For those of you who’ve been watching, a major software company in the marketing space just launched a lawsuit, claiming a violation of a patent against a company taking over market share. It triggered a few observations from the past 30 years in software: As a teenager, I remember the first time it hit me that…

how to beat an economic recession (& what to do now to prepare) You need to know an economic recession is not a war. It’s a chess match. Economic cycles are forces of nature, like an earthquake, hurricane, or tornado. You don’t try to control them or mitigate them. Instead, you figure out how to…

What You Can’t See What you don’t see takes you out…and… what you don’t see keeps you in the game. Here’s what I mean: We all have things happen to us that we can’t predict. Change is happening so rapidly (AI anyone?), there’s no telling exactly what will come our way. Walk with the wise,…

I’ve heard it said it keeps us clean! Years ago, I got to pitch a software solution to a business owner. I nervously and excitedly put together a mini-presentation, set up an appointment, and went over my value proposition. No go. Even though I would do things differently today, I lost the sale before I…

I remember as a young kid in rural Kansas, watching tank after tank of corn syrup go rumbling down the railroad tracks. Capitalism at its finest? Or competition at its worst? Take a look at the food industry, and I think it’s clear that competition isn’t actually the best for the industry. Where has the…

Many business owners resent sales and marketing because they’re doing it in a way that doesn’t fit: – THEM – THEIR TARGET MARKET. Yes, you may have sales aversion. It’s a real thing. Yes, you may have an internal conflict with profit & making money. That’s also a real thing. AND, it’s possible that you…

A $10,000/hr return on investment Invitation for a few people, absolute max of 5… Over the past number of years, I’ve been working with the top 1% of businesses. I helped one client reach the enviable #1 market position with double-digit growth. They added six figures of revenue in a matter of months, putting a…

What people won’t tell you about scale: On the first point… Low overhead is the Holy Grail of nonprofits, for example. But would you rather have a $100k/yr nonprofit with 1% overhead, or a $100MM/yr nonprofit with 20% overhead? Even though the former is more efficient, the latter has a bigger impact. There are two…

Someone challenged me to get more specific on problems I solve. Here’s an example from today: The client is racing against the clock, trying to get financials out to stakeholders. They’ve got dozens of invoices that are categorized wrong. The accounting staff has their backs against the wall. We could do it manually… Push the…

If you’re a visionary or ideas person, and you’re wondering what to focus on… two things will help you: Left Brain + Right Brain. Re #1, many of us get distracted because we’re working on something that’s not aligned. Get aligned, and focus will be much easier. For #2, a very simple approach is to…