If you have been listening in on what is going on in our nation’s capital, you know that the healthcare battle continues to wage. Continue reading
Category Archives: Leadership
Are you a leader? Do you want to be. Leaders are not born – they develop. Learn about tips on becoming a leader and staying out in front.
The Power of Building a Community
There are few things as powerful in this world as when people come together as a community to make something happen.Continue reading
Leaders to Follow
Leadership is a popular topic. The role of a leader is one that many aspire to. Books and articles tell us that we need to be helping our children, our employees, and others around us to become leaders.
But what is a leader and why do we follow them? For following is a key element of a leader’s definition.
You are not a leader,
if no one is following you.
If only there was a key we could press to make a great leader and cause others to choose to follow. Unfortuantely, there is no one answer or simple magic key to press. Most would agree that the road to leadership is a journey. You are not born a leader, you BECOME one.
Belong… to a community
Leaders do not stand alone on top of the mountain looking down upon their followers. They are part of their communities. We follow them because, by listening to what they say and watching what they do, they take us to a better place. They lead the way for us and we follow their footsteps.
Engender … Trust
When words and actions are authentic, congruent, and consistent, we feel secure in their leadership and in our following. We know what we can expect from them and as followers we trust them to lead us in the right direction. When our leaders get lost or confused, which often happens, leaders are human after all, some followers will drop away, while others will rally around to help a trusted leader get back on track.
Cause … things to happen
Leaders act as catalysts, as agents that provoke or speed significant change or action within their communities, their businesses, or whatever their sphere of influence may be. They do not act alone, but bring things about in concert with others. They inspire others to think, to act, to do, to change.
Open…. up to new opportunities
Leaders are innovators. They find new ways of doing things that make life better for their followers and for those around them. Leaders understand that the most traveled path may not always be the best one. They take the time to explore the options – old and new – to find the best way to travel towards their chosen destination.
Mentor… develop, and support
Leadership may be immune to the passage of time, but leaders are not. Leaders come and leaders go. That is why true leaders develop future leaders. They know that being the sole leader in any group is a lonely job – but when you lead in the company of leaders, the journey get’s shorter, and the road you travel less difficult. And most important of all, that when your time as a leader is through, there are others ready and able to continue the journey.
Excel… at putting the needs of others before their own
Leaders excel in putting the needs of the whole before their own. It seems at times this gets forgotten. And these are the times when we see leaders get into trouble. We’ve seen it in politicians, in the kings of industry, with sports heroes, and in the Mom at the PTA. When the person in front stops caring for the people behind them – sooner or later – those people will be gone. And without followers, you are a leader no more.
True leaders rarely have to shout. Some of the most powerful words are spoken softly.
They issues orders – when they have to – and sometimes they do. But more often than not, direction is provided through stories and shared experiences. They lead the way through instruction, by demonstration, and sometimes by the simple act of taking another by the hand.
The words of leaders may be written…
so we can share them with others long after the leader is gone. Take a look at the list of the best selling books of all time. According to Wikipedia, the list of best-selling books includes in it’s top rankings the books on spiritual leaders: The Bible, Qur’an (The Koran), Book of Mormon, and The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life. They are joined by the writings of a political leader – agree with him or not – Chairman Mao knew how to leverage the printing press with his Little Red Book, a manual for raising young leaders, Scouting for Boys: A Handbook for Instruction in Good Citizenship, and fictional journeys of life and leadership including A Tale of Two Cities, The Lord of the Rings, and The Hobbit. Shakespeare of course wrote stories of leaders and leadership too. But since his were plays, not books originally, they did not make this particular list. But it is not just the beauty of his words that made him immortal, it was the stories of leaders, of emperors, princes, and kings – be they mortal or fairy – that have stood the test of time.
The world is looking for leaders
From the beginning of human time until its end, there will always be a place in this world for leaders. We need them in our homes, in our businesses, and in our communities. We need them to get things started, to help us along the way, to instruct, to inspire, and at times to console.
Yes, the world is looking for leaders.
Are you ready to make the effort – every day – to BECOME one?
Thanks for stopping by. Stay tuned…
Joan Koerber-Walker
Curing Healthcare – you have to start somewhere
As a leader, one of the most damaging things that you can do in times of crisis is to do NOTHING. As I have been listening to and reading about the ongoing national healthcare debate, one question keeps running through my mind.
When are we going to stop talking about it …
and start doing something about it?
At one point in my career, from December of 2006 to December of 2008, I had the honor of serving as the CEO of ASBA, the Arizona Small Business Association, and on the Board of Trustees at NSBA, the National Small Business Association.
As the owner of a small business myself, I had seen the challenges faced by small business owners when it came to the accessibility and affordability of healthcare insurance. At the time, it was a personal issue I dealt with and not a major focus of my attention.
Then came my role at ASBA and a day when solving the healthcare problem, at least for small businesses in the State of Arizona, became MY problem. This video is a clip from a talk I gave on the topic of Healthcare when ASBA launched its solution for Arizona Small Businesses in 2008. It started like this…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKOfXlB_3Wo]
Putting the health back into healthcare in the United States is not a simple problem. In fact it’s complexity is staggering. Here are just a few of it’s components – I know I will miss many more. Don’t pillory me for it. Instead I encourage you to add to the list in the comments section of this post. (For more information, click the links to articles in each description.)
Structural issues
Right or wrong, our current system is is supported as an insurance based system. Healthcare is paid for by Medicare/Medicaid (public insurance) or private insurance in most cases. For those without adequate coverage, the costs can be financially crippling and their unpaid bills get paid by everyone else in the form of higher premiums as explained in this article from Arizona State University’s Knowledge@WPCarey.
Ethical Issues
What should we do? Who should we help? What should we pay for? What should we not? The answers to these questions reach into much deeper ethical, moral, and legal discussions on highly volatile issues including aging, illegal immigration, abortion, euthanasia, stem cell research, and the quality and accessibility of care. An that’s just the tip of the iceberg! The study of BioEthics now even has it’s own Presidential Commission.
Financial Issues
If you think this is all about health, think again. The healthcare crisis in the US is a major economic issue as illustrated in this article from Forbes on July 3, 2009. In this report from the Congressional Budget Office total spending on health care in the economy has doubled over the last 30 years to a current level of about 16% of GDP. CBO estimates that this percentage will double again over the next 25 years to 31% of GDP. Today, it is estimated that as much as 60% of personal bankruptcies in the US are tied to healthcare related issues. But if we do not get the costs, and the resultant Federal deficits under control the fall out could be the greatest financial mess the world has ever seen.
Solving the problem will need to address how to find new cost efficiencies in healthcare delivery, behavioral changes among the US population to reduce health risk factors, new protocols for treatment and cost management, and many many more issues.
We will also need to redesign our reimbursement systems. Today, the set payment schedules for Medicare and Medicaid are below the actual costs the doctors and hospitals incur. The short fall is then passed along to the costs charged to private insured and private payers – a practice called cost shifting. But as we have seen, even this has not been enough to keep many medical centers and hospitals financially healthy – see this July 7, 2008 article from the Washington Post for a good explanation of the problem and since this was written the problem has only gotten worse.
Technology Issues
In recent years, we have looked to technology to solve other problems – it will work for healthcare too, right? Unfortunately not. While US healthcare, for those that can afford it, is some of the best in the world, each advancement has a price and contributes to the rising healthcare costs.
E-medical records, a popular topic earlier this year when major funding was allocated as part of the stimulus package by Congress will pay off over time, but not in the immediate future as it carries a high price for implementation. This presentation by Michael H. Zaroukian, MD, PhD, FACP of Michigan State University helps break it down.
Break throughs in Pharma and Biotech will help us improve quality of life, aid in early detection, and treatment of chronic diseases. (A major portion of today’s healthcare spend.) But, today’s legislation has little to do with funding support for these technologies at they level that will be required to really speed up the process.
State Sovereignty Issues
Many of the factors that are driving up the costs of the healthcare system are legislated on a state by state basis. Congress will have a problem making any real change here without overriding or preempting many state laws. These include the costs of defensive medicine and malpractice insurance costs that will continue to escalate until we reform our tort systems at the state level. In addition, mandates on a state by state level require that certain care or services be provided and covered. Each and every one of these items has a cost. Thus the cost of providing healthcare can fluctuate significantly from state to state.
Personal Responsibility Issues
If you have noticed, so far, the focus has been heavily on what ‘they’ have to do to fix the problem. But there is another major issue that can not be overlooked – and that is our own personal behaviors. It has been said that the US has a sick care system, not a health care system. But the shift from sick care to a health focus is not in the government’s hands, it’s in ours. It has been estimated that regular check ups can play a major role in early detection of chronic disease and that early detection leads to major cost savings – not to mention longer lives. Yet at the same time, a large majority of those of us who have a wellness plan as part of our health insurance don’t even use it. Health in the US population did not get a great score on it’s report card in 2008 as you can read in this article from Time.
Uncertainty Issues.
And running through it all is the issue of uncertainty. None of us know what is going to happen at this point. Businesses are putting off health insurance decisions and states are in a quandary as to what they should be doing – if they could even pay for it.
Hospitals, doctors, and insurance companies alike are delaying the launch of new programs that could help make a difference because they have yet to learn the new rules of the game. Basically, progress has stopped!
The Ugly Truth
No one piece of Federal legislation will have the magic prescription to solve this problem. And for all the shouting, the final bill that will be voted on by the House and the Senate does not even exist yet. Then and if they can get it through Congress this session, it will be an ongoing process for years to structure all the regulations, set up systems, start a never ending process of revisions, and have any lasting effect.
No matter what we do or how the system changes, some will benefit more than others. Some people will pay more, and some will pay less. New systems will emerge, and others will fail.
But we will never have any improvements if we do not take the first step. And If we fail to make improvements, our healthcare structure will ultimately fail. We already know that the foundation is seriously damaged.
To wrap things up, there is an old fable about a man who claimed he could eat an elephant. When other’s scoffed that it was impossible to do so, he simply shared his strategy…
You do it one bite at a time.
Well today, putting the health back into healthcare is our elephant – and it is well past time we took that first bite.
Thanks for stopping by. Stay Tuned…
Joan Koerber-Walker
Leaders, Don’t Expect Everyone to LIKE You
Listening to the radio news this week, I heard again that President Obama’s approval rating is continuing to drop. Whether it is his handling of economic issues, healthcare, congress, or a post Labor Day address to school children, we are a nation divided. Some people love him, some people don’t, and many are stuck somewhere in between.
Now, the purpose of this note is not to open a discussion on whether President Obama is worthy of approval or not. We’re going in a different direction. We’re exploring what to expect as a leader in the business world.
I have been through my share of leadership training throughout my career, and there is one thing they rarely if ever tell you.
When you are a leader driving change or making tough decisions – there may be people who will REALLY not like you.
It does not matter how great you are as a speaker, how authentic you are as a person, how charismatic a leader you are, or even how solid your strategy is.
Eventually you will bring about a change that threatens someone’s sense of balance, personal well being, or sense of security through your decisions, and they will make their displeasure known – LOUD AND CLEAR.
Sometimes you can predict and plan for it, and sometimes you can’t. Blow ups can occur over major issues and decisions or the seemingly trivial.
But be prepared – sooner or later is bound to happen!
This illustration from Pollster.com really helps put things in perspective. The President’s approval rating hit its peak after the election but before he was actually making any true presidential decisions. Once his decisions.
This challenge is not unique to Presidential Leadership.
All Summer, legislative leaders across the country have struggled with tough decisions on budgets that won’t balance, whether to raise taxes or not, and where and how much to cut in programs that directly effect no win issues like education, social services, and hampering economic recovery by a heavy tax burden – remember – no economic recovery – no job recovery!
Difficult decisions and cuts lead to public outcries from all sides, as exemplified in this July 25th article and video from CNN.Money.com.
And, as soon as they think they have the problem solved, new gaps open or new conflicts arise, including Gubernatorial Vetoes.
Today’s environment is definitely not a pleasant one for political leaders at any level.
Shifting to Business
As business leaders, we deal with our own sets of issues and decisions every day.
Some are large and some are small, but at any level of authority we often have to make tough decisions that will not be viewed positively by everyone.
Here are some lessons I have learned along my leadership journey:
The higher up you are on the leadership ladder, the broader the reach and scope of your decisions and the more people you affect positively and negatively.
The closer an unfavorable action get’s to an individual’s personal life, the more vocal the dislike can become.
Listen to your detractors – sometimes they are voicing something you need to hear that your friends and supporters are not telling you.
Deal with detractors respectfully, even if they do not return the courtesy.
You can’t take it personally – even if their attacks turn personal.
Logic rarely trumps emotion when change hits close to home for people. Especially when that emotion is concern or fear.
While you may try to work with your detractors, you have to eventually to move on. To paraphrase President Harry Truman, as a leader, the buck will stop with you and you will need to do what you think is best. And then, you live with it.
Luckily, most leaders will have more supporters than not. But eventually, somewhere along the way – you will find those few that will not come around. And when you do, just remember, you are not alone.
Most of us have been there at one time or another. It comes with the territory.
Thanks for stopping by. Stay Tuned.
Joan Koerber-Walker
Asking for Help…
Often one of the most important lessons we learn as business owners, innovators, and leaders is how and when to ask for help.
In 2001, I was VP of Global Supplier Contracts at Avnet, Inc. a Fortune 500 global distributor of electronic components and computers.
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I had an idea for a new kind of business and took the idea to Avnet Chairman and CEO, Roy Vallee. We discussed the potential benefits to the company and what I wanted to do to make it happen. He told me to “…take the idea and run with it. Take it as far as you can and come back to me if you need help.” There are 3 components to this advice:
1) develop new ideas;
2) plan and take action;
3) ask for help.
At the time, for me, #3 was the MOST important. Up to that point, I had done everything for the project on my own. To make it viable, I had to find the people and resources that I lacked and get them to be part of the solution. A year later, Avnet decided that the time was not right to proceed with the project. But I was not ready to give it up.
So, I took Roy’s advice and asked for help.
First I asked Avnet’s permission to take some of the ideas I had developed and create my own business. They said yes.
Then I looked for and found the best people and resources to partner with to build that business. They said yes too.
The result, CorePurpose, Inc. has been supporting other businesses in their journey along the growth path since July of 2002. Our whole business is built around having the right resources and knowing how to get help when you need it.”
Applying the Lesson
For many of us, asking for help is not an easy thing to do. Many still believe that asking for help makes you appear weak or out of control. Contrary to this belief, asking for help at the right time and for the right reasons is NOT a sign of weakness, but rather can be a sign of confidence, strength and savvy resource management.
Few organizations or projects succeed without some form of assistance today – be it leadership, financial, supply chain, staffing, technology resources, or a myriad of other needs. Interestingly, the strategic process we go through in developing our program or project can also be a great process to follow when determining how to go about finding the right help at the right time.
Develop new ideas
Look at each step of your current strategic plan or program map. Identify the areas where the process or program can be strengthened through outside support or other partnerships. Look at each step of your process not only in light of how a strategic partner can benefit you but also how, by working together, the partner will benefit too.
Plan and Take Action
Evaluate the things that you are doing that might be done as well as you are currently doing them or can be done even better by others.
Start by identifying outside resources for non core activities and then evaluate how you can better utilize your existing resources by redeploying them into core areas of strength or differentiation within your organization. Strategic partnerships like these are a resource investment for you and the partner. Be realistic in calculating the ROI for both parties.
Put together presentations you can make to potential strategic partners with a focus on how each of you will benefit from the partnership. Then build your target partner list and start scheduling the presentations.
Asking for help.
Following this process, asking for help moves from sending out an ‘S.O.S.’ or distress call to proactively building relationships where both parties benefit. Now, you are not just asking someone to help you with a business challenge, you are offering to help them overcome one of theirs.
So, don’t be afraid to ask for help.
Look at your business on a regular basis to determine how by asking for help, you can make your business stronger, more cost efficient, or more financially sound. You’ll never know, until you ask!
Thanks for stopping by. Stay Tuned…
Joan Koerber-Walker
Recipe for Growth – A Pound of Leadership and a Dash of Innovation
In today’s economy, wouldn’t it be wonderful if there was a magic recipe for growth? Just pull out your business cook book, follow the instructions, pop it in the oven and enjoy success. Unfortunately it’s not quite that easy. If it was, we would all master the recipe early and reap the benefits.
![j0402524[1]](http://new.corepurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/j04025241.jpg)
But in reality it is not that simple. Business success requires a unique mix of ingredients and process that fluctuates with changes in our internal and external business environment.
I remember, when I was a kid, my Grandmother telling me, “If you want to eat, you need to learn to cook.” Well, in the world of business – the same can be said.
Each recipe starts with a goal in mind.
You have a physical or mental picture of what your desired result will be whether it is scrambled eggs, a mushroom quiche, or chocolate chip cookies.
The second section is the list of ingredients
If I am making my favorite, warm, gooey Chocolate Chip Cookies – there are some basic foundational ingredients – butter, sugar, flour, eggs.
I need a leavening agent like baking soda or baking powder to make my batter rise.
Flavoring – like vanilla or almond extract
And differentiators like chocolate chips, nuts, coconut, or raisins to make my cookies stand out.
I also need to focus on the quality of my ingredients to ensure a great result. Lot’s of people may have the same recipe – but the quality of the ingredients I use can make my cookies better than the rest.
Apply Energy
And then I need to apply just the right amount of energy to make it all blend together. Plus a different kind of energy to bake it into a finished product.
Results
Only when the cookies are out of the oven, cooled, and in my mouth will I know if I have obtained the desired results. If it’s not perfect – I can always try again.
Applying it to business.
When it comes to our businesses the processes are not that different. We need…
A goal – that clear picture of what we are trying to achieve.
The right base ingredients – a product, a service, a market to serve and people to do the work.
A leavening agent – No baking soda here – this the the values that you and your people employ as you follow the plan.
Flavoring – your marketing and communications strategy
Differentiators – the unique aspects or innovations that you bring to the equation and to your customers.
To Add Energy – in the right proportions at the right time – and that’s where leadership comes in. Not enough energy and your result is half baked. Too much and your result is burned to a crisp.
Don’t forget to focus on the quality of your ingredients to ensure a great result. Lot’s of people may have the same recipe – but the quality of the ingredients you use can make YOUR BUSINESS better than the rest.
There is a recipe after all.
You just have to keep experimenting until you find yours.
So, what are you going to mix up and pop in the oven?
Thanks for stopping by. Stay Tuned…
Joan Koerber-Walker
Do you know my name?
If you passed me on the street, would you know my name? Would you call me by it? If you needed what I had to offer, would my company name be one that came to mind?
![clip_image002[4]](http://new.corepurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/clip_image0024.jpg)
There are few things more powerful than a name. It links to our actions, our reputation and to the history of who we are. In days of old, continuation of the family name was a key goal of lord and serf alike. It was all they had to guarantee they would be remembered after they were gone. Today, both individuals and companies focus on a name as a brand, hoping to link what they stand for and what they do to the name they carry.
Our name connects us to others.
Many companies have recognized the power of the sharing of names between employees and customers. Last week I had lunch at the Macaroni Grill. Our server came over to the table and introduced himself, saying “Hello, my name is David” as he pulled out a crayon and scrawled his name right on the table. He went on to welcome us, ask what we would like and assure us that he wanted us to have a good time today and to call for him by NAME if we needed anything at all. Other businesses, including Sam’s Club and Safeway have taken the practice one step further. Each employee has a name tag which allows us to call them by name. They use technology and our name on membership cards to thank us by name for coming to their store. The Safeway at Chandler and 40th Street has been where I do my weekly shopping since we moved to the Valley of the Sun in 1992. Through familiarity and the regular exchange of names, we have come to know each other.
Al is always available with a smile to help me find a special ingredient or item. Linda has been ringing up my orders for years. If I see her behind one of the registers, that is the direction my cart veers – even if the line is shorter on row over. Steven is often there to help me take my overloaded basked to the car and fills me in on the things he has been doing or how his family is getting along.
Within a short drive from my home, there are six supermarkets within a very small radius, including another Safeway. They all have coupons, bargains and specials. But I always go back to the same one. Not because it is closest or cheapest, but because we are on a first name basis and I know that I can get what I need there. It is not just store policy, or a marketing gimmick. It’s a connection.
What’s in a name?
When I launched my own business in 2002, I had to answer a lot of questions. The most important being…what was our reason for being in business? This broke down further to… what would we offer, who we would serve and how we best serve them.?
My personal passion was innovation, doing something in a new way to make life better for the people who matter. Helping other organizations create innovative ways to achieve their business goals became the central focus of our company – our core purpose.
When I started to research possible names, it all came back to who and what we were. We had a strong, motivating drive to our core purpose. We helped others discover and capitalize on their core purpose in innovative ways. We became CorePurpose, Inc.
Today, companies come to us to help them refocus, to grow, to make the most of what they have, or find the things they need to realize their own core purpose. We get calls from around the country and around the world asking about what we do and how we do it.
Our name and our reputation brings customers to our door. The work we do brings them back. ~ Joan Koerber-Walker
What about your business? What does your name say about you? What do people think of when they hear it?
If you do not know, there is a simple test. Ask the question! Most people will be happy to tell you what they think and are pleased to be asked. You might be surprised what you hear. What your customers tell you is what they perceive your purpose and value to be.
What they think of when they hear your name matters the most. Their perception of your business and the value it brings when linked to your name becomes your brand. If you like what you hear, maximize the message in the marketplace. If you are not hearing what you want – you may have some work to do.
Just as a business brand links your name to what the markets perceives you to be, you have a personal brand that links your name to how those around you see you. What you do and how you do it becomes tied to your name. Your personal brand may change depending where you are. In my case, when I am around the school or at the hockey rink, I am well known as Chris Walker or Nick Walker’s Mom. My brand is directly linked to theirs. My claim to fame is directly linked to what they do and who they know. In the business and philanthropic community, my brand is more closely linked to the personal values I exhibit in my work with customers, organizations I volunteer with, or associations I belong to. In the case of my personal brand, what they see is what I get. What I do becomes what my personal brand is perceived to be.
Ask yourself – what is my personal brand? Ask your friends. You might be surprised by what you hear. If you like the answers you get, build on it. If you don’t like the answers, get to work.
So, do you know my name? Will I know yours? Whether you look at this question personally or in terms of your business, the answer may be one of the most important ones you ever hear.
Thanks for stopping by. Stay Tuned…
Joan Koerber-Walker
Technorati Tags: Joan Koerber-Walker,CorePurpose,Names,branding,marketing,reputation,business tips,entrepreneurship
Looking Outside
One of the biggest mistakes we can make as innovators and business leaders is to assume that we automatically know what our customers want, need, and are willing to buy.
I learned that lesson the hard way in 2004 when I came up with a ‘brilliant’ idea.
CorePurpose, Inc., the company I founded in 2002, would run a 12 month lecture series with thought leaders from across the country.
We were smack dab in the middle of a down turn. People were looking for answers and strategies to help turn things around. And of course – I knew who had the answers. I would bring them to town, one each month, and help all the small businesses by giving them access to ideas and talent as a group that they could not afford individually. I was really excited!
The folks at the Phoenix Business Journal also thought it was a great idea and featured the program with a full page story to kick things off in January 2, 2004. Doug Brodman and my friends at AVI Communications created an incredible 12 month interactive marketing campaign highlighting each month’s speaker in addition to the ads (like the one above)that would run each month in the Business Journal . We had a sure fire hit!
Well, maybe not. While we had gotten great feedback in designing the program as to the topics of interest, the areas of need, and the program’s price, we failed to ask one key question:
Would they, as business owners, make the investment of their time to attend twelve half day sessions throughout the year?
It turns out that for many in our target market, the answer was no! Instead of standing room only crowds, the room was half full each month. Still, we held to our commitment to provide all twelve sessions. Those that attended loved the program. CorePurpose got lots of critical acclaim from the economic development community and even won awards.
Through out the year, we kept asking potential customers – many of whom we had talked to during the design process – what we needed to do differently. In almost every case we got the same answer.
They could not afford the time away from the office when times were so tough. The perceived benefit did not exceed the perceived cost… of their time!
In the end, the program lost over $60,000 dollars because I assumed I knew the answer to one very important question and did not ask it.
Back then, that was a BIG hit to take.
So what is the moral to this story?
When you are designing products or services, be sure that you look outside your organization and ask ALL the important questions.
Get with professionals to help you design accurate assessments of market needs AND your target customer’s willingness to adopt what you are creating before you commit to investing your time and money to create a product or service that customers may say they want – but may not be willing or able to buy.
And for me – as a personal reminder – this ad has a place of honor on my office wall. It stands as a reminder to be sure to look outside of the company, to talk to customers and prospects, and to ask all the right questions – FIRST.
Thanks for stopping by. Stay Tuned…
Joan Koerber-Walker
How big of an impact can one thing make?
I remember my grandmother quoting the poem “For the Want of a Nail…” to me as a child. Her message to me – all things great and small can have tremendous impact on the success or failure of what we are trying to achieve”
For want of a nail,
the shoe was lost.
For want of the shoe,
the horse was lost.
For want of the horse,
the rider was lost.
For want of the rider,
the battle was lost.
For want of the battle,
the kingdom was lost.
And all for the want of a horseshoe nail!”
Anonymous
Grandma looked at life as a series of chapters, each full of choices, opportunities, goals and challenges. When one chapter ended, another commenced. You might not have control of all the twists and turns of the plot, but you could make a huge impact on how the story turned out.
So, why write an article about business – and that’s what this is – with old proverbs and messages learned at Grandma’s knee? Because we often make business and business decisions much more complicated than they need to be!
Many of the lessons we learned early on in our lives – when things were simple – can have a significant impact on business success. Simple lessons like –
- Look both ways…
- Listen to your teacher
- Look out for your brother
- Don’t cry over spilt milk
- You’ never know until you try
- If you fall down – get up
- You’ll never finish if you don’t get started.
Our lives and our businesses are made of a continuous series of little things – some that may seem important at the time but have little impact in the grand scheme and others that seem insignificant but can have a long and lasting affect. The trouble is that we lack perfect intuition or the crystal ball to determine what the important things are right now.
There may be some pretty big questions that you are be facing in your life or business in today’s economy. It pays to keep in mind that the simplest answers are often the right ones and, as in the case of the nail, one small thing can make a big difference.
Thanks for stopping by. Stay Tuned…
Joan Koerber-Walker
Technorati Tags: Joan Koerber-Walker,CorePurpose,Business Tips,Strategy,Overcoming Challenges,leadership