My beloved son asked me a great question the other day. “Dad, what do you do to manage stress at work?”

“Why?” I asked him. “Are you having a problem?”

“Yes,” he responded. “My boss is driving me crazy, and my largest client changes his mind on a regular basis. And, by the way, I am suffering from pain in my left shoulder blade and have had sleepless nights.”

Every business person has stress in his life. Some manage it well, others don’t. Causes of the malady vary. Perhaps a deadline is a source of anxiety. Or it might be the actions of a supervisor. It can originate from any number of events, people or issues that occur in the office or plant. Continue reading →

A company must focus daily on selling its products to survive and prosper. Such effort provides the cash a company needs to pay expenses, grow the organization and make a profit. To attain this goal, every employee, from the worker on the loading dock to the CEO, should arrive at work each day thinking, “I’m here to win business and keep our customers happy.” This should be their constant and unrelenting objective.

This means each employee — every single one of them — should know what they must do to personally contribute to generating company revenues. They must also understand how others in the organization fit within the complete team selling process. Think of orchestra musicians who follow this model with the result being beautiful music.

Successful organizations understand this powerful concept and actively communicate clearly to all employees what company revenue goals are for the year, by quarters, months and weeks; leaders then measure and report sales results to all employees on a similar timing basis.

Read the entire article at deseretnews.com. Continue reading →

Fear is debilitating. It stops action and prevents progress. It paralyzes individuals and organizations. I watch with alarm as fear hits potential entrepreneurs who then cease to pursue their dreams of starting and growing a new business. They fear failure, loss, humiliation, ridicule, diminished esteem and a damaged reputation.

Unfortunately, this malady occurs more often than we think and literally eliminates economic progress for a founder, potential employees and a community.

I often wonder what would have happened if Gutenberg had not built his printing press, or if Alexander Bell and Thomas Edison had stopped moving forward with their ideas on sound and light. Today, where would we be if numerous innovators in medicine, science, and technology had not taken a risk?

Read the entire article at deseretnews.com. Continue reading →