Great Small Business Ideas to Start: Decision making and the paradox of choice In this last section we consider how great ideas and decisions are made, how bad ones are avoided, and the one fact that unites them all—the human mind. The idea Paradoxically, the more choices you have, the tougher life can be. This … Read more
Great Small Business Ideas to Start: Developing knowledge and intellectual capital Developing intellectual capital is imperative, as knowledge is an asset and a source of power. As Lew Platt, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, says: “If HP knew what it knows, we would be three times as profitable.” The idea Knowledge is the intellectual capital that … Read more
Great Small Business Ideas to Start: Internal promotion and succession planning Getting succession right is vital. There are two approaches that can be used at different times to ensure success. The internal selection approach advocates choosing successors from within, to ensure a smooth transition, preserve company values, and encourage employees by showing a potential career … Read more
Great Small Business Ideas to Start: User-centered innovation If users are encouraged to devise new products and services, innovative new products can be developed quickly in a way that is highly effective and popular. This approach has been championed with great success by the Danish government. The idea The first automated drug pumps and heart … Read more
Great Small Business Ideas to Start: Coaching and supervision Coaching is a vital leadership skill, and an area of business that has grown dramatically in recent years. The challenge, however, is to ensure that coaches inside and outside the organization are as effective as possible. Supervision provides an important part of the answer. The idea … Read more
Great Small Business Ideas to Start: Viral marketing Marketers from many of the largest corporations are using the internet extensively for viral marketing. When Procter & Gamble, GM, Pepsi, and most of the world’s largest brands use the internet, it opens the door and reduces the perceived risk. The idea The term “viral marketing” was … Read more
Great Small Business Ideas to Start: Web presence Despite every organization being online, the fundamentals of developing an effective website and presence online are often neglected. The best websites display at least eight out of ten key attributes. The idea If your website does ten things well, it will succeed. One organization that has an … Read more
Great Small Business Ideas to Start: Hardball Competing means striving to get ahead of the competition, but hardball goes further: it is about relentlessly developing and then sustaining a clear gap between you and your nearest rivals. It is highlighted in the article “Hardball Strategies” (Harvard Business Review, September 2006, by Lachenauer, R.; MacMillan, Ian … Read more
Great Small Business Ideas to Start: The leadership pipeline Make clear to everyone in your organization the skills they need to possess and the results they need to achieve if they are going to progress to the next level. This will help them succeed in their career, and boost your business along the way. The … Read more
Great Small Business Ideas to Start: Talent management Whatever your business, having the right people in the right roles is essential for success. Talent management ensures that you have a steady supply of one of the scarcest, most expensive, and important resources: the right people. The idea Good people are hard to find, and during … Read more
