Recent Articles From EvanCarmichael.com http://www.evancarmichael.com/ http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/2395/How-To-Evaluate-Your-People-In-2-Simple-Steps.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/2395/How-To-Evaluate-Your-People-In-2-Simple-Steps.html The world is filled with all kinds of assessment tools and ways to analyze your current or potential employees and it can get overwhelming in a hurry. We’re big on keeping things simple. Whether it be in life or in our business coaching practice when advising our clients. Basically you can evaluate your people in two broad categories: i) Skills, and ii) Attitude. It boils down to this: 1. If someone has the wrong skills AND they have a bad attitude, YOU SHOULD GET RID OF THEM IMMEDIATELY! 2. If someone has EITHER great skills or a great attitude, then should invest in improving the weak area (i.e. the skills or the attitude). 3. If someone has BOTH the skills and the attitude, promote them as fast as you can and include them in as many things in your organization as you can. This is someone you want in your organization. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/2395/How-Do-I-Keep-My-Business-Afloat.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/2395/How-Do-I-Keep-My-Business-Afloat.html “Plants don’t want to die.” Doug Maurer, Brian-Kyles Construction I was talking with my good friend Doug Maurer the other day. Doug is the founder and owner of Brian-Kyles Construction, which is a landscaping company based in Northeast Ohio. Doug was talking with me about a plant in my front yard that wasn’t doing so well. He was explaining how I should cut the shrub down to its base to re-balance the plant so the roots were larger than the plant itself. And then he said the quote above regarding plants not wanting to die. It got me to thinking about how businesses are a lot like plants. Businesses don’t want to die either. This is particularly true of small businesses. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/2395/How-Could-Ayn-Rand-Have-Known.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/2395/How-Could-Ayn-Rand-Have-Known.html I recently started reading Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. It's scary how many things in this book that was published over 50 years ago relate to our current times. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/2395/How-To-Embrace-Change.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/2395/How-To-Embrace-Change.html I recently came across the following passage from Napoleon Hill. It provides some terrific insight into why change is important. The article also addresses how those situations which can often appear to be a negative actually turn out to be a positive because they force you to change your habits and allow you to discover new things. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/2395/How-To-Keep-Your-Business-Afloat.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/2395/How-To-Keep-Your-Business-Afloat.html I was talking with my good friend Doug Maurer the other day. Doug is the founder and owner of Brian-Kyles Construction, which is a landscaping company based in Northeast Ohio. Doug was talking with me about a plant in my front yard that wasn’t doing so well. He was explaining how I should cut the shrub down to its base to re-balance the plant so the roots were larger than the plant itself. And then he said a magical quote, "plants don't want to die." It got me to thinking about how businesses are a lot like plants. Businesses don’t want to die either. This is particularly true of small businesses. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/2395/Why-Is-It-OK-To-Plan-A-Vacation-But-Not-Your-Business.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/2395/Why-Is-It-OK-To-Plan-A-Vacation-But-Not-Your-Business.html I had two people tell me this week that they were taking a day to pack for a vacation. I mean, they were only going away for a long weekend, or maybe even a week. And they spent the entire day packing. They probably spent some time prior to this planning the trip as well. Why is it that we’ll easily spend several hours (and sometimes even days or weeks) planning for a vacation or for a wedding, yet when the word planning is mentioned in business, business owners usually have an extremely adverse reaction? http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/2395/How-To-Find-Good-People.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/2395/How-To-Find-Good-People.html One of the most common question we get from both our business coaching clients as well as from business owners we meet is, “how do I find good people?” Ever tried volunteering for a community or non-profit group? Whether you’re someone looking for good people or you are a good person looking for work, one of the most overlooked recruiting tools is volunteering. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/2395/How-To-Communicate-Better-With-A-Business-Partner.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/2395/How-To-Communicate-Better-With-A-Business-Partner.html About one-third of our business coaching clients have involved situations where there are multiple owners in the business. This has included spouses, siblings, parents & kids, in-laws, friends, and business acquaintances. One of the biggest struggles with multiple owners is getting all the owners on the same page. When the business is first formed, everyone is usually on the same page. But as the months and years go by, it’s easy to drift apart. Here are a couple of keys for better communication with your business partner: 1. Understand Behavior Styles 2. Keep The Appointments 3. Do What You Say You’re Going To Do 4. If You Feel It, Say It http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/2395/How-To-Stay-On-Top-Of-Your-Game.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/2395/How-To-Stay-On-Top-Of-Your-Game.html Do you ever stop practicing? My wife and I were talking earlier tonight about this parenting class we took a little over 3 months ago. We both really enjoyed the class and got a lot out of it. The course was called Love and Logic and our instructor was a former grade school teacher and counselor named Ron Chidsey. He reminded us how important it was for us to come to the class because, not only did we get the chance to discuss our experiences over the past week, but it was important for us to do something every week to get better. It's hard to form new habits. This article provides a few tips for ways to stay on top of your game and form new habits. http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/2395/How-To-Make-Money-In-Your-Business.html http://www.evancarmichael.com/Business-Coach/2395/How-To-Make-Money-In-Your-Business.html The Profit Plan is the answer to how to make money in your business. If you can’t plan it out on paper, chances are you won’t be able to do it in real time with your hectic business. Pulling together a Profit Plan does a couple of great things for an organization: 1. It Pulls Everyone Together 2. It Allows for Ownership 3. It Prevents Monday Morning Quarterbacks