Dallas Romanowski is the managing partner of Cornerstone Business Advisors, Inc.; a general partner at Seahawk Innovation Fund, LLC; and the executive fund director for the IMAF Cape Fear Angel Fund. He has played a critical ro
Many business owners find the bulk of their wealth within their businesses. However, planning for a successful future often means wrangling financials outside the business too. This is especially impo ...
A question business owners often ask about planning for a successful future is, “How do I know the plan my advisors are building is right for me?” It’s a good question, and one that ...
Knowing what you’re good at is the catalyst behind your business success. To sustain that success and grow to new heights, many business owners must confront the things that they’re not so ...
Occasionally, successful business owners will say to themselves and their advisors, “I’m too old to start a multi-year plan for my future.” In many respects, this mindset is similar ...
Running a successful business is a lot like a thoroughbred horse running a race. Knowledge of the competition, track conditions, and your own skill play huge roles in how you finish the race. However, ...
Your daily responsibilities as a successful business owner can make planning for a successful future seem impossible. But with the right process, you may find that this planning is both achievable and ...
Death is the one experience every business owner has in common. Few business owners like to talk about this fact, and even fewer like to plan for this inevitable outcome, especially if they don’ ...
Building a successful business is a labor of love. Whether it’s the love of creating something, profit, legacy, or otherwise, your business is most likely your passion. But what if your manageme ...
Planning for a successful business future is like being confronted by a bear. If you run from it, it’ll catch up to you and eat you. If you attack it without a strategy, it’ll overwhelm yo ...
The last two-and-a-half years have been tumultuous, and owners of small to mid-sized businesses have borne the brunt of the pain. Though few people could have predicted the effects of the pandemic, bu ...
There’s a big difference between not wanting to retire and not being able to retire. Even business owners who intend to die at their desks can appreciate the safety net of financi ...
Successful business owners do a lot of things well, and they make it look easy. This is often a sign of well-running processes and years of discipline. However, it can also be a trap for successful bu ...
An important aspect of growing a successful business Is creating transferable value. Transferable value is what your business is worth to someone else without you at the helm. Whether you plan to ...
At their core, successful business owners like you are builders. Whether you founded your business, or purchased one and took it to new heights, doing it yourself runs through your veins. Why, then, w ...
Successful business owners are proud people—and with good reason. Their businesses are the heartbeat of the economy, and have immense effects on the lives of people inside and outside the busine ...
All successful business owners must eventually face a stark reality: One day, they will no longer run their business! If this idea makes you uneasy, you aren’t alone. Today, we’ll show you ...
It’s not uncommon to hear the phrase “Don’t take it personally” in terms of business decisions. But when you own a business, it’s difficult—if not impossible— ...
It’s not uncommon to hear the phrase “Don’t take it personally” in terms of business decisions. But when you own a business, it’s difficult—if not impossible— ...
The strongest businesses often have written plans for how to address unexpected events and mitigate risk, known as business continuity instructions. Their owners ask questions like, “What happen ...
Successful businesses require many types of employees to succeed. But it’s vital to know which employees are key employees, which are important employees, and how to properly motivate the latter ...
E pluribus unum—out of many, one—is a concept that runs deeply in the blood of many people, especially successful business owners. You likely expect that your co-owners, advisors, and empl ...
A longstanding credo for successful business planning is make specific goals. However, there is such a thing as being overly specific in your goals to the detriment of other things that matter to you. ...
Running a successful business is complex per se. Adding the element of “family” to a business often creates more complexities, especially as the business grows. Lifelong family bonds and e ...
Successful business owners may face a conundrum as they pursue success. “Though my competitors do something similar, they don’t do it the way I do it. So, how do I know the right way to ac ...
If cash is king, then cash flow is the kingmaker. Cash flow can have a multiplier effect in terms of achieving your planning goals for a successful future. Often, increasing cash flow requires stro ...
Success is rarely linear. As a business owner, it’s important to both acknowledge that fact and create plans that can provide short-term results while having long-term impacts. Today, we’l ...
As the year winds down, it’s important for business owners to raise their awareness of last year’s performance. Knowing what you did well, along with where you struggled, is crucial to pla ...
Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships. –Michael Jordan You are a talented business owner. It’s why you win in your market. But when it comes to long-term pl ...
Successful business owners constantly strive for growth. And when everything’s humming along, it can be easy to think the good times will last forever. However, it’s crucial to protect you ...
The one thing that makes humans unique (and the most dominant species on the planet) is our ability to communicate using language. Why, then, do so many business owners fail to communicate their busin ...
As a successful business owner, you know how important asset protection is. However, many business owners look past an important question when protecting their assets: “Why am I doing this?&rdqu ...
Business planning often revolves around the idea of “What’s in it for me?” Business owners usually want the kinds of planning that let them run, grow, and eventually leave their busi ...
No matter how you define business success, one thing is constant: When everyone is rowing in the same direction, it’s much easier to reach the destination. As you grow your business, you’l ...
Owning a successful business is a constant exercise in planning. Many successful business owners have already committed to personal financial planning, including investing and providing financial secu ...
As your successful business grows larger and matures, you should always be on the lookout for forces that can diminish its value. New companies and competitors constantly aim at the top dog by identif ...
One of the most important skill sets that successful business owners have is the ability to be ready for just about anything. The key to doing this is being agile. Let’s look at what an agile&nb ...
Retaining your company’s key employees is one of the most important steps toward your business’ success. Key employees can reduce your workload, noticeably improve company performance and ...
When you die, how much money do you want to have to pay lawyers to wrangle the complications of your estate? How about the IRS—how much of your life’s work would you like to hand over to t ...
When you set your business up for future success, you can set yourself, your family, and your personal interests up for similar success. But a common problem owners overlook is how to address Deal Kil ...
Preparing your business for a successful future often goes hand in hand with preparing your business for a successful sale. No matter whom you sell to—and even if you believe you’ll never ...
Setting goals is a catalyst for success, especially if you’re planning for the future of your ownership and the success of your business. The strongest goals tend to have five aspects that help ...
Successful business owners often want more than just the maximum amount of money they can get. These owners have deeply ingrained values-based goals that guide why and how they do business. But many o ...
For nearly 5,500 years, human beings have written things down. From Hammurabi’s Code and the U.S. Constitution to your personal business plans, writing things down helps people follow rules and ...
Planning for a successful future without your business is a smart strategy. One of the traps that business owners commonly fall into as they begin planning for their successful future without the busi ...
"All those years of work are thrown away. To ease your mind is that all you can say? But what about that grandson on your knee? Them railroad songs, Tom would sing to me." –Robert Plan ...
As a business owner, you manage all sorts of complexity in your work. Goals, expectations, and the people who help you meet them may change. But even though things constantly change, you can still ada ...
When planning for the future, you have a wealth of options related to who should continue to run your business. Many business owners’ plans fall short because they are unaware of the many option ...
It is safe to say that this year was full of surprises. Some businesses thrived, while in other areas jobs were lost, companies were forced to go under, and we even lost loved ones along the way. Many ...
It can be difficult to consider what will happen to your business and your family if you die unexpectedly. Without proper planning, you could be leaving your family and/or key stakeholders in a huge m ...
Next-level management teams are the drivers behind building business value. But how can you and your advisors attract and keep next-level management teams? The answer lies within incentive plans. W ...
Starting the preparations to sell your business is never easy. Selling or buying a business comes with mixed emotions and hard decisions. There are a lot of variables to consider. One action item to d ...
Taking on any large project can be manageable when you have a reliable process in place. When deciding to exit your business, for example, you will need a proven process in place to ensure you have co ...
When you started your business, it was probably obvious that you needed a plan. It may be less obvious, though, that when you leave your business, no matter how you do it, you’ll also need a pla ...
Succession planning, Exit Planning, and business planning may seem interchangeable in most people’s eyes. However, each type of planning plays a very different role in the process of designing, ...
You can’t get anywhere if you don’t know where you’re going. It’s also obvious that once you know where you’re going, you need to lay out a path that will take you there. ...
When imagining the future of their businesses, and possibly a future that involves different ownership at some point, owners may wonder if it’s really possible to consider “insiders” ...
While there are many uncertainties when planning for the future, one factor that is almost always essential to the success of your future plans is cash flow. Measuring your company’s cash flow a ...
When we start any important project, it is common to choose to plan in phases. Sometimes we choose to plan in phases because there is a certain aspect of the project that we consider to be more urgent ...
As an owner of a successful business, it’s likely that you got where you are today through efficient planning. You may have planned out your business model, your competitive advantage, or your t ...
One of the most important elements of a successful business transition is transferable value. No matter what an owner sees for the future of the business, transferable value can be the common denomina ...
Business owners have a lot of information at their fingertips. There are calculators and assessments available for just about every aspect of your business and personal situation. As a result, many bu ...
Global economic disruption uniquely affects each business. Whether you are being hit with a hammer or expect to suffer a slow burn, your reaction to changes and proactive planning will play a major ro ...
In times of great uncertainty or disruption, some business owners will panic and bury their heads in the sand. Some will sit tight and wait for things to settle down. But others will try to create opp ...
Sometimes when planning the next chapter in your life, the most important people somehow feel left out. Deciding to transition out of ownership of your business is one of the most important decisions ...
Most business owners are considering several options for the future of the ownership of their businesses. If you’re keeping your options open, that is typical. But business owners who end up sel ...
Planning for a successful future isn’t homogenous. It simply can’t be. The needs that you and your business have are likely to be different from every other owner and business out there. S ...
As a business owner, you make decisions constantly that you believe will reduce your risk and/or improve your business outcomes. There are countless ways to do this. In this article, we’ll prese ...
Success can be a nebulous concept. What one business owner considers success might only be a step on the path to success for you. What are some of the guidelines that you can use to foster t ...
Many business owners support their families through their businesses. If something were to happen to you, such as a sudden death or permanent incapacitation, it may affect both your business and the l ...
Planning for a successful business future is an exercise in foresight and commitment. Without foresight, it may be difficult for you to determine what success means to you. Without commitment, even th ...
Many business owners love the companies they’ve founded, whether it’s because of the work they do, the changes they effect, the money their companies provide, or something else. When you c ...
Building business value is a common goal among business owners. Many successful small business owners find that after years of growth, the company can begin to plateau. It can be frustrating if you an ...
Many successful business owners don’t feel any urgency to plan for the futures of their businesses. When owners are comfortable where they’re at, they may struggle to plan with a longer vi ...
One of the first questions business owners ask about exiting their businesses is, “Just how long is all of this supposed to take?” The true answer is it depends. There are many things ...
Business valuations are important to successful planning. They tell you what your business is worth to a potential buyer. Though business valuations seem simple on the surface, even the smartest and m ...
When we talk about planning for the future, we often talk creating a plan. The idea of creating something as big as a plan for the future can imply a ton of from-scratch work (as i ...
Many business owners believe they have plenty of time to create a successful plan for the future of their businesses. Most commonly, owners think that if they give themselves a few years, they can tra ...
If you’re like many business owners, your business plays a large role in supporting your family’s lifestyle. As you plan for your business’ future, you may run into questions about h ...
Planning for your business’ future success is a long-term effort in problem solving. Usually, the problems you’ll try to solve result from the natural evolution of the business. For exampl ...
Many business owners start their companies as lifestyle businesses to support a certain kind of lifestyle that they want. Some found businesses because they have an urge to create and build. ...
Do not act as if you had ten thousand years to throw away. Death stands at your elbow. Be good for something while you live and it is in your power. –Marcus Aurelius, Meditations Buildin ...
As a business owner, you’re likely the most important person in your business. You’re probably the breadwinner for your family. Your employees rely on your leadership and success for their ...
For many small-to-mid-market business owners, there are few things more important than maintaining control of the company, minimizing risks for the company, and rewarding the employees that make the c ...
There are many things for you to consider as you think about the future of your business ownership: When is the right time to move on? How much money will I need? How do I even sell this business? The ...
Building business value is a core reason you wake up and run your business every day. As your business grows in value, it can position you to find new clients; keep current clients happy; support your ...
Businesses that rely on their owners as the primary source of success are common. They’re also the most dangerous kind of business to own when you want to plan for the future of your ownership i ...
As a successful business owner, you know that your business has value. It likely supports the lifestyle you and your family live. It provides a paycheck and perhaps benefits to the people you employ. ...
Do you remember trying to solve a complex maze as a child? You’d start at the beginning, trace a line toward what you thought was the correct path to the end, only to run headlong into a wall ...
When thinking about business planning, one aspect you may be tempted to overlook is the contributions of your key employees. Key employees are the lifeblood of well-run businesses, and they play an ...
As a business owner, you’re likely used to having as much control over how the business functions as possible. You’re the go-to person for big decisions and you own the consequences of th ...
As a business owner, you know that planning is crucial and that the new year is typically when you implement new strategies. As the new year begins, many business owners have begun to examine what the ...
When preparing for a large-scale event – such as an extended trip to a foreign country, sending the kids to college, or preparing your business for the future – the planning required can s ...
One of the toughest things you’ll confront in your planning is focusing on the goals that matter most. You might find that the things you want to do conflict with the things you must do. For ...
Many business owners believe that they want to sell their businesses to a third party when they first start considering their business exits. Owners who want to start planning for a third-party sal ...
Exit planning can be complex. Between setting your exit goals and transferring your business, you’ll attempt to build business value, find an appropriate successor or buyer, navigate perplexi ...
Building a successful business and minimizing risk may seem like opposite strategies but, typically, they go hand in hand. Once a business matures past the early, sometimes-chaotic stages of develo ...
One of the most important goals of exit planning is to position business owners for post-exit financial security. To do that, business owners and their advisors must have several pieces of informat ...
Imagine building your business over several decades, beginning to plan your business exit, then dying unexpectedly before you can implement your plans. Business owners rarely think about how an une ...
As a business owner, you likely have plenty on your plate. You have a business to run, perhaps a family to care for, and many other responsibilities that require your time. So, why should you consi ...
Many business owners take pride in the businesses they’ve built. Some of those owners are so proud and dedicated to their businesses that they’d be happy dying at their desks, doing wha ...
As you consider your business exit, you may find that approaching it alone is prohibitively challenging. You may also find that some of the advisors with whom you’ve worked don’t have all ...
Planning a business exit can seem like a lot of work at first. From building business value to developing capable successors to figuring out exactly what you want to do with your life after you lea ...
When business owners start their businesses, they often create a written business plan to guide them toward success. However, many successful owners don’t mimic that process when they begin to a ...
If you’re considering transferring your business ownership to family, you might be tempted to put your family’s wants over your own goals. While this altruism may be admirable, it can a ...
After building a successful business, many business owners decide they want to transfer their ownership to their children. Too often, those owners assume that a transfer to children will go smoothl ...
For many business owners, a sale to a third party is their assumed exit path. Some business owners even start their businesses with the goal of finding a larger, more deeply pocketed buyer, selling ...
Business owners seldom seek to exit their businesses without attaining financial security. They understand that one requirement of financial security is to grow business value, but many struggle to ...
When business owners begin to think about their business exits, they tend to focus on one specific goal they want to achieve. Some owners focus on when they want to exit, some focus on how much mon ...
Generally, business owners feel comfortable being owners. They enjoy what they do but, rationally, they know they need to change their roles in their businesses eventually. But most owners don&rsqu ...
According to surveys, up to 79 percent of business owners plan to exit their businesses within the next 10 years, with more than half saying they want to exit within the next five years. Howev ...
For business owners, the idea of exiting their businesses, which for many owners define their professional lives, can seem like a gigantic undertaking. They ask themselves, How can I possibly do al ...
Business owners commonly associate exit planning with estate planning, and they aren’t too far off. Good exit plans and estate plans both aim to ensure that the owner’s family is provid ...
When you set about starting your business, you likely had big goals and expansive dreams about its success. Whether success meant having an impact on your community, making as much money as possibl ...
An important part of a successful ownership transfer, regardless of exit path, is the presence of key employees. Key employees are those who have a direct and significant impact on business value, ...
For many business owners, building their successful businesses began by accurately determining what they had. Whether their businesses provide products, services or ideas, the success they experien ...
With the new year upon us, many people have begun their journeys to fulfill their New Year’s resolutions. For business owners, it’s no different. Between creating goals for the busin ...
We often hear owners say they want to transfer their businesses to third-party buyers when they first encounter the concept of exit planning. However, we’ve observed that in many co ...
It’s likely that few people, if any, have ever told you, “You need to make yourself less important,” regarding your business. But sophisticated buyers look for businesses that can ...
Many owners and advisors talk about the importance of growing business value, and there are nearly unlimited options to help business owners do just that. But wouldn’t you agree that growing ...
A fundamental aspect of a successful business exit is assuring that your business has enough value to allow you to exit with financial security. This, coupled with wisely invested non-business asse ...
Cash flow is one of the most important factors in a business exit. Today, we look at why securing a professional estimate of your company’s cash flow is crucial to the success of your exit pl ...
Setting goals is critically important to owners who begin exit planning. Without goals, even the strongest processes fail, because they have no purpose to work toward. Your goals are what guide you ...
You know how things work in terms of starting and running a successful business. You’ve hired the right people, offered a useful product or service and developed high-quality relationships with ...
A successful business exit plan achieves three important owner goals: Financial security. The business sale or transfer provides the amount of income the owner and owner’s family need a ...
Full disclosure: Wealth preservation planning can’t help any of us cheat death, but it can help business owners avoid taxes and achieve financial security. The ideal exit plan (i.e., one that ...
Imagine that on the eve of your wedding, you make a plan to divorce your spouse, on friendly terms, in about 15 years. During those 15 years, you agree to work diligently and successfully to build a b ...
There is a strong case for creating a buy-sell agreement for co-owned businesses. If owners agree about how to appraise business value and set the terms of payment in advance of any transfer event, th ...
Contemplating one’s own demise can be challenging but is paramount to sole owners and their businesses. Consider the fictional Harry Withers, the 54-year-old owner of Withering Hikes, a chain o ...
If you co-own your business, the business-continuity agreement, or buy-sell agreement, is one of the most important documents you will sign. If you have a buy-sell agreement that is out-of-date, not r ...
Steve Smith was no different than millions of other baby boomer business owners in that the thought of leaving his business was never far from his mind, no matter how far away his exit might have ...
In this article, we discuss the essential elements of a plan owners use to transfer a business to insiders that keeps the owner in control until he or she has paid the sale price. If you suspect th ...
If you think planning for the biggest financial event of your life is a good idea and prefer an approach other than wait-and-see, what can you do to make sure your company is ready to sell when you de ...
In this issue, we attempt to dismantle the most common objections owners have about undertaking the planning necessary to exit their companies successfully. Excuses to avoid exit planning include t ...
In all likelihood, you are absolutely critical to the success of your business. Without you, there is no business. We want to fix that. With a little luck and a lot of hard work, we can help you ...
Like every owner, you will one day exit your business, either voluntarily or involuntarily. On that day, you will want to attain certain business and personal objectives. The first - and usually prere ...
When a man does not know which harbor he is heading for, no wind is the right wind. – Seneca The starting point for any type of plan is defining its goals. In the case of planning a business ...
I never worry about action, but only about inaction. – Winston Churchill “I haven’t decided what I ultimately want to do with my business, when I want to exit, how much mone ...
We understand that business owners are so busy addressing today’s economic challenges, they can overlook the critical task of exit planning. We also understand that, at some point, all owners ...
Business experts may mention "value drivers," as if everyone knows what they are, how they work and where their impact will be greatest. It can be difficult or frustrating to know that bu ...
Every day, we work with owners to build sustainable value in their companies. Some of these owners build value to make their companies more profitable. Others build value with an eye on growth, while ...
People don’t like spending money on things they don’t need. So why would you need an estimate of your company’s value if you don’t expect to leave for a few years or more? ...
You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there. — Yogi Berra It is not always easy to interpret Yogi. In this case, perhaps he ...
In preparing for battle, I have always found that plans are useless but planning is indispensable. - Dwight D. Eisenhower Gen. Eisenhower’s point was that the process of creating a plan provi ...
I can't play golf every day. My wife wants to see more of me — but not at every breakfast, lunch and dinner! What do other ex-owners do after they've sold out? Failing to answer ...
When we talk to business owners about the value of exit planning, we are talking about orchestrating a business exit that fulfills their unique personal and financial goals. More often than not, the b ...
If you have never sold a business before, who better to lead the sale process than the guy who knows far more about the business than anyone else? Who better to steer the ship than the gal who knows e ...
As advisers, we often hear from business owners some variation of the following comments: “I think it is time to back away from my business." “I'd really like the freedom to ...
When co-owners are united in striving toward common business goals such as growing revenue, building business value and increasing cash flow, the business dynamics can be wonderfully positive and stro ...
Stan Briggs was perplexed when he told his adviser, “My son, Patrick, has worked in the business for the last 12 years. In that time, the business has tripled its revenues and its profits. I&rsq ...
We all know that “money doesn’t grow on trees.” And neither does business value. You can’t just wait until you are ready to leave your business to find out how much “valu ...
Full disclosure: Wealth preservation planning can’t help any of us cheat death, but it can help business owners to avoid taxes and achieve financial security. Read on. The ideal exit pl ...
Assuming that all business owners (except for those forced to liquidate) will eventually sell or transfer their companies, we often focus on what it takes to be a well-prepared seller. Setting exit ob ...
Too often, owners discover that the compensation plans they've put in place for key employees are sadly inadequate when those key employees leave for greener pastures. The departure of one or more ...
Where to start? Business owners who have not been through an exit planning process, and many of them have not, are often unsure about how we begin and what information is important. Whether you plan t ...
Did you ever wonder why one business has buyers lined up willing to pay top dollar while another sits on the market for months, or even years? What do buyers look for in a prospective business acquisi ...
When we ask business owners about the possibility of installing an employee incentive plan, we often hear one of two responses: “I would like to do something to reward my key employees for t ...
No one wants to spend money on something he or she doesn’t need. So why do you need an estimate of your company’s value when you don’t expect to leave for several or many years? &nb ...
Successful, active business owners seldom slow down. Many business owners are great at planning for their businesses and terrible at planning for themselves. There are so many business challenges to t ...
We hear it all the time. Do any of these sound familiar? “I’m never leaving my business. I love what I do.” “I don’t intend to exit my business. I pl ...
The subject of employee dishonesty is a delicate one. Owners generally want to trust their employees, and given all the other battles owners fight on a daily basis, they're often not as vigilant a ...
Business owners who are planning for successful futures should always begin by identifying and understanding their primary objectives for themselves, their families, their ownership and their business ...
Many business owners have mixed feelings about their banks and their banking representatives. They are unsure about whether they can be completely honest about their business without a negative impact ...
Stephen Manicek sat quietly and stared out the window of his car as it sat parked in the parking lot of Mayfaire Business Park. Until a few minutes ago, he had been president of his distribution compa ...
In many client meetings we have suggested that cash flow is “king” for a closely held business. But with low interest rates, abundant private equity capital, and an improving economy, some ...
A few years ago I was asked by a client to coach an employee who was not demonstrating his potential or supporting his company’s culture. The coaching engagement was a bit unusual because most o ...
Does your company culture embrace creativity? When is the last time your company innovated a product, service or process (your way of delivering value to clients)? Growing a company, or in many ...
I'm often asked what performance management is, and why I'm such a strong advocate for it. Let's start the discussion with an example from Benton Toups, an attorney who specializes in e ...
Capturing data within the human resources (HR) management function offers insight about employees and managers that can help leaders improve performance and team engagement. For example, rece ...
Understanding what your employees want from you is usually no mystery, if you take the time to figure it out. And if you put in the effort, you’ll almost certainly improve employee engagement in ...
Great coaches are made, not born. They spend years learning what works to create a motivated, highly engaged team. From sports to business, great coaches can bring together individuals with different ...
I ran across a sobering statistic the other day for anyone who owns a business in the United States. In my opinion, it helps explain why many businesses struggle to get to the next level. Acc ...
Since 2008, Cornerstone Advisory Partners has run peer advisor boards, which gives business owners the opportunity to confidentially talk about opportunities, challenges and other issues with other bu ...
This article was contributed by Robert Gosselin, marketing strategist at Cornerstone Business Advisors In 1960s, E. Jerome McCarthy proposed a marketing concept called the “four Ps,&rdq ...
The following Insights is a case study of our work with the James E. Moore Insurance Agency, which used our Performance Culture System to achieve its growth goals. – Dallas Romanowski, Managing ...
This article was contributed by Robert Gosselin, marketing strategist at Cornerstone Business Advisors Our role at Cornerstone Business Advisors is to provide clients with access to people who are ...
Marketing, Business Development and Branding The marketing and business development relationship is a two-way street. Just as the business development team needs to respect the marketing department ...
Information Technology in North Carolina accounts for approximately $1.3 billion of the state's budget. Government contractors have long believed that operations, business development, and capture ...
As I’ve discussed in earlier Insights articles, the Performance Culture System™ is about producing results by giving your team an idea worth working for and a clear understanding of what n ...
Magic happens when an entrepreneur combines creativity with effective people management and process excellence. However, if you are like many entrepreneurs, you probably cringe at the thought of proce ...
Weekly leadership meetings should provide a forum where department leaders collaborate with each other in an open, candid environment. Providing a weekly checkpoint enables the team to quickly identif ...
A 90-day plan prioritizes the most important company initiatives and provides clear direction for your team to execute upon. Ninety-day plans break your annual goals into quarterly segments and make i ...
Over the last several months, I’ve written about the Performance Culture system we recommend to our clients at Cornerstone Business Advisors to help them increase business value, profitability a ...
Author Jim Collins best describes organizational effectiveness as having the right people in the right seats. To implement this principle, leaders should create an accountability chart that maps key f ...
Both business owners and employees desire a workplace culture that not only supports a rewarding work environment, but also encourages high performance. While this goal is ubiquitous, the management p ...
If you don’t already have a winning niche strategy, it’s not that difficult to create one. The biggest roadblock is probably your mind-set because the best niche strategy may mean disrupti ...
“Focusing solely on what you can do better than any other organization is the only path to greatness.” Jim Collins, Good to Great Niche strategies create competitive advantages for smal ...
The best business leaders achieve results because they know how to get things done. Unfortunately many organizations have accepted mediocrity by allowing the organization to have too many “Bee W ...
Sun Tzu, an ancient Chinese general and philosopher, stated that if a leader has earned the will of the team and has communicated clearly, then the leader must hold his direct report accountable for a ...
While living the 7 Cs of success will earn the will of your team, a leader must still communicate clearly and wisely. This means establishing clear expectations and creating a workplace culture that e ...
A leader leads by example, not by force, and must earn the will of his or her team. After all, a person’s will cannot be mandated. If you have your people’s will, they will support you thr ...
In my earlier Insights columns, I’ve described the benefits of what I call the Performance Culture System, which I created for Cornerstone Business Advisors. It has four core elements: Effective ...
In The Power of Habit, award-winning business reporter Charles Duhigg explains why habits exist and how they can be changed. At its core, The Power of Habit contains an interesting argument: the key t ...
“Hitting the ceiling” is a phenomenon that occurs in almost every business and is usually caused by one or two things: Increased management complexity driven by more employees, custo ...
In most cases, when entrepreneurs first launch their businesses they have to do everything. Not because they want to, but because they HAVE to. There is simply not enough cash flow to hire all the peo ...
The Performance Culture System that we recommend to clients of Cornerstone Business Advisors provides a simplified approach to creating a company culture that increases business value, profitability a ...
I am excited to contribute to the Greater Wilmington Business Journal’s Insights and share our firm’s approach to maximizing leadership effectiveness and company performance. Our “In ...
North Front Street Property Sells For More Than $2.8M
Staff Reports
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Dec 6, 2024
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Biggers Market Plan For CB Road Store Heads To Commissioners
Emma Dill
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Dec 6, 2024
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Lannin Braddock, owner and founder of The Braddock Group, shares her picks for podcasts, book recommendations and favorite apps....
While at events, Carter Jewell realized something was missing: an alcohol-free option that wasn’t just water or soft drinks. Something that...
The idea for the Beach Mule, an electric beach cart, came to company owner and founder Will Parker while on the Bald Head Island ferry....
The 2024 WilmingtonBiz: Book on Business is an annual publication showcasing the Wilmington region as a center of business.
