Tag: Profiles

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How to Deploy Successful Leadership through an Economic Downturn.

How to Deploy Successful Leadership through an Economic Downturn.

How to Deploy Successful Leadership through an Economic Downturn.

Economists across the board are anticipating an economic downturn moving throughout 2023. This type of prediction (and constant recession talk) can send a chill through customers, employees, and other C-suite executives alike. Don’t let that fear run your business.

Gone are the days of the stoic CEO who dutifully manages stressors behind-the-scenes on behalf of the whole company. Customers, employees, and other C-suite executives expect a CEO to display true leadership through transparency. During an economic downturn, one of the most important things to remember is that trust can be broken easily but is incredibly hard to rebuild (especially in a workplace).

To weather the storm, CEOs should prepare to be authentic and transparent.

Providing a united foundation and building trust with employees during tough times is incredibly important to the survival of a company through a recession.

Here are some best practices for CEOs to employ during uncertain times…

Remain Consistently Transparent

Transparency is key in times of trouble. Whether it’s monthly or quarterly business updates – provide your employees with honest information about the company (and their career paths). It’s important for everyone to understand how the company is tracking against its goals. This reporting can give your employees a picture of what roadblocks the team is up against and can help to limit anxiety for those who jump to “doomsday” scenarios.

Exceptional leadership means communicating a strategic plan (that’s updated over time) to remedy any issues or bad reports. It’s important to not only develop a plan but to remain consistent with your communication regarding updates of the plan’s progress. Ensure that your C-suite is on board as you work collectively toward the same goals.

Prioritize Accountability

Placing goals on display (especially for yourself and for the company as a whole) is a great way to create transparency. This can also drive accountability and help to channel anxious energy. Those who are worried about job security may feel more inclined to work toward smaller and larger goals collectively versus floundering as they worry about their employment.

Keep in mind that an economic downturn may not be the most opportune time to set an incredibly high bar for success. Providing a roadmap for employees to follow can help your team grow together. Collective goals and accountability may also drive innovative ideas and solutions to challenges that your company may be facing in the midst of an economic downturn.

Allow the Free Flow of Ideas

It may be easier to force the direction forward (against all odds) in times of crisis – but the best leaders leave space for great ideas. Developing new processes during difficult times like economic downturns can mean one company surviving over another.

Ensure that your company is adequately prepared to listen and encourage the free flow of ideas during tough times. Foster mutual respect and open spaces for employees to feel valued when they speak. This will help with overall employee retention during an economic downturn as well.

Don’t Hide Bad News

Transparency and openness applies to the bad news as well. While sharing bad news may be uncomfortable, it can help to build trust and eliminate rumors. Rallying around true and accurate results of a company will unify a team to find solutions moving forward. This style of communication can also help with developing a strategic roadmap.

Embrace Candidates who can Tackle Adversity

Successful leaders will build teams that can weather adversity. Those who are able to identify, interview, and hire the right candidates will better succeed through times of crisis. Employees who believe they can persevere to win are much more likely to foster an environment of success than those who readily play the victim during challenges.

Are you ready to weather the 2023 storm?

Will you incorporate any of these leadership tactics to weather the economic downturn in 2023? Have you already been through challenging times in the past? Do you have mentors that you can turn to for advice during adversity? We’d love to hear from you. *

Click here to order on Amazon or to read more.

We would love to hear your comments.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.

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Change is hard. Perhaps even more so when it comes to technology.

Change is hard. Perhaps even more so when it comes to technology.

Fear of technology can thwart the growth of your business, leave you disengaged with your customers and keep you lagging behind your competition. But instead of fearing technological change in your business, now just might be the perfect time to embrace it.

Easier said than done? Well, you can start by reading this article from The Alternative Board titled “How Technology Can Help Increase Productivity.”

https://www.thealternativeboard.com/blog/how-technology-can-help-increase-productivity

#tabboards #businessocoaching #technology #productivity

Have you taken a look at our new book? Check it out today!

Click here to order on Amazon or to read more.

We would love to hear your comments.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.

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My New Book Is Here!

How to claim your power: Become who you want to be

How to claim your power: Become who you want to be.

Are you ready to get more of what you want? To become who you want to be? To build confidence to make better decisions? If you want to get unstuck and move forward, this book is for you. The framework Gary Brunson leads readers through is one that has brought help, healing, and personal insights to hundreds of people throughout his career, first as a psychotherapist and for the past few decades as an in-demand executive consultant to business owners and entrepreneurs.

The model set forth here provides an avenue to becoming more aware of the filters we default to and the patterns of response we might not even realize we have. It is for those who want to better understand themselves as well as for leaders who want to create more emotionally healthy workplaces.

The overarching frame for this book is three things that we have control of in our lives:
1. How we are going to turn up each day
2. What we decide we are going to be, become, and try to accomplish with the life we have left.
3. How we view all experiences of our past, and what we choose to do with them in our present and future life.

Doing the first two things requires us to intentionally reconnect with ourselves to reclaim the power we already have to be the creator of the life we want from this moment forward to the end of our lives. Then and only then can we execute those first two things, jettison the role of a victim, and live out our power to be the self-determined creator of our own lives.

We have all scripted ourselves to manage our lives in hundreds of ways. We operate daily out of automatic patterns of behavior, and mostly we are unaware of the fullness of those patterns or where they have come from. It pays to examine them when something happens that puts us in a situation about which we feel a strong emotion such as sadness, anger, scare, happiness, excitement, or tenderness. Brunson provides what he calls Golden Questions to gently interrogate those emotions when we experience them, as a means to reveal the existence and source of those patterns.

You’ll appreciate Brunson’s practical wisdom and story-telling whether you are a young adult launching on your own, a CEO or owner of a company who wants to take your businesses to the next level, or you just think it’s time for life transformation.

Click here to order on Amazon or to read more.

We would love to hear your comments.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.

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25 Digital Must Haves to Drive Traffic, Sales and Leads

FREE WEBINAR

25 Digital Must Haves to Drive Traffic, Sales and Leads

You know the digital landscape offers a lot of opportunities, but you just don’t know where to begin. This webinar will show you a step-by-step plan for increasing sales and generating buzz online. In this webinar, you will also learn the strategies needed to create a lead generation funnel, increase referrals, cultivate brand awareness, and attract targeted traffic to your website.

Watch this webinar free and on-demand at The Alternative Board (TAB).

https://www.thealternativeboard.com/webinar/digital-drive-traffic-leads

#tabboards #businesscoaching #digitalsolutions

Have you taken a look at our new book? Check it out today!

Click here to order on Amazon or to read more.

We would love to hear your comments.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.

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How to Build an Exceptional Team (and a Positive Workplace Culture)

How to Build an Exceptional Team (and a Positive Workplace Culture)

How to Build an Exceptional Team (and a Positive Workplace Culture)

Hiring and talent growth are two of the most important pieces to grow an exceptional workplace culture over time. Here’s what to look for as you work towards a healthier corporate vibe.

Managing a workforce is significantly easier when you have a healthy and productive internal workplace culture. An exceptional team culture can also help with attracting customers, hiring impactful talent, and bringing the right investors and leadership to your business. Workplace culture can be a major key to unlocking productivity, longevity, and success for any business.

While specific office culture expectations may be dependent on the type of industry that you’re in, there are definitely some patterns that can be seen across all workplaces. Here are some places that you can get started to build a better corporate team.

Sharing Responsibility is Key (Learn to Delegate)

Leadership should always remember that the ultimate aim of the game in business is to delegate. Sharing responsibility with your employees is one of the most important pieces to building a healthy corporate culture. By properly delegating, employees are able to best use their skills and talent to push the business forward.

Relying on delegation as a management tactic also forces you to grow your team in ways that will best help the business at the time that you’re growing. For example, if you delegate payroll and invoicing duties to a new employee you will require a specific skill set to complete that labor. This natural growth through recognizing business needs allows leaders to better use their time for sales, strategy, oversight, and growth.

Being cognizant and self-aware is one of the most important parts of delegation. What can you handle best? What can your team members handle best? What are your current gaps in service? How can you improve those gaps over time? This is all part of big-picture delegation and corporate culture development over time.

Hire for Values (and Ability)

In North America, a majority of employees believe that culture is just as (or more) important than a company’s strategy or its operations. New hires should match your corporate values and should possess some demonstration of ability. It’s not necessarily about hard skills during the hiring process – get deeper than what you see on the resume. Get to know who your potential candidate is as a person and try to determine what their work ethic is like.

Does your candidate seem able and capable? Are they like-minded to yourself and your values? Do they provide insight or opinions that excite you? Is the candidate genuinely enthusiastic? All of these questions can help you find talent that is better aligned with your pursuit of growing a healthy corporate culture.

Provide a Great Onboarding Experience

Part of building the right corporate culture is starting where it counts with new hires. Designing a course that spans days or weeks can be a great way to help onboard new employees to ensure they feel comfortable in a vulnerable time.

During onboarding, new hires should meet the other coworkers that their job may be impacted by. New employees should also be well-trained on all tasks, programs, processes, and software that they need to know to complete their job. Demonstrating a bold dedication to employees’ professional development can win major points in your battle for better corporate culture. Provide support without question when it is needed.

It’s time to start hiring for better corporate culture!

As you continue on your path of leadership, don’t let corporate culture fall by the wayside. Employee retention, investor attraction, and customer satisfaction all rely on healthy corporate culture. Try some of these tactics during your hiring process and you may find that your business can soar to new heights!

We would love to hear from you. Please contact us today!

Have you taken a look at our new book? Check it out today!

Click here to order on Amazon or to read more.

We would love to hear your comments.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.

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Business Trends you Need to Know as a Small Business Owner

Business Trends you Need to Know as a Small Business Owner

Business Trends you Need to Know as a Small Business Owner

There are five big trends forecasted this year that may alter the small business landscape. Here’s what you should be thinking of as you implement your strategic plan…

The early months of the year are the best time to plan your annual business outlook. This is the perfect time to determine where your challenges and opportunities lie. A “big picture” vision can also allow you to budget according to your marketing strategies and how you foresee your business moving through the year.

It may be easy to get caught up in the minutiae of the daily operations but small business owners owe it to themselves to take time to think about the year ahead. This is especially true facing a potential economic downturn and at a time when staff tensions are high regarding wages, cost-of-living, and inflation.

Taking the time to be mindful about the year ahead is important. Here are 5 trends that you should consider moving into this year and beyond as a small business owner.

TREND 1: Plan for the Economic Forecast

Economists and business professionals alike are anticipating an economic downturn throughout 2023. This could cause a chill with customers and investors. As a small business owner, it’s important to build in a plan that can help you weather the storm. Prioritize marketing goods or services that you believe can be strong through a recession. Invest in equipment and technology when you need it – but don’t overdo it.

Cut back on unnecessary spending and maintain transparent communication with your employees and current investors. Consider increasing your marketing budget in certain areas and cutting in others. It would be wise to double down on the marketing investments that make sense.

Finally, don’t forget to measure your success over time. As an economic downturn is occurring, it’s important to be ready to pivot at a moment’s notice. Keep a close eye on your performance, KPIs, and other data that can help you make the most informed decisions possible as a small business owner.

TREND 2: Big Picture Visioning

It can be easy to slip into a routine of daily tasks as a business owner. Keeping your head above water on a daily basis can be hard. The new year is a great time to force yourself to take a “big picture” assessment of your business. Approach your resolutions for the business like goals and stick to them over time.

TREND 3: Stay Up-to-Date on Technology and Processes

While an overhaul on the technological and process front can take time and money – it’s usually worth it for the efficiency returns. Those who stay nimble and pivot in terms of processes stand to gain the most in turbulent economic times. Maintaining an updated technology network can also spell success with regard to the future outlook of your business.

There are some things that may be easier to incorporate into your business than others. Small business owners should consider automated payroll, better HR services or platforms, cashless payment methods, customer relationship management (CRM) systems like Hubspot, project management software, and enhanced cybersecurity methods. These are all fairly easy technologies to implement and can result in massive returns over time for both corporate culture and your business’s bottom line.

Don’t just invest in these strategies without measuring the results. Be sure to monitor how new processes or tech are impacting your business and don’t be afraid to pivot.

TREND 4: Find a Community or Mentors

Explore organizations or mentors within your industry that you may be able to lean on for advice. Intentionally creating a community of like-minded small business owners around you can make the challenges seem less daunting. You may also be able to find support through social media communities.

TREND 5: Hiring Practices and Talent Retention is Key!

Hiring for the long-term is important as the economy may take a turn for the worst. Having employees that you can trust both in the workplace and beyond has immeasurable value on your mental health as a business owner. Hiring aside, focus on talent retention to ensure that employees aren’t leaving for “greener pastures” during challenging times. Hire, train, and retain those who are confident in the face of adversity and difficult times.

We would love to hear your comments about these trends. Contact us today.

Have you taken a look at our new book? Check it out today!

Click here to order on Amazon or to read more.

We would love to hear your comments.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.

Posted on

My New Book Is Here!

How to claim your power: Become who you want to be

How to claim your power: Become who you want to be.

Are you ready to get more of what you want? To become who you want to be? To build confidence to make better decisions? If you want to get unstuck and move forward, this book is for you. The framework Gary Brunson leads readers through is one that has brought help, healing, and personal insights to hundreds of people throughout his career, first as a psychotherapist and for the past few decades as an in-demand executive consultant to business owners and entrepreneurs.

The model set forth here provides an avenue to becoming more aware of the filters we default to and the patterns of response we might not even realize we have. It is for those who want to better understand themselves as well as for leaders who want to create more emotionally healthy workplaces.

The overarching frame for this book is three things that we have control of in our lives:
1. How we are going to turn up each day
2. What we decide we are going to be, become, and try to accomplish with the life we have left.
3. How we view all experiences of our past, and what we choose to do with them in our present and future life.

Doing the first two things requires us to intentionally reconnect with ourselves to reclaim the power we already have to be the creator of the life we want from this moment forward to the end of our lives. Then and only then can we execute those first two things, jettison the role of a victim, and live out our power to be the self-determined creator of our own lives.

We have all scripted ourselves to manage our lives in hundreds of ways. We operate daily out of automatic patterns of behavior, and mostly we are unaware of the fullness of those patterns or where they have come from. It pays to examine them when something happens that puts us in a situation about which we feel a strong emotion such as sadness, anger, scare, happiness, excitement, or tenderness. Brunson provides what he calls Golden Questions to gently interrogate those emotions when we experience them, as a means to reveal the existence and source of those patterns.

You’ll appreciate Brunson’s practical wisdom and story-telling whether you are a young adult launching on your own, a CEO or owner of a company who wants to take your businesses to the next level, or you just think it’s time for life transformation.

Click here to order on Amazon or to read more.

We would love to hear your comments.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.

Posted on

What Are Your Social Media Efforts Doing for Your Business?

Social Media Analytics: What Are Your Social Media Efforts Doing for Your Business?

A few quick questions about your social media: What data do you focus on for determining Twitter ROI? Facebook? Where do you go to find that information? Our BOSS webinar will guide you through which data to drill down on and where it lives.

We will demonstrate how to use:

  • Google Analytics
  • Facebook Insights
  • Twitter
  • Other resources for monitoring and reporting

Watch now, free and on-demand at The Alternative Board (TAB).

https://www.thealternativeboard.com/webinar/social-media-analytics

We would love to hear from you. Please contact us today!

Have you taken a look at our new book? Check it out today!

Click here to order on Amazon or to read more.

We would love to hear your comments.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.

Posted on

My New Book Is Here!

How to claim your power: Become who you want to be

How to claim your power: Become who you want to be.

Are you ready to get more of what you want? To become who you want to be? To build confidence to make better decisions? If you want to get unstuck and move forward, this book is for you. The framework Gary Brunson leads readers through is one that has brought help, healing, and personal insights to hundreds of people throughout his career, first as a psychotherapist and for the past few decades as an in-demand executive consultant to business owners and entrepreneurs.

The model set forth here provides an avenue to becoming more aware of the filters we default to and the patterns of response we might not even realize we have. It is for those who want to better understand themselves as well as for leaders who want to create more emotionally healthy workplaces.

The overarching frame for this book is three things that we have control of in our lives:
1. How we are going to turn up each day
2. What we decide we are going to be, become, and try to accomplish with the life we have left.
3. How we view all experiences of our past, and what we choose to do with them in our present and future life.

Doing the first two things requires us to intentionally reconnect with ourselves to reclaim the power we already have to be the creator of the life we want from this moment forward to the end of our lives. Then and only then can we execute those first two things, jettison the role of a victim, and live out our power to be the self-determined creator of our own lives.

We have all scripted ourselves to manage our lives in hundreds of ways. We operate daily out of automatic patterns of behavior, and mostly we are unaware of the fullness of those patterns or where they have come from. It pays to examine them when something happens that puts us in a situation about which we feel a strong emotion such as sadness, anger, scare, happiness, excitement, or tenderness. Brunson provides what he calls Golden Questions to gently interrogate those emotions when we experience them, as a means to reveal the existence and source of those patterns.

You’ll appreciate Brunson’s practical wisdom and story-telling whether you are a young adult launching on your own, a CEO or owner of a company who wants to take your businesses to the next level, or you just think it’s time for life transformation.

Click here to order on Amazon or to read more.

We would love to hear your comments.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.

Posted on

3 Technology Hacks to Improve Workplace Productivity

Technology affords us so many amazing opportunities. But technology can also be a vehicle for time-wasting activities. And cell phones are surely one of our biggest distractions. When we are on our devices, it is easy to get sidetracked and be unproductive.

But here’s the paradox. That little time waster in your hand also may contain the solutions to move you back to productivity. There are so many time and productivity apps at your disposal, so much so that it can be overwhelming to find the one that best suits your needs.

We asked three TAB members to take the guesswork out for you, and they came up with simple tools to improve productivity. Read about their productivity tips in this article titled “3 Technology Hacks to Improve Workplace Productivity.” Only at The Alternative Board (TAB).

https://www.thealternativeboard.com/blog/3-technology-hacks-to-improve-workplace-productivity

We would love to hear from you. Please contact us today!

Have you taken a look at our new book? Check it out today!

Click here to order on Amazon or to read more.

We would love to hear your comments.

Gary Brunson
gary@myclearfocus.com

Debra Rider
debra@myclearfocus.com

574.361.2674

Sustainable Growth & Profit Consultant, Coach, Mentor and Counselor/Therapist for Business Owners and Professionals.

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