Daily Leadership

Leadership need not be an extra commitment on top of our day job. It's how we lead, not how much, that counts.

Here are three ways to maximize our management in minimum time:

1. Turn dead time into development time. Look for every small stretch in your day when you could be talking to someone and convert each into a coaching opportunity. Walking out of a meeting? Use those two minutes to give your direct report feedback on the presentation.

2. Show up in people's workspaces. Once per day, get up and walk over to the desk of someone you haven't spoken to recently. Take two minutes to ask her what she's working on.

3. Make two contacts per day. Every day, email two people you met with that day, and offer "feedforward." Employees who know that you're trying to develop their skills stay engaged.

核心价值

这是我上了Money & You，所得到的重要收获之一。我现在能够更明确的说出我所认同的核心价值，并且让我能够更坚持地把它做得更好。

我的核心价值：信任，负责任，勇气。

做一个别人信任的人。信任是人格的张显，是最大的资产。

做一个负责任的人。不要找借口，责骂人。不要否认。

做一个有勇气的人。坚守岑诺，即使有所怀疑，还是要付出行动。

我若能教会女儿这些核心价值，这将是我留给她最大的财富。

老鼠赛跑。原地踏步

今天你是不是又陷入老鼠赛跑的圈圈，是不是又在原地踏步。

那请你停下来，去发现应该发现的，保握应该保握的。

不要忘了，适当的停，听，看，是必要的。

要记得，如果你现在不去做出必要的改变，那你的未来就跟你的过去一样。

要记得，不要像大多数人一样地使用生命中大多数的时间在赚钱，而不是规划一个值得拥有的生命。

Effective Delegation

No doubt, effective delegation is a hallmark of leadership.

Delegation is defined as follow.
- To give a task to somebody else with responsibility to act on your behalf
- To give somebody else the power to act, make decisions or allocate resources on your behalf.

The keyword here is "on your behalf". That means I am accountable.

Here are the steps for effective delegation:
1. Identify the task to delegate.
2. Document the Action Plan: the correct way to perform this task, step by step, including the quality control standards for each step.
3. Clearly specify the expected results of the delegated task. Give information on what, why, when, who, where and how.
4. Have someone follow your Action Plan. Maintain open lines of communication. Don't micro-manage, but make sure that you are kept in the loop on progress and performance.

Budgeting for Fluctuating Revenue

I am convinced, but it is so difficult to get partners to believe that we need one.

Key learning points:

1. A budget is a combination of past trends and future predictions with emphasis on profits.
2. Strange some how, but it is easy to start with expenses.
- Determine variable cost
- Determine fixed expenses
- Project break even points
3. Forecast is a projection modified to what we think will be different.
- create for both conservative and optimistic scenario
4. Review budget plan along with P&L, balance sheets and cashflow statement on regular basis

Cost Control and Good Leadership

Here's what I learned from E-myth about the importance of Good Leadership in Cost Control.

1. Set a good example
2. Keep yourself accountable
3. Manage your time
4. Never abdicate control of your finances
5. Build a culture that values cost control
6. Refine your negotiating skills
7. Perfect your recruiting and hiring process

So much about Cost Cutting

These are some key points I gathered from reading E-Myth blog.

Why cost cutting? From strategic point of view:
1. Demand in the market has dropped off, causing an unacceptable decline in profitability
2. The business is losing money and needs to return to profitability
3. The business is profitable, but management has profit objectives that require a better return at current revenue levels

What are the risks involved:
- Will you reduce your ability to compete effectively?
- Will you reduce the quality of your product?
- Will you reduce your clients' experience with your company?
- Will you reduce the goodwill you have worked so hard to build?

2 important ideas of a well thought through strategy:
1. A strategy requires you to take a step back, put things in perspective, and look at the big picture.
2. A strategy demands that you express clearly the result you intend to achieve. Cost cutting is a means and not the results, increasing profit is.

quotable quotes

Pain is inevitable; Suffering is optional.

Don't please everyone. Make sure the right people like you, and it will be expected that others will not.

How you think about your business is how you end up doing business. so look for opportunities rather than dwell on your frustrations

Your business is a reflection of how you show up as a leader.