Posts by Mike Baer

Companies that grow have learned a simple lesson: focus on the goal and discard distractions. Pure. Simple. Effective. There is no shortage of things to do, listen to, look at or work on. The question is: does that thing advance you toward your desired outcome or pull you to the side, even slightly? Conference calls,…

One of the simplest and easiest ways to grow is to bring more services or products to existing clients instead of just trying to sell to new customers. I mean think about. You already know the buyers and decision makers and already have a relationship with them. There’s a measure of trust and confidence in…

Very few live above what they accept in life. Not expect. Accept. And those few who do, do it by luck. In many parts of our lives, acceptance is a path to contentment and peace. Accepting ourselves, our families, etc. But in business, acceptance and contentment are the path to non-growth. Growth only happens when…

I was in a conversation with some colleagues this week about constraints to growth. Now, these are smart, committed leaders in our company and they were struggling with not being able to take advantage of growth opportunities that required an additional hire—the client wants us and we had to say, “No.” Needless to say they…

So I was asked to speak to a sales summit recently and landed on “4 Words.” Simple. Clear. Effective. Knowledge. Spend more time learning your business than you do talking about it. Learn your industry. Most importantly, learn your customers’ businesses. This last point matters because prospects and customers don’t care about your knowledge except…

I’m pretty sure that many of us not only think we can do it all but that we must do it all. My guess is that’s why we often go to bed frustrated, guilty, and already behind for tomorrow. Can I set the record straight?  First, you don’t have to do it all.  Second, you…

Mike Bear is a guest on the Gut Plus Science podcast discussing strategies to diagnose and treat disease in your companies culture. Hire for attitude and beliefs. Don’t hire based on competency. Skills can be trained. Beliefs—not so much. What attitude are you looking for and what kind of mindset do you need in your people? Are…

The types of companies that Jim Collins researched for Good to Great were quite large (think Wells Fargo and Kroger) so when he wrote this chapter he was looking at global corporate strategy. His point was to look at your talent and let that drive your direction. His specific points were to make sure you…

Once the “one thing” (Hedgehog Principle) is discovered, according to Collins’ research, the good-to-great companies became almost fanatical in their discipline to remain focused on it compared to the also-rans who flitted from one thing to another and turned innovation into a fetish. Squirrel! Shiny object! Collins contrasts the three types of organizations he discovered.…

Great leaders don’t just motivate and inspire; they also bring focus and clear direction. The great companies are no different; they are focused and know exactly what they should be doing and, consequently, avoid wasting energy, money and talent on things that are not core to their business. In the famous scene from City Slickers,…