Bucket lists aren’t just for retirementIn business, we always plan at least a quarter out, and often the strategic plan can extend five to ten years into the future. How about your life plan? What do you personally want to get accomplished in the next decade? Read more
Category Archives: Big Ideas
7 rules for naming your business
Creating a company that sells for millions is a dream getting a lot of press lately with the IPOs of such companies as Zillow, Twitter and Groupon. It’s common today to see businesses sprout out of the minds of people with full-time jobs who craft their ideas at night and on weekends. So, how do you come up with the perfect name for your big idea? Read more
Reinventing the wheel: Zanes
Have you ever been in a retail store and thought about what it would be like to own the store? Chris Zane experienced that feeling. He was a Connecticut high school sophomore and decided he wanted to buy out the owner of the store. Read more
What are your impossible goals?
With the New Year upon us, goal setting is a trendy topic. Few business leaders have been as eccentric and unpredictable as Ted Turner in setting and meeting their goals. He took pleasure in choosing goals that seemed impossible to achieve. He created the first “superstation” television station, WTBS, which broadcast nationwide through a network of local cable television operators. Read more
Hot (or cold?) sales incentives
Fargo, ND as a sales incentive trip? In the WINTER? You betcha. Well, not really — more of a “disincentive trip.” MSNBC reported that the company that makes Hot Tamales candy “offered its sales team an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii if it met its annual goals, and a trip to the nation’s arctic tundra if it didn’t.” Read more
Small ideas grow into big ideas
The debate over what is true in the recent hit movie Social Network will go on for years. The fact that Facebook has grown at extreme rates since the site was launched is not debatable. Facebook has more than 550 million users. If it were a country, it would be the third largest in the world. Read more
Use a demo to sell more
Twenty years ago, it was common for a sales person to use a demo or a model of their product in the sales process. If you sold truck tires, the sales person may have traveled with examples of the multi-ply rubber to show off the strength of the multi-ply rubber. If you sold camping tents, you may have a miniature version of each tent. Read more
3 concepts every business can learn and use – for free
What we have to offer can be boiled down to one concept: the power of zero. We get more done with less of just about everything, from our people to our workplaces to our vendors. Zilch is what drives us to be more innovative, more passionate, more creative. Read more
Business lessons from a sneaker
Million-dollar sponsorship deals for athletes are commonplace today, and one book brings the past to life and explains how it all started. Sneaker Wars by Barbara Smit tells the fascinating true story of the enemy brothers behind Puma and Adidas. Their feud fed the ambitions of many entrepreneurs and shaped sports sponsorships forever. Read more
Big challenges ahead of big dreams?
Big dreams often come with challenges and hurdles that must be navigated and overcome. No matter the obstacle, dreams are at the core of most great ideas. But what if the barrier was a law that would not allow you to pursue your dream? Here are three people who would not let that stop them. Read more