Everywhere you go, you take your full potential with you. Everyone does. Employees show up like presents waiting to unwrap – all that potential. What a gift! And yet, so much potential is never realized, never unwrapped.

Have you tapped into your employees’ potential? (more…)

As a motorcycle rider and all-around adrenalin junkie, it occurred to me that leaders could apply a lot of the same rules to their business as one does when navigating the world on 2 wheels.

Here are 3 tips on how to keep your business “shiny side up”:

1. Look Through the Curve: As a rider, you’re taught to stretch your eyes around the curve. Why? Because shortsighted riders typically misjudge turn radii thereby taking less efficient or sometimes disastrous paths through. All too often, business leaders are focused on the day-to-day not looking ahead to the future. It’s important to know where you stand today but you won’t move a business in any meaningful way without a firm vision and clear goals.
   
2. Keep Your Eyes Up: When riding a motorcycle, wherever you look is where your bike (and body!) will end up. This advice is fairly easy to follow except when you find yourself off-balance and beginning to falter. Naturally, the first place you want to look is down. But if you keep your eyes there, guess what? You’ve sealed your fate. The same goes for leaders. It’s especially true in a time of recession where the tendency may be to lead from a place of fear and scarcity. The leaders who are finding success in these tough times are the ones remaining optimistic, building confident cultures, and adjusting with the times.
3. Speed is Your Friend: Anything on two wheels or one, long plain requires speed for stability. Ever try to stay aboard your bicycle at a stoplight? It’s not easy. As with many things, momentum is a driving force in achieving long-term, sustained success. Leaders who are timid and gun shy to pull the trigger on decisions are typically not long for this world (the corporate world, that is). Don’t be caught up in “analysis paralysis”, find a way to make informed decisions while keeping your team moving. As Google says, “Fail fast, fail smart.”

These are just a few applicable lessons learned from being a responsible rider. What tips would you share?

In an industry where winning is quite literally everything, the Washington Nationals are doing something a little different. Having signed Stephen Strasburg, the #1 MLB draft pick in 2009, the last-place Nationals have landed themselves a phenomenal pitcher. One that is breaking rookie records while striking out the toughest hitters in baseball.

All of this adds up to dollars and wins for the Nationals. Every time they put Strasburg in they stand to gain another “W” in the win column along with significantly increased revenues – improved ticket sales, concessions, advertising revenue, and merchandise sales. Cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching. Not to mention the nice overall marketing “bump” in what has become a fascinating story to watch in major league baseball. (more…)

Politically Correct. What does that mean exactly? Are we trying so hard to be politically correct that we have removed the meat from the bun? “Where’s the beef?”

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As a new year rolls over, many companies have new strategies to undertake — some more scary than others. Here at Fierce, we have identified a new business model that stands to add quite a few dollars to the bottom line in addition to bringing us more in line with our vision. It also requires a significant shift in thinking along with a large dose of courage. Because this one, you see, will require some serious risk-taking.

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