward.
- Never Say Anything Bad About Your Competitor (Even If They Do). In the words of the famous Disney song: It’s a small world, after all! And the world is getting smaller, thanks to technology, modern living and the internet, every single business day. Whatever you, your employees, your marketing may say in reference to the competition is guaranteed to get back to them. Would you like your competition to do the same to you? Do you want to start a war between competitors? Instead, always talk about your company’s point of difference. Talk about your company’s success. Talk about what you can do for customers. Talk about what’s new at your company – with products or services, personnel, operations, etc. Always talk about your company – not the competition.
- Don’t Have Passive/Aggressive Business Behavior. I witness this often in business. People not telling you what they really think or want to do. For example, someone may say something like this: Well, we’ll think about that tomorrow. Here’s another example: Call me next week. What they really wanted to say was: I’m putting you off and hoping you may not call again as I’m really not interested in discussing whatever it is. Be decisive. If you are not decisive then other business people are not going to view you as a leader. You need to be the leader of your company. You need to be decisive.
- Listen. Many business people (and people, in general) don’t listen. Many just want to hear themselves talk – and barely give you the opportunity to speak before cutting you off with what they have to say. When you’re in business you need to listen to everyone – and everyone’s ideas. You need to hear what they’re saying. It may be worthwhile to the success of your business. Perhaps 90% of it may not be anything of real significance but that other 10% could be incredibly valuable and worth the listen. Remember: People want to feel appreciated. One of the ways you can really make others feel appreciated is by fully listening and responding accordingly. If you don’t listen, you’re guaranteed to miss a great deal that is worthwhile and valuable to your business success.
- Always Try New Things In Your Business. Don’t sit back and do the same thing every single day, year after year. Your competitors are nipping at your heels every single moment of every single day. I once saw this verse on a wall: The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and over again. Business is intense enough these days, don’t add to the intensity or the stress of running a business by not trying new things in your business. Otherwise, you and your business will be left behind and your customers will go elsewhere. It happens every day in business. Don’t let it happen to your company.
- Don’t Be Afraid Of Rejection. If you are going to be in business then you are going to be rejected including by job candidates, customer prospects, you name it. Don’t let the rejection stop you from getting what you want and achieving your business goals. Or think about this: If you find you’re not being rejected perhaps you are not doing enough or being in action enough. Perhaps you are playing it safe too much instead.
- Hire The Best People. Never hire when you are desperate because it will inevitably come back to haunt you in some way or another – and you’ll regret the desperate decision you made. In the corporate world, managers may say they want to hire the best but they are also afraid that someone may one day take their job. Remember: This is your business. No one can take it away from you except yourself if you don’t surround yourself with smart, talented, skilled people that have great attitudes, lots of positive energy and believe in your company mission statement. People that respect your management style.
- Be Polite. Never be rude to people. There is no benefit or reason to being rude to others. You never know who you’re going to know or who knows you. Or how you can impact someone’s life and visa-versa. Do you like it when someone is rude to you? Doubtful.
- Be Thinking All The Time. Business success begins with how you think. Maintain an open, present mind during the business day. Read trade, industry and news publications every day in whatever format you like your reading delivered to you. Talk with other business people. Get out from behind your desk and walk around the office. Spend time visiting with customers or riding with your sales team. Never stop thinking about how you can conduct business better.
Remember: Leaders Lead.
Be the leader you know you can be by incorporating these business strategies into the management of your company.
To your success!
Ready to improve and grow your business? Talk with Howard! – 888-738-1855 – Howard Lewinter guides – focuses – advises CEOs, presidents and business owners to MORE success – MORE profit – less stress.
This article was also published on Howard Lewinter’s LinkedIn profile.