Earl R. Smith II's Blog, page 79
October 13, 2014
Moving the Ball
Dr. Earl R. Smith II DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com Dr-Smith.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Sometimes management teams lose focus on the fact that the principal goal of business involves producing increasing revenues. Sometimes they get caught in the trap of incessantly talking about increasing revenue. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I recently facilitated an all-hands session for a company. We were focusing on the results [...]
Sea Change Brings Change
Dr. Earl R. Smith II DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com Dr-Smith.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Change is one of those altars that is well worshiped at – not one of those forgotten gods whose supplicants infrequently visit their shrine. But wanting is not the same as having – it is sometimes not logical – but I have found it to be true. [...]
Building or Expanding a Federal Business Base: Teaming With Other Companies
By Dr. Earl R. Smith II Some of our clients are new to the federal contracting game. Most are established government contractors. They come to us because they want to expand their business with the federal government. This article focuses on one of the many approaches we use to help them do just that. We [...]
Knowing Versus Doing – Post-Success Malaise
Dr. Earl R. Smith II DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com Dr-Smith.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “What happened? We were doing so well – started out with such energy and focus. What has brought us to the very brink of disaster?” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I recently was asked to intervene in a situation that brought into focus one of the most common reasons why companies [...]
Counting the Cost
Dr. Earl R. Smith II DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com Dr-Smith.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “It seemed like such a good deal. We were getting funded and getting all this free advice to boot. Now the money is gone and the advice seems to have been less than useful.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Over the years, I have developed a habit that has served me [...]
Non-Cumulative Relationships
Dr. Earl R. Smith II DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com Dr-Smith.com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ To accumulate means that now there is more than before and then there will be more than now. It is a simple idea – then why do some people have so much trouble applying it to their lives? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Some years back I had a coaching engagement [...]
October 12, 2014
Attitudes, Agendas, Interventions and Compromises
Dr. Earl R. Smith II DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com Dr-Smith.com Crisis intervention is one of the most challenging services I offer. It is almost impossible not to be seen as some sort of grim reaper. Necessity drives the engagement at least until the company is out of the woods. And there a lot of gravestones along the path [...]
The Challenge of Cultivating Innovation – Part 3
Dr. Earl R. Smith II DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com Dr-Smith.com Inspired leadership plays a critical part in the cultivation of innovation. That part is not limited to making speeches about the need for innovation. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In the prior articles in this series, I focused on the general problems and some of the specific issues which come to fore [...]
Success Coaching – Laying the Foundation
Dr. Earl R. Smith II DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com Dr-Smith.com Foundations are important – and nowhere more so than when preparing for a career of success. Starting construction with the second story only makes it certain that the structure will fall when the winds start to blow. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~For the successful executive, the learning process never stops. The world [...]
Four Steps to Effective Delegating
Dr. Earl R. Smith II DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com Dr-Smith.com In order to be a truly effective leader or CEO you need to have mastered the art of delegation. If you want to extend your reach beyond what you can personally accomplish, you must delegate some things to other people. As an executive coach, I assist clients in [...]
