Blame is everywhere, not just in the workplace but in our society at large. Start looking for it, and you’ll find finger-pointing everywhere you go. If you want to have a successful company culture, you need to proactively address blame at your organization. In order to do this, you need to first identify and acknowledge the blame that is being thrown around. Then, you need to create cultural norms and expectations to prevent blame from festering.

Operating a small business can feel like rowing a small boat with leaks everywhere. It takes agility, speed, and sometimes just pure will and resilience to keep the boat afloat as business leaders move from one crisis to the next, trying to patch things up as quickly as possible.

Avoiding conflict and shirking accountability can be tempting, especially when we don't want to come off as mean or confrontational. However, as we'll explore in this post, accountability is actually a kind approach that leads to greater freedom, happiness, and success in the long run.

Wellness and self care often SEEM to be in conflict with hard work and hustle. We often think that self care means putting yourself first, taking it easy, giving yourself a break, and getting some ‘perspective’. Meanwhile, we often think ‘Hustle’ means breaking your back, pushing harder, pain equaling gain, and other unpleasant concepts like this… These definitions leave us thinking that we can’t always be productive if we want to take good care of ourselves, and that we can’t take good care of ourselves if we want to prioritize productivity.

Flexibility is the name of the game for small organizations. In any given day your Chief Operating Officer may need to be the front line, the accountant, human resources, compliance and try to carve out the time to actually work on moving the business forward as the CEO. Especially if you are a self-funded organization, job descriptions may not carry much weight, since everyone has to be willing to do what it takes to grow.

Sure, I’ve been there, setting the intention of creating a job description as something to aspire to, hitting up Google and looking for similar roles in the ether and picking and choosing some bullet points that align with my thoughts. No matter which way you spin it, those outlines, bullet points, and expectations don’t mean much of anything if they are not referenced and put into practices.

Having gone through this with eGuide, there will come a time (probably 2-4 employees in) where you realize that just because you can run around and do all the roles, doesn’t mean you should. You will start to hear a few passing comments from team members about who they should go to with questions, and you might find yourself saying, “Here is the answer, I’ll just follow up with X to make sure they know we talked later.”

THIS IS A SIGN TO NOT FALL INTO THAT TRAP.

I was introduced to V2MOM while reading Trailblazer by Marc Benioff in 2019. The combination of how the methodology combines values and obstacles as filters to help realize intentions for the year made perfect sense.  So we set out in 2020 to give the framework a try, not realizing there was a pandemic that was going to flip the world upside down right around the corner.

2020 was a bust, I won’t lie. There were too many changes, and too many unexpected turns to navigate, so all of the measures we had so meticulously laid out for the year were uprooted, put through a blender, and thrown in the compost bin. 

As things stabilized in 2021, we set out again to drive the vision forward this time with much better success. The team was growing and as new members joined us we were able to introduce the concept and provide global context to what we're trying to achieve by the end of the year. 

The real magic though started to happen when we set out for building our 2022 vision.

What is Shiny New Object Syndrome (SNOS)?

Shiny New Object Syndrome (SNOS) is when new initiatives and new ideas come easier than follow through. It’s the moment when a new opportunity arises through your network that might not be totally aligned with your services, but it just seems like something you shouldn’t turn down because of the impact it could have on your organization. What does this actually look like?

A fellow business owner tells you about the new project management software they’ve been using and how it has revolutionized the way they operate. So, of course, you schedule a demo and get sucked into the funnel, and all of the sudden a “change for the sake of change” is occupying your entire team's bandwidth.

Or, It’s when you learn about V2MOM (V2MOM is a coaching and project management framework) for the first time and decide it’s way better than the EOS system you’re already using (EOS is a trending entrepreneurial ‘operating system’ that can help businesses gain traction).

(Surprise: we are a little bias when it comes to this example… We LOVE V2MOM.)

The shiny new object (SNO) comes along, and all of those previously shiny projects, and initiatives you should be working on, fall by the wayside.

Workflow is everything for a scaling business. If you want to delegate anything… you need a clear understanding of where we were, where we are, and where we are going..

If you’re not sure how to grow your business from a solo entrepreneurship to a staffed and scalable business, the first question you should be asking yourself is:

Have I documented my processes from beginning to end?

And maybe you’re a bit further along in the journey, and you're wondering why one aspect of your business isn’t firing on all cylinders, be it accounting, sales, or a specific aspect of production. In this case, the question is:

How can I improve my workflow?

Either way, the steps to success are the same.

The January Starting Line

No matter if you are on a fiscal year or a calendar year, January seems to always carry with it the weight of looking another 12 months in advance. This raises the age-old conversation within yourself and your organization of “This year I am going to do X” or, “This year X is going to be different”. For organization owners, especially those looking to continue to grow, it can feel like you completed one marathon and are immediately jumping into another one.

As we creep ever closer to the year ahead we recommend everyone take a moment to reflect on where they came from, where they are, and where they want to go. Sounds daunting, right? Well, we have a few pointers to help you break things down and solidify the vision. (Added Bonus: the same rules below can be applied to your personal life with a little tweaking!).

V2MOM - Moving Internal Projects Moving Forward When You Are Busy

“All of my time is spent taking care of client work… When am I supposed to get to the ‘on the business’ initiatives I have in mind?” - Every Business Owner I know

Caption Writing for Instagram

Social media just seems to keep getting trickier and trickier, right? It isn’t just about the photo or video, you also want to have that attention grabbing caption. If you can grab your audience's attention not just with the image, but the caption, they’re more likely to engage with your content. And engagement is king when it comes to social media.

Thinking of designing or establishing a logo? Start here for some advice from our team!

Blocking Work On Your Calendar + Why it is Essential

Prioritizing your day allows for a quick return to focus even when the chaos of day-to-day work finds itself in your inbox.

Hear our thoughts, pros/cons, and suggestions heading into the newest update.

From the initial “brandstorm” meeting to choosing colors, fonts and eventually creating the logo and supporting brand elements there are many important steps that will put you in the right direction on your journey to developing the right brand for each individual client.

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Gregory Perrine, Owner of eGuide Tech Allies, located in Chicago, IL, USA.

Trello: 5 Things You Need to Know

Congrats- you’ve made the switch to a leading project management and collaboration tool!

So… now what?

Whether you are just getting started or are already knee-deep in tasks- here are 5 things you should know about Trello!

Today’s Expectations of Executive and VIP Conference Management

From technology companies and pharmaceuticals to associations, lawfirms, and financial services, in person conferences are back in full swing. 2022 has brough with it an influx of conferences due to companies post-poning through 2021, wanting to catch the wave of the return, or returning to “regularly scheduled programming”.

In 2017, I was a year into starting my business, and as you so accurately depicted it in the How I Built This Book, I was experiencing the fall after taking the leap. Trying to build the plane as I was plummeting towards the ground. I had left the comfort of my career, was waiting tables to make ends meet, and was struggling every day to get the engine of the business running.

Working on Vacation…Seriously, Don’t Do It.

There are many reasons why you need to step away and completely recharge your batteries while taking PTO this summer, here are a few.