Archive for September, 2007.
By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
It has been my experience that most businesses fall into either one of two categories when it comes to marketing and collateral material…They either understand how to leverage collateral material to add value to the sales and branding process or they don’t. I’ve personally witnessed any number of companies that have very little, if any collateral material because it’s viewed as a frivolous expenditure of funds. Conversely I’ve observed other companies who massively over spend on the development of their collateral material only to suffer from under utilization, or worse yet no utilization at all of the material created. In today’s post I’ll provide some guidelines for getting the most bang for your buck with regard to your corporae collateral material…
By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
Today’s post is a follow-up to Friday’s blog regarding Iranian President Ahmadinejad’s invitation to speak at Columbia University (If you didn’t read the original piece start here). I hadn’t intended to follow-up on Ahmadinejad’s speech yesterday, but the combination of inquiries and post debate fall-out has inspired me to do just exactly that.
By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
Today’s Myatt on Monday’s question was posed by a business school professor who asked: “Do you think we should be worried about the devaluation of the US Dollar?” While the short answer is yes, the reasons underlying the answer are both far reaching and complex. In today’s post I’ll not only give you my thinking on the US Dollar, but also its relationship to more macro economic concerns that left unchecked could give way to the potential for a US recession…
Posted on September 21st, 2007 by admin in
Rants By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
Let me begin today’s post with fair warning to those who read this blog for its business related content…While today’s topic has little to do with business, it is nonetheless something I feel compelled to address. The actions of Columbia University in inviting Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to speak to the student body are nothing short of irresponsible and in my opinion are borderline treasonous. So, if you’re in the mood for one of my infrequent but passionate rants I invite you to read on…If not, join me on Monday when we’ll get back to business as usual.
By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
While every entrepreneur has their own motivation for going into business, based on my experience the following statements reflect a valid representative sampling of the most common reasons; to create more income; to create a better life for their family; to work their own hours; to be their own boss; to have economic freedom, and; to live the American Dream.
The reasons noted above are certainly good reasons, and, perhaps in an idealistic fashion, the right reasons to go into business. However while keeping these enthusiastic ideals in mind it is perhaps even more beneficial to examine the other side of what happens to many who embark upon the path of entrepreneurship.
By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
So, what is your biggest asset? Before the masters of the obvious respond by answering whatever asset holds the most value on the balance sheet, I should state that I’m addressing this question to personal assets qualitatively measured as opposed to corporate assets being quantitatively accounted for. Even with this qualifying statement this is clearly a question that will spur vigorous debate. However I have come to believe the answer is obvious to those that have thought it through. While without question valuable and no doubt integral parts of your personal arsenal, your biggest assets are not your personal brand, your talent, your keen intellect, your charisma, your character, or other commonly thought of personal strengths or attributes. Rather your largest personal asset is the relationships you possess. In today’s post I’ll discuss the often unrecognized value of relationships.
By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
In my last post I wrote about the characteristics of good process. In reviewing yesterday’s text it dawned on me that I didn’t touch strongly enough on the single biggest factor involved in creating bad process, which is process for the sake of process. While the Nike slogan “Just Do It” has become part of our pop culture, it may not always constitute the most sound business practice. Don’t get me wrong, I have always believed that a strong bias toward action is an essential quality to be possessed by leaders. That being said, it’s just that taking action solely for the sake of action may create more problems than it solves.
By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
Doing the right thing…seems like a basic principle that most people should follow doesn’t it? One of my favorite things to write about is the topic of leadership, and one of my favorite business theorists is Peter Drucker. Peter Drucker authored more than 35 books during his lifetime, and is considered by many to be the founding father on the study of management practices. In this blog post I will breakdown one of my favorite “Druckerisms” which states that: “managers do things right, while leaders do the right things.” At first glance this statement might not seem to be all that insightful, but I believe it is a very powerful observation that highlights the difference in philosophies between most managers and leaders.
By Mike Myatt, Chief Strategy Officer, N2growth
Today’s Myatt on Monday’s question was posed by a CEO who asked: “I’ve heard reference to executive teams that utilize ‘war rooms’ for strategy development. Is this beneficial?” Let me begin by stating that any tools or techniques that bring executive teams together for the purposes of consistent and focused strategy development and refinement are marvelous things. Furthermore, any company that I have run has had at least one war room for the executive team, and often times war rooms have been assigned to each business unit or department. In today’s post I’ll cover the benefits associated with war rooms, or what I like to refer to as the place where good things happen…
