25 "To Do's" in Uncertain Times

1. Communicate regularly with your team and with your clients

2. Take time to think about things…especially when you are stressed out

3. Cut your losses early and cut deep – you would be surprised how many people step up to the plate after you get rid of the fat

4. Stay close to your key relationships – if you don’t have a very strong relationship with them – fix this right away (this includes vendors/partners/clients/etc)

5. Trim the fat (kind of like #3)

6. Incentivize your team – do more with less

7. Use technology whenever possible to make things easier (it will also save you money in the long run)

8. Negotiate better pricing

9. Measure everything – we all have key indicators for our business health (don’t just look at profits either)

10. Watch your key indicators (again – similar to #9)

11. Eliminate unproductive people

12. Invest in training your staff and yourself

13. Sell more to your existing customers

14. Offer incentives to your clients

15. Go to conferences to learn and network

16. Visit and befriend your competitors…he said this has been very helpful in growing his business…you can learn a lot

17. Do not slash your marketing budget – this is the time to spend

18. Always find opportunities in adversity

19. Your advisors should challenge your assumptions

20. Do not worry about what you can’t control (I thought this was a really great one)…

21. Keep a great attitude

22. Go to the gym

23. Hope for the best but prepare for the worst

24. Do not panic

25. Make it fun!!!

Everyday Leader of the Week

I got a nice mention on Dan Mulhern's, Michigan's First Gentleman, radio show, Every Day Leadership with Dan Mulhern, this past Saturday October 11, 2008. He referenced my recent blog post entitled "It's Our Turn to Lead."

Dan also mentioned the blog post on his own blog, Reading for Leading, this morning. I was mentioned in the same breath with Governor Granholm, pretty cool stuff.