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Understanding business agility as an entrepreneur

Indiana Lee Business Management, Services & Risk Management

Staying afloat in the face of any crisis can be difficult. But as the most recent economic downturn proved, the state of your business and industry can change at any second. Developing the ability to pivot and stay agile can be your biggest asset as an entrepreneur. When things go wrong, business plans and even crisis plans can only take you so far. Your business may be protected from the initial blow, but on the tough journey back to normal operations and growth, an agile mindset is invaluable. We’ll dive deeper into the benefits of business agility for entrepreneurs, then offer some tips on how to increase your agility over time.

How to score your meetings

Kelly Hall and Bob Harris Association Management

Nonprofit organizations have an abundance of meetings. Do you evaluate if they are effective and necessary? The Longview Chamber of Commerce believes in continuous improvement. Recently, it applied a concept from the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) to enhance meetings. EOS is applicable to every nonprofit organization looking to make improvements. The system identifies six components in an organization: vision-mission, performance data, processes, people, issues, and traction or strategy.

Infographic: How to set work boundaries to avoid burnout

Pia De Los Reyes Mental Healthcare

With remote work being the new professional normal, it can be especially challenging to stay productive and separate job stress from our personal lives. When stress is high and maintained over a period of time, it can lead to burnout or a type of work-related stress that can have a myriad of negative effects on your health and productivity. Those experiencing burnout can suffer from fatigue and mental exhaustion, and it can also lower work performance and cause job dissatisfaction. Over time, burnout can increase your vulnerability to disease and even potentially cost you lost income because of unpaid sick leave or a missed promotion.

With succession planning, avoid the ‘Alice in Wonderland’ syndrome

Donald F. White Business Management, Services & Risk Management

Do you remember Alice, the little girl who fell down a rabbit hole and ended up in Wonderland? As Alice wandered about Wonderland, she came upon a Cheshire Cat with a distinctive, mischievous grin. Too many people are on their way to somewhere, with little to no idea what or where somewhere is. They assure themselves that someday they’ll know what and where somewhere is because, well, aren’t they on their way there? Sadly, when it comes to business continuity and succession planning, most business owners are like Alice — on their way to somewhere, yet with little to no idea what or where somewhere is.

The power of success: How to cheerlead instead of compete — and win more

Jeffrey A. Martinovich Business Management, Services & Risk Management

Much of the world today seems to indulge in schadenfreude — taking pleasure from others’ misfortunes. But if we train ourselves to focus on cheering for others’ successes instead, we also create much more success for ourselves. We need to fundamentally understand that when other people have success, it’s a good thing for everyone. It is not a poor reflection on us. It does not highlight our lack of achievement. Rather, it creates an environment of success for us all.

Make sure your organization produces easily navigable reports

Robert C. Harris Association Management

The waiter handed me a menu, asking, "Is this your first-time dining with us?" Yes. He said the menu is "easily navigable" with food on one side and an exhaustive wine list sorted by country, color, bubbles, and portions on the back. He returned and asked if I made a choice. To be honest, I found the menu confusing. I didn’t know where to start and didn’t have time to read both sides. Volunteers are provided a host of reports. They have confessed that they receive the reports on their smartphones. Find ways to improve open rates and understanding. Ask your team if they feel everything is easily navigable or if communications can be enhanced.

What’s the BIG Idea? Episode 3: Jasmine Ahmed on organizational transformation

Hank Boyer Business Management, Services & Risk Management

In this episode of “What’s the BIG Idea?” we visit with Jasmine Ahmed, Senior Vice President of Global Finance Transformation for NewsCorp. NewsCorp’s media empire spans the globe with trusted brands such as The Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Barron’s, News Australia, and Dow Jones.

Avoiding client-agency breakdown: Always ‘feedforward,’ never…

Paul Cowan Business Management, Services & Risk Management

We were a young breakaway agency, packed with talent and hungry for all the opportunities we could get. Our overhead included a ridiculously large budget for salaries that had to be covered every month. We brought in all the clients we could and always asked for their feedback on our work and on our agency — how did we do? What could we have done better? Like many startup businesses, we thought asking for feedback would prove useful and demonstrate that we valued the client relationship above all else. We asked for feedback on almost everything.

Successfully encouraging productivity for remote and in-office employees

Indiana Lee Business Management, Services & Risk Management

Since the start of the pandemic, many businesses have chosen to incorporate working from home as part of a more agile structure that includes elements of both remote operations and in-office work. Some have certain workers always on-site and others spread across the world, while a lot of companies are taking a hybrid approach that sees their employees split their schedule between the office and home. Whichever route your business is taking, one of your key concerns is likely to be maintaining a high level of productivity.

Celebrating volunteers

Robert C. Harris Association Management

Volunteers make communities better. There are more than 1.5 million nonprofit organizations structured to engage the time and talent of volunteers. It is estimated there are 22 million people serving on boards. "I have worked with association volunteers for over 25 years, always amazed by the things they accomplish outside of their jobs and family lives. Volunteers are selfless individuals who feel a responsibility and desire to give back to their communities and professions, affect positive change, and contribute to the greater good," offers Dee Kring, CAE, CMP, chief staff executive at Partners in Association Management.

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