Family Business
BLOG | LEADERSHIP
Leadership Is Not What You Think
When I first started Compass Point 20 years ago, leadership was an ancillary topic. My work focused on the systems, financials, hiring the right people, and being a confidant to the owner. At the time I didn’t see it as leadership coaching, but rather as building a relationship with a client who trusted me enough to let me see the inner workings of their mind and business. I helped the person as I helped the business. Times – and leadership – have changed.
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BLOG | OWNER FINANCIAL GAP
It’s The Simple Math That Doesn’t Get Done
Family business owners are passionate about what they do. They’re working to carry on a business that family built – by their parents, grandparents, sometimes even great-grandparents and beyond. These owners are so busy providing for their employees, communities, and the next generation that they often ignore their own financial future. Boiling it down to its true essence, business is a means to building wealth. And what are we supposed to do with that wealth?
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BLOG | LEADERSHIP
Which leader are YOU?
One of the hallmarks of good leadership is to have a mindset of being a lifelong learner. When we continue to learn and apply, we become better leaders, ones who inspire our people to bring the best and who develop and hone the team’s skills to predict and delegate. That's where the lift comes in the business. That's where you take a business from good to GREAT. Great leadership multiplies and amplifies others.
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BLOG | UNCATEGORIZED
My ONE word to sum up 2021…
In the last twelve months, I have seen it all in the faces of my clients, my colleagues, and my team. I have felt it with my family, within myself, and my thoughts. While each group faced its unique challenges, there was a common need woven throughout it all for everyone this year. And that is my one word to sum up 2021 – belongingness.
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BLOG | LEADERSHIP
Attention Please. Now Boarding All High Performer
Two years ago, I boarded a plane for California. I remember it being BEFORE DAWN…which is so NOT my time of day…
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BLOG | LEADERSHIP
Multiply What Matters Most – the Genius Around You
How can you ensure you’re creating and leaving a positive leadership legacy for yourself and your team? Everyone has bad days, sure. But you need to have the good days outnumber the bad ones. How? Become a Multiplier leader. Multipliers get 200% more capability from their employees than Accidental Diminishers do.
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BLOG | SYSTEMS
Business Systems: The Key to Scaling
Have you mapped out your core business systems? Can you ensure everyone on your team understands exactly what is needed and how to complete the required steps of your processes? Are you able to transfer that knowledge to new hires and train them? How will you fill the gap if a key employee leaves?
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BLOG | FAMILY DYNAMICS / GOVERNANCE
What’s love (power & money) got to do with family business? EVERYTHING.
When I began my career in family business consulting nearly 20 years ago, I met Dean Fowler, one of the early thought leaders in the field of family business and author of several books, most notably Love, Power and Money. As it turns out, these 3 words line up perfectly with the famed 3-circle model developed by Davis and Tagiuri of the Harvard Business School in 1978, depicting the family business system - the intersecting circles of family, business, and ownership...
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BLOG | CUSTOMER
Hiring a Milkshake – A Jobs to Be Done Business Story
According to Peter Drucker, a customer rarely buys what the company thinks it’s selling. Wait, what? That’s right – what the company had in mind when first creating the product or service is likely NOT the real reason a customer will buy it. This is where I want to introduce the concept of jobs to be done...
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BLOG | LEADERSHIP
Who Should Bale the Hay?
Baling hay. It’s important & urgent work on a farm. It’s also a great business metaphor related to THE NUMBER ONE barrier to growth...
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BLOG | STRATEGY
What Sandbox Are You Playing In?
While a sandbox is an unconventional image to describe a facet of your business, it is the perfect analogy. And yes, it should conjure up images of your childhood and time spent in a shallow box filled with sand and, of course, a few toys...
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BLOG | LEADERSHIP
Motivational Posters Will Not Get You to Mars
Core Values are a handful of rules that remain constant, a way of being or believing, that your company has in place and lives by every day. These are not concepts that can be “trained” into an employee. They either have similar values or they don’t. It’s really that simple. Core Values are an integral part of your company’s DNA. Here are 3 questions that will test whether you have chosen the right ones...
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