If you ask me, integrity is the backbone of any good business—no, great business. But it’s a broad term, one that people find more difficult to define than, say, “results-oriented.” And without knowing what integrity is, it’s almost impossible to live it.

So, what does integrity mean to me? Well, to start:

• Delivering what you promise, when you promise.

Without even talking about how diverse the marketplace is and how quickly buyers can go elsewhere to find what they’re looking for, it’s simply the right Read the rest of this entry »

When I lived in L.A., I was fortunate enough to take part in a number of really fantastic film projects. Either as an actor, producer, or director, I dove headlong into making these projects a success, and to some extent, they all were. I worked on one film, however, where the environment was completely different from all the rest: It was all about the product.

In this project, we were there to do a job, and that job was to make an exceptional film. Okay, no problem; that was always the case. But on this project, it came at a pretty big sacrifice: the people. In other words, it was more important to Read the rest of this entry »

After our morning call with Katie, Annie reached out to talk privately with me to check in and see if there was some unresolved tension from last week.  I admitted that last night I had gotten nervous about our call today because I’m starting to feel how these calls impact my week.  With so much else in life feeling all over the place (especially my own businesses), my anxiety struck late last night and I jumped in to dictate the direction of today’s call without letting Annie in on the “why”.  I usurped her role as story guide and jumped in to lead.  I was feeling like Read the rest of this entry »

Last night I shared with my story guide Annie Hart that I needed us to have a structured call today.  Since our call last week I was beginning to feel a bit desperate and depressed, like we had fallen off track.  Thankfully, because I am a story guide myself, I was able to pin point quickly that and ask Annie for structure. A few weeks ago, Annie and I had created a blue print for some of the book and had yet to dive into the detailed stories in that model we had created.  So today, we did just that and the call felt incredibly successful again.  There are times to be philosophical and big picture and then there are times to dive into the trenches and do the work.  Today we Read the rest of this entry »

It’s easy to get comfortable once you come up with an exceptional product. It’s easy to take that product—and the process that created it—and keep duplicating it, making small changes every so often to keep it “new” and “relevant” while pretty much leaving innovation at the door. “Why reinvent the wheel?” you might ask. Or, “If it’s not broken, why fix it?” Both of these rhetorical questions are, of course, clichés—what people fall back on when they’re too lazy to come up with original ideas. That laziness is also exactly what the questions represent.

To provide a product that is truly inspiring, you have to be Read the rest of this entry »

They say money can’t buy happiness; it also can’t buy solutions to real business problems—you know, the ones that keep you up at night. Sure, it can buy new accounting software or allow for a clever ad campaign, but what about the issues that arise during day-to-day business? What about the client who isn’t satisfied with the product, or the complications that can occur when you spread yourself too thin? How about finding ways to show buyers that your product or service is worth the expense, even in a down economy? Situations like this require creative thinking, not dollar bills.

The temptation to use money to solve business problems Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re looking for some great tips to improve your business writing, check out the following article, “The Ultimate Guide to Better Business Writing: 100 Tips, Tools, and Resources.” It’s a comprehensive list of exceptional resources for business writers.

http://onlinedegreeprograms.org/blog/2009/the-ultimate-guide-to-better-business-writing-100-tips-tools-and-resources/