Small Things Often Make the Difference Many, if not most, of us are in the business of creating moments that matter for other people. To be sure, if we’re good at it our businesses can flourish and yet many of our toughest challenges lie not in the big picture but in the details. Customer service leader […]

Leadership, in many ways, comes down to our ability to articulate a vision and then in turn our ability to influence others around that vision. Sounds easy, of course, and yet we know in our lived experience that it’s actually very hard. Noted professor Jonah Berger, in his recent book Magic Words, suggests that there are actually a range […]

In a place defined by water in so many cases, a ready analogy for leadership strategy lies in nautical references. For example, as the economy overall continues to send a series of confoundingly mixed signals it’s important for the business community to prepare for a wide range of scenarios. In thinking about preparing our businesses, the nautical analogy is rough […]

The famous Jim Collins, of so much business thinking, in a recent executive presentation mentioned that nothing shed so much light on the true values of an organization as the decisions on who to put in key places. Said differently, Collins was suggesting the people make all the difference, even in a digital age, and that […]

As we all leap into the New Year, few among us don’t begin the year with some sense of intention–whether it’s a resolution, a new goal, or a desire for change, we all hopefully have a sense of where we’d like to be and that’s a great first step. But it’s not effective alone. As a […]

Good leaders are good learners. And that means, in many cases, good learners are also good readers and by extension, good leaders are good readers. That makes sense as we consider the behavioral science around leadership behaviors–in addition to being self-aware and self-reflective, good leaders learn from others and seek ways to apply what they’ve learned because they are future-oriented. The […]

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 […]