Tag: Business

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Business motivation

Transitions: The Waiting is the Smartest Part

When I read this Inc.com article about United Airlines and the importance of smooth leadership transitions in business, I was impressed by how a CEO and leadership had the wherewithal to leave a business on good footing. What was more impressive is that the transition has occurred during the coronavirus pandemic and that by outside observations, it has been a smooth transition from to Oscar Munoz to Scott Kirby.

All airlines have had some rough times lately. What would have happened if the former CEO didn’t have a plan? Would United be in a much rougher spot? Would Munoz have been forced to stay on while the crisis dragged on?

Transition plans matter, but can be tough to plan and implement. It forces the leader to acknowledge they won’t be there forever. It is why Summer Redstone of Viacom and Rupert Murdoch of News Corp have had such a hard time with it. Their egos and the required humility to face your mortality can be too much for many leaders, especially if they founded the company.

But if you want an entity that will outlast you, a healthy, thoughtful transition is necessary.

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Business Business Cartoons motivation

Does it feel like the world is in a hostile takeover?

Cartoon of two business executives

When I first drew this cartoon, I was thinking about business takeovers in the era of the Great Recession. It was a time when housing bubbles and sub-par mortgages dominated the news. The thought of a rogue virus taking on the world economy was nowhere to be found.

Today, most businesses are more concerned with the effects of the virus than with another corporation coming in and swallowing them up. We all face a common enemy now. It’s as if this virus is immature sticking out its tongue at us.

But it can be vanquished. We can win this war. It will take time, determination, and a pivot in how we do business. This is a time to unite against a common enemy. This virus is relentless and hostile. Let’s work together to end this scourge.

Cartoon of two business executives
Categories
motivation

The Value of Determination

Cartoon of two boys walking. One has a dog in his bookbag. The boy says, "I don't know what's gotten into my dog. Lately, he's been so sneaky."

We all know someone who is determined. Another word for it is stubborn. Anybody who has a pet that doesn’t do quite what they want it to do probably considers the fur baby stubborn. Of course, the pet is probably thinking the same thing about its owner!

Determination is needed more now than ever.

  • The United States has been knocked by the coronavirus pandemic for two months now
  • Some states are allowing businesses to restart
  • Business owners have to figure out how to operate in this new environment
  • Employees have to consider if their jobs are still viable or if they need to find work elsewhere
  • Corporate offices have to figure if it is still best for everyone to work remotely or to modify office space for health and safety

Determination will be as valuable and desirable as an asset as a nice stash of bathroom tissue was six weeks or so ago. We will need to be determined to bring the economy back online. This doesn’t mean we must be determined to make things the way they were. Rather, we will need to use ingenuity, creativity, and patience to make things work in a new reality.

Let’s all lead the way to a new way of doing things. Let’s be as determined as a little dog that really wants to go to school.

Cartoon of two boys walking. One has a dog in his bookbag. The boy says, "I don't know what's gotten into my dog. Lately, he's been so sneaky."
Categories
motivation

How can I Improve My Economy?

Cartoon of a boy with a bandage over a dollar bill. he says to his dad, "Now that I fixed the economy, can we talk about something else?"

The current crises with the novel coronavirus may cause you to ask, “How can I improve my financial outlook during the COVID-19 outbreak?”

We’ve been through economic hardship before. When I drew this cartoon, we were going through the last economic crisis thanks to the housing bubble and junk mortgages. Many people found they owed more on their homes than they were worth. It definitely affected the 2008 election.

That felt overwhelming. Now we face a new economic crisis. According to The Wall Street Journal, this may be the worst downturn since the 1940s. Many businesses have been shuttered for over a month. There cautious talk about opening businesses. Yet, the virus that has dominated our thoughts for weeks is far from conquered. While some governments are allowing businesses to open, some business owners have chosen to stay closed because they feel it is too soon.

How can I improve my economy when everything feels so uncertain right now?

There are a few lessons I learned from the last financial crisis.

  • Focus on the things you can control
    • You can control your attitude
    • You can control your outlook
    • You can practice safe distancing and hygiene to prevent this virus from spreading
    • You can control how kind and helpful you are to others
    • You can plan for the future
    • You can change tactics even if it feels uncomfortable
    • You can make a situation worse or better by your actions
    • You can limit your news consumption so you’re not listening to the same doom and gloom for hours on end
    • You can listen to positive, uplifting music, audiobooks or podcasts
  • Let go of the things you can’t control
    • You can’t control nature
      • today’s weather
      • the novel coronavirus
      • that skunk on your biking trail
    • You can’t control another person’s actions or reactions
    • You can’t control governments and politicians (though you can make your voice heard by voting and calling those who represent you)
  • Start brainstorming of what this makes possible today
    • Can you learn a new skill?
    • Can you launch a new business that thrives in the new reality?
    • Can you volunteer in a position you always wanted to do?

Putting a bandage over a dollar isn’t going to fix the economy. Individually, we may not be able to fix the macroeconomy. However, each one of us can affect our microeconomy. Each one of us is an economy unto ourselves. It may be difficult while negative events are still unfolding. However, our attitude, combined with faith, hope, and a plan, can get us through the other side of this crisis. And remember: there will be another side of this. Keep the faith, and keep looking up!

Cartoon of a boy with a bandage over a dollar bill. he says to his dad, "Now that I fixed the economy, can we talk about something else?"
Categories
Business

Quality vs. Quantity

Quote: The problem is rather that the important and relevant outside events are often qualitative and not capable of quantification. Peter Drucker

“The problem is rather that the important and relevant outside events are often qualitative and not capable of quantification.”

Peter Drucker in “The Effective Executive”

Peter Drucker’s quote got me thinking. Outside events happen all the time. We hear about a customer that needs our service done a certain way. It may be inconvenient for us, so we ignore it. But then another customer has a similar request.

It may be some quality information. It could positively change the way we do business. But is it quantitative? Could we survey all current and potential customers to get a reliable survey that would confirm what we’re seeing?

Perception versus fact

We can perceive that certain information is valuable even though it isn’t a fact. A customer has a suggestion that we perceive could change the way we do business. Yet, there is no way to know if all current and future customers feel the same way. Do we pursue it anyway? It takes some intuition and perception to know.

We have to get comfortable with making decisions partly based on intuition if we’re doing to move forward. There are just some things we cannot quantify. And that’s the part of business and life that is an adventure, isn’t it?