By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

How disruptive is your business model? While much has been written about corporate vision, mission, process, leadership, strategy, branding and a variety of other business practices, it is the engineering of these practices to be disruptive that maximizes opportunities. Without a disruptive focus you are merely building your business model on a “me too” platform of mediocrity. In today’s post I’ll examine the power of disruption as a key business driver…

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

Today’s Myatt on Mondays question comes from the CEO of a professional services company who asks: “I was watching an athletic event on TV this weekend when one of the announcers described a player as being in “the zone”. How do I find my zone as a CEO?” At first blush this question might sound a bit corny, but oh what a great question it really is…Who wouldn’t want to function at their best more often than they currently do? Wouldn’t it be a marvelous thing to be able to place yourself in the zone when needed? In today’s post I’ll provide some suggestions for operating in the zone…

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

Pricing Matters…Do you have a pricing strategy, or do you set your prices by some ethereal or arbitrary method? It is my opinion that issues surrounding pricing decisions are root level drivers to a successful business strategy. That being said, I’m always amazed at how many corporations and professional advisors seem to pull their pricing out of thin air. Moreover, of those that actually go through some form of disciplined process, many of them seem to believe that once they have set the initial pricing that their job is finished and that the topic of pricing requires no further attention…nothing could be further from the truth. In today’s post I share my thoughts on how to develop a sound pricing strategy…

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

Those of you reading this article looking for the latest lawyer joke will likely be disappointed in the text that follows. This piece is not meant to be yet another bashing session directed at the legal professional, but rather to give you solid information on how to avoid the common mistakes that even the brightest and most seasoned executives make in attempting to successfully work with and manage the attorney client relationship…

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

Anyone who has ever been in a leadership position has had to deal with the inevitable tough relationship that causes more than its fair share of brain damage. At some point in time we’ve all been involved (directly or indirectly, willingly and unwillingly) in the coporate politics of turf-wars, empire building, silo-centric ignorance, title inflated ego and arrogance etc. Regardless of the politics in play, it is a leader’s responsibility to effectively lead not only those that agree with their position, but they must also lead those that hold dissenting opinions.

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

When was the last time you received a call from the media asking you to provide an expert opinion to be included in an upcoming article? How about the last time you were invited to speak at a trade show or conference? When was the last time you authored anything that was published (and I’m not talking about an e-mail, memo or business letter)? If the aforementioned items are not happening on a regular basis then you are perhaps missing out on one of the most powerful brand building opportunities…PR.

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

A sound employment agreement is nothing to be trivialized. I recently received an e-mail from a CEO who was unceremoniously “asked” to resign by his board of directors. He asked me to author a post on the value of employment agreements in hope of preventing other CEOs from unnecessarily subjecting themselves to a forced resignation scenario. So, in today’s post I’ll outline a few items meant to help you protect your career longevity… 

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

Top leadership movies…you may thinking can anything about leadership actually be learned by watching movies? You bet. I was recently asked for my opinion about which movies I felt were the top leadership movies of all time. After thinking about my answer for a few minutes, I realized that while not all leaders are fans of cinema, all leaders can certainly learn valuable leadership lessons by watching movies with a critical and discerning eye…

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

It is my hope that today’s post will serve to help dispel the myth that ideas are inherently good things. Let me state right from the outset that I place little value on ideas. Not only do raw ideas have little intrinsic value, but they are often very costly. While I stipulate to the fact that ideas can sometimes lead to great things, I also submit that it is more frequently the case that ideas lead to disapointment, tragedy, and disaster. Those of you familiar with my work are probably wondering if it is really me authoring this text…if you’re baffled at how a champion of innovation can simultaneously be an idea basher, I urge you to read on and I promise the congruity will become apparent.

By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth

While the security aspects of intellectual property (”IP”) are often sacrificed for speed to market considerations in today’s world of mash-ups and knock-offs, I believe when it comes to IP it is possible to have your cake and eat it too. The protection of all forms of intellectual property (”IP”) should constitute common sense and require no real explanation, however the courts are littered with case law precedent that has been decisioned against some of the largest and most sophisticated companies on the planet. What should be routine business 101 protocol, can easily turn into major financial and operational debacles if you don’t have a solid grasp of IP law. In today’s post I’ll discuss the basics of identifying and protecting your intellectual property.