Someone recently asked me, how does a CEO know if his/her company is at an Inflection Point?  (By definition, an Inflection Point marks a point of significant change or a change in an entity’s growth curve.) From my early days working in investment banking, I have seen many instances of companies at an inflection point: …Read More

Disarm the Naysayers and Virus Spreaders Before They Infect Your Growth

The Doctor didn’t mince words, “You need a quadruple bypass,” he said to my client.  You can argue that it was his diet, his anger issues, his marriage, his overworking, his lack of self-care, his company’s inflection point, or all of the above.  If you were to videotape his behavior prior to the DIS-EASE that overtook his heart, you would probably zero in on the anger issues being the cause.  He would …Read More

What does a company do when an economic inflection point causes their core value proposition to becomes less than relevant – overnight?  When macro-economic changes, like a pandemic, change absolutely everything – including all of the value you have built with your customer base?
 
That’s the problem Starbucks was facing when its long standing “Third Place” value proposition …Read More

Studies indicate that 90% of all companies do not execute their strategic plans effectively. So, only 10% of companies execute their strategies!? Why is there a problem with Strategic Execution™; the ability to implement strategy effectively and sustainably? Is it because they don’t care? Feel like strategy is a check the box activity?

There are multiple issues here that companies need to deal with: …Read More

How a Culture of Controlling Risk Affects Growth and movement through an Inflection Point.

Most of us who grew up in the 80s remember Tom Cruise sweeping the floor, singing, in nothing but a white shirt, tightie whities, and socks.  We all took whatever resembled a microphone, threw caution to the wind, and pretended to be him.  I am no longer a big Tom Cruise fan, but I am still a huge fan of …Read More

McDonald’s is now focusing on delivery at 30,000 locations? B2B buyers now prefer omni-channel interaction vs the usual way of doing business?

What is going on?

While much of the world is slowly re-emerging and wondering when everything will return to normal, most business owners are waking up to find out the world has already changed.  Irrevocably. …Read More

Every company comes to at least one business or economic Inflection Point during its lifecycle.  Inflection points are when a company’s size is straining its people, processes and technologies. This typically happens at revenue ranges of $10, $25, 50, $125m $250 and $500 million in annual revenues i.e., when they double in size, but it can also happen at an economic inflection point where a downturn in the economy has caused the company to downsize and it struggles to handle the growth from an economic upturn.

The challenge of an inflection point is that it takes time for leadership teams to …Read More

Strategy and its execution are a challenge for every organization, especially now with the economic inflection point every company and consumer is facing. Strategic Maturity is where a company develops a cohesive strategy and executes it through the participation of all stakeholders (Board of Directors, employees, suppliers, customers, end users and contractors). Being a class B company further complicates the matter. Strategic maturity is now more important than ever and has become an imperative. Without it, companies will not be able to …Read More

Have you ever met someone, and the instant they shook your hand, looked at you, or opened their mouth, you found yourself looking for an impromptu escape that wouldn’t signal to them just how much you disliked them for no apparent reason at all?  What if you then realized they worked at your company?

Why on earth is it that some people just rub us the wrong way from the onset? 

The answer is quite simple, and you know it already:  It’s our brain.  We have a love hate relationship with it, don’t we? …Read More

An Inflection Point is where a company has grown to where their organization, operations and technology infrastructure is showing signs of strain. Companies at an Inflection Point do no not grow because they do not have an Effective Sales Strategy. Now, you might ask, what is an Effective Sales Strategy? And more importantly, how can your company establish and implement it to increase sales and boost market share? Let’s start with the basics by defining “Effective Sales Strategy”: …Read More