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Leading with the Ladder of Inference, Part 1

The Ladder of Inference is a metacognitive model that that explains the thinking process people go through as they make judgments about certain situations and other people’s actions. It was created by Chris Argyris, a business theorist, in the 1970s as a way to help leaders make more informed decisions while avoiding cognitive bias. The goal ...
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Getting the Most Out of Business Coaching

As much as we’d love for it to be, business coaching isn’t a magic wand or miracle that instantly transforms all your professional woes into solved problems. It’s a process with growing pains, frustrations, and cognitive dissonance.  Unfortunately, people often enter coaching relationships with the expectation that a couple of problem-solving sessions will take care of ...
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Your Small Business Got a Bad Online Review: What Now?

Small business owners know online reviews matter, but to what extent? A report from Brightlocal helps quantify their importance, noting these startling statistics: 98% of people read local business reviews at least “occasionally.”53% of retailers say that online reviews increase their in-store sales.40% of consumers say they only consider a business if it has a 4-star rating ...
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Thanksgiving Quotes for Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders

As we near the end of another year, we have the opportunity to reflect on all we have to be thankful for– Owning a business, leading an incredible team, learning something new, or simply surviving another year in tough economic conditions.  While it’s not easy to look back on every event with a grateful heart, expressing ...
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Do I Need a Business Coach?

If you’ve been a business leader or owner for a while, there’s a good chance you’ve already considered working with a third party to help accelerate your growth and reflect on your professional processes.  Perhaps you’ve hit a rut and aren’t seeing the same results that you were a year ago, or you’ve consistently hit every ...
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Hiring and Recruiting in 2023: Who is Your Ideal Employee?

What comes to mind as you think about your business goals for 2023? For many, it’s how to grow their team with talented employees with a thorough, effective hiring and recruiting strategy.  It’s been years since applying for a job entailed completing a paper application, going through an interview, and making a final decision.  Today, thanks to ...
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It’s Time to Bring an End to the “Work Family” Culture

Employees are becoming increasingly wary of job postings that contain phrases like “We’re a work family” or “Join our company family.” Still, many industry leaders are left pondering why job seekers wouldn’t want to join in on such a tight-knit company culture.  The aptly named “Great Resignation” has left many seeking opportunities with companies that allow ...
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Prioritizing Your Small Business Goals

Decisions, decisions, decisions.  As a small business owner, you’re already familiar with the sheer number of choices you have to make in a day, from what to wear when you wake up in the morning to whether you should invest your already-tight budget in more inventory.  Obviously, those two tasks don’t share the same level of importance ...
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Researching Customer Pain Points

Now that you understand the types of customer pain points–process, support, financial, and productivity– you can start researching customer pain points to identify the specific barriers that your business needs to address.  The best approach is to use a mix of qualitative and quantitative research. Leaning too heavily on numbers removes the customer voice and humanity, ...
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Customer Pain Points, Part I: The 4 Types

As the name implies, customer pain points are a pain to think about. Correcting them requires time, energy, and resources you may not have on hand at the time, or you feel it’s a non-issue, even if your customers don’t.  However, brands willing to put the time into creating a smooth, simple process for the customers ...
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