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"...When “success” is a sprint, givers will often finish last. But when success is a marathon, givers often finish first." – Organizational Psychologist Adam Grant’s take on real intelligence. Everyone thinks it’s the smart people that can afford to be generous. But science says we’ve got it backward – it’s the generous that are truly smart. Why? Because people want to follow those who are kind. Effective leadership is selfless. And all business is built on relationships. Agree or disagree? Let’s hear your take.

What financial tasks are top of mind for you as the year wraps up? Two months (and some change) is all that’s left of 2024 – it’s time to double down on those year-end priorities. Grab a cup of coffee, reassess your annual financial goals, and figure out what steps you need to take to reach them. We’d love to hear how you’re prioritizing for EOY in the comments.

If you want to forge strong connections with your employees, you need to develop this skill… You need to listen to them. And no, this is not the kind of listening where you’re nodding your head and simultaneously thinking about your next business meeting. We mean asking questions and paying attention, AKA – active listening, which looks like: 👁️ Eye contact. 👂🏽 Paraphrasing what you hear. "What I hear you saying is…" ❓ Asking clarifying questions. Remember the 5 W's? 😀 Be present. Phone away, minimize mental traffic. 👍🏾 Affirming their thought process. Find the good. 🙌🏻 A simple thank you. "I'm glad you shared this." This is just a starting checklist for becoming an active listener. When you’re in conversations, what makes you feel heard?

How can you prepare for disaster in your business? Here's a good place to start... 💰 Keep at least three months of operating cash or liquid assets on hand to help your business survive emergencies. 📑 Understand your insurance coverage, store important documents safely, and learn about government resources like grants and emergency loans available after disasters. 👱🏽♀️👨🏼🦰 Know your customers well and be prepared to adjust your business operations to meet their needs during a crisis, just like businesses did in 2020. ⬱ Don’t rely on a single supplier. Build relationships with multiple suppliers and ensure they have their own crisis plans in place to protect your business. 📝 Start planning for potential disasters by asking “What if?” Write down your plan, share it with others, and keep refining it to ensure your business can survive tough situations.

Is your business seasonal or driven by high-volume periods? If so, a mid-month review could be a really powerful tool for helping you boost your business. ❇️ Conduct mid-month check-ins to assess progress on tasks, milestones, and overall project goals. This helps identify any roadblocks or delays early on, allowing you to take corrective action and adjust timelines if necessary. ❇️ Mid-month reviews provide an opportunity to see if your team's resources are allocated effectively. Are team members overloaded or underutilized? Can tasks be redistributed to optimize workflow and efficiency? ❇️ Schedule mid-month meetings to facilitate open communication within your team. Team members can discuss challenges, share updates, and brainstorm solutions collaboratively. This fosters transparency and accountability, keeping everyone on the same page. ❇️ Use mid-month reviews to assess project goals in light of new information or unforeseen circumstances. Are the initial goals still realistic? Do they need to be adjusted to adapt to changing priorities or market conditions? ❇️ Regular project reviews allow you to proactively identify potential risks that could derail your project. Develop contingency plans to mitigate these risks and minimize their impact on the project timeline or budget.

Ever take care of a plant? At some point, you probably noticed brown leaves and dead branches. So, you carefully picked them off or cut them away, and not long after, you saw fresh green sprouts appear. Easy to see where we’re going with this... If your business was that plant, which customers would the dead stuff be?

A quick P/L analysis starting with the following can help you see where you're at ... AND where you're headed: - Projections: Are your income sources sustainable? - Revenue - direct costs = gross margin. Examining where it’s gone over the past year can help you determine how your cash flow is likely to do near term. - Expenses: Are your biggest ones justified? Are there ways to reduce expenses overall? Need help deciphering or interpreting yours?

On a scale of 1-5, how much do you wish some of your weekly meetings were an email instead? Unfortunately, there’s no avoiding meetings completely in business –- but with a little work you can make them a little more necessary and a little less evil. Start by considering the following: - Could this meeting be done by phone call or fact sheet? - Is this going to help move work forward? - How many people should be at this meeting? - Is this the best day/time to have a meeting? - Do you have an agenda prepared in advance? Are you sticking to it? - Are the right questions being asked and answered? - Do people leave the meeting feeling like it was worthwhile?

Okay, so you've decided to start your own business and have knocked out all the legal stuff. What's next? Here are some steps you should take: ♦️ Decide on a physical location for your business, and whether that’s a lease or purchase decision ♦️ Set up your workspace ♦️ Figure out pricing and establishing relationships with supply vendors ♦️ Decide how to store and track inventory ♦️ Identify your target market, create a brand, and make a plan for reaching your audience ♦️ Hire and train employees ♦️ Set up payroll properly and designate the right amount of taxes to be taken out for your employees ♦️ Set up your technology infrastructure and ensure data security ♦️ Research insurance policies and get the right ones to protect your business ♦️ Determine how to deliver your products or services This is just a starter list. There are plenty of other things you'll have to figure out. 💡 Just remember: It's okay to adjust your plans as your business grows. And if you need some help figuring these things out, we've got time in our schedule.

If you thought America's inflation rates were high, check out the answer to question # 1 on this "How much do you know about money" quiz. It's surprising. We're feeling some extra gratitude for that Federal interest rate cut recently. https://lnkd.in/gg7bmpZC