We’ve all heard the maxim around the importance of making a strong first impression. Yet, for so many of us, consistently making a great first impression isn’t something we really think about…that is, until we hear some of the science around it. It turns out that first impressions–particularly around trustworthiness–are made in literally a tenth of a […]

Few among us don’t know that as leaders one of our primary responsibilities is to think about the future and position our organizations within that future.  Of course, that’s much easier said than done–in practice, it’s just plain hard to do.  That said, there are always a few current books out there on the topic that […]

One thing we’ve learned in the real estate business over more than forty years is that in so many circumstances we have a tendency to assess a partnership on both cash flow and price while discounting the human element of the people within the partnership. Perhaps ironically, if we imagine a deal in terms of a […]

In what remains one of, if not the tightest, labor markets in history making sure our teams are well composed is one of the hardest challenges the business community is facing right now.  Across industries, making sure the right people are on the bus is in many cases the pivotal value proposition in the eyes […]

As we build our businesses, one key leadership philosophy we’ll all wrestle with is the dynamic around building a centralized versus a decentralized business model. While there is a lot of worthy thinking around what model works best for what goal, from a leadership perspective it’s key to understand the pros and cons of the different models […]

One sure sign that you’re on the path of an entrepreneur is the common dynamic that by solving one emergent problem you often create two others; for example, you solve for expediency in one way by creating higher costs and more risk in another way. Of course, the mark of the entrepreneur is both to know […]

Few among us aren’t overwhelmed to some extent by the sheer volume of our electronic communication traffic–phone calls, emails, texts, chats, and team/zoom platforms are growing in their demands for our time. While in many ways that’s a good thing, it can also be a bad thing as it relates to our effectiveness as business leaders. […]

As we all try and achieve a good balance in our working lives between planning for the future and reacting to the present, few among us get it right all of the time. In fact many of us, truth be told, probably spend 9 out of 10 working minutes on reaction as compared to proaction. While […]

As spring begins to arrive, it’s a great time to reflect on any personal habits we’d like to improve upon whether it’s starting new ones, continuing ones that are working well, or even–and this is the hardest part–stopping ones that don’t work anymore, now is the time. As we remember our pain points from last year, […]

Just about all of us would agree that strategic thinking is vital to the success of our businesses over the long-term and yet at the same time just about all of us will, on a daily basis, have a lot of other pressing tasks that make dedicating the time to think about our businesses strategically an […]

Here’s to a welcome New Year in what remains an unsettling world.  In our business communities here in Currituck, it looks to be another strong one whether around Moyock or on the jam-packed Outer Banks.  It’s a great problem to have–we remain a great place to live, work, learn, and visit.  To meet the demands […]

The end of the year is a time for family, joy, and reflection. This past year leaves us all with a combination of success and reflection–the bruises, the lessons learned, the great people, and the journeys of our business all combine to hopefully cast a light into the future. This December, perhaps the most important […]

With the summer heat behind us, many within the business community are only now beginning to get a chance to take a breath and think about the summer season and the current business environment beyond next week. With that opportunity comes the chance to be both self-aware in our own performance and also self-reflective from an […]

The topic of the summer has, without question, been the challenge of meeting record demand with a labor pool that’s simply too small to meet that demand. Business owners and managers continue to struggle with rising costs, staffing shortages, and yet still providing an experience to a customer that makes them want to return again. The reasons […]

By Clark Twiddy President, Twiddy & Company In this month of heat and crowds, few, if any of us, in public-facing businesses don’t come home on occasion and share with our friends and loved ones an experience with an emotional customer. While it’s a great thing to share the frustrations around what is an all-too-common […]

In this most busy of summers, few if any of us in the business community aren’t swamped with good problems.  While we all wrestle, and rightly so, with the here and now it’s also always worth a few moments at the end of day to think about the long-term as well.  In that sense, two […]

In this most busy of summer seasons, business leaders across industries are being taxed and tried like never before. Whether it’s grinding labor shortages, wholly uncertain supply chains, or even the breathlessly spiking costs of materials, we remain, even with the pandemic hopefully behind us, still in uncharted waters. As we continue to climb over daily […]

By Clark Twiddy President, Twiddy & Company Good decisions guide us to achievement, and bad decisions, when done with self-awareness and self-reflection, guide us to improvement. If there is one thing we’ve all learned from the pandemic, it’s that in our business lives no matter our planning we’ll still always have to react to the […]

By Clark Twiddy President, Twiddy & Company “How we think is as important as what we think–meaning less risk around the future and a higher probability of success.” We all value business experience, and yet at the same time, very few, if any of us, can define what it is measurably. It’s not an inability […]

By Clark Twiddy President, Twiddy & Company In a time when many of us are thankful to simply get through the business day, the art and science of well-executed decision-making patterns, in many cases, take a back seat to the simple busyness of the day. While the never-ending temptation to respond immediately to any stimulus […]