Are you good or are you lucky?

Linda LaitalaAround The Table, Business, Career, Employees, Leadership, Management, Marketing, Quotes, Sales, WorkLeave a Comment

man in construction taking a peek

Early in my career I worked for Arcon Construction. The owner, Dean Johnson, told me how he’d built the highway/heavy construction company from nothing to a multi-million-dollar business. Knowing little about entrepreneurship, I commented, “You sure were lucky.” Dean was offended and responded, “You know what luck is?  Luck is sweat applied to an opportunity.” I have never forgotten that lesson. Lucky people

Are you good at ignoring elephants?

Linda LaitalaAround The Table, Business, Career, Employees, Leadership, Management, Marketing, Quotes, Sales, WorkLeave a Comment

Elephant in the room

I am often struck by comments people make when they miss an opportunity to speak up. “She knows I don’t like to reprimand people, so she pushes the rules a hair past the limit, knowing I won’t call her on it.” “Why does Harriet keep telling stories about people who’ve died from cancer.  It upsets me. Doesn’t she remember my

Are you the sharpest tack in the pack?

Linda LaitalaBusiness, Career, Leadership, Management, WorkLeave a Comment

We’ve all had bosses we remember: sometimes they’re good memories and sometimes they’re not so good. One of my least pleasant bosses was John Sherman. Mr. Sherman (as he insisted he be called,) was intelligent and hardworking, but he had an Achillies heel; he always had to be right, and every idea had to be his. He owned a placement

On the edge of tomorrow

Linda LaitalaBusiness, Career, Employees, Leadership, Management, Sales, WorkLeave a Comment

Here we stand, on the brink of another new year, peering over the edge trying to figure out what 2024 holds in store for us.   If you read industry leaders like Seth Godin and Clay Hebert it becomes clear connections are important and why. Uber is the largest “taxi” company – yet they own no vehicles and excel at

December is lost only if you want it to be

Linda LaitalaBusiness, Career, Career, Employees, Leadership, Management, Sales, WorkLeave a Comment

Over the years, I’ve heard owners complain; “We might as well close down in December.  No one’s mind is on their business; it’s all about the holidays”. Following that thinking means you can’t do business in January because no one has any money, summer’s bad because everyone is on vacation, spring and fall are bad because of school breaks and

Strategy versus Tactics

Linda LaitalaBusiness, Leadership, Management, WorkLeave a Comment

Strategy vs Tactics

In the world of competitive advantage, strategic thinkers win the war, tactics win battles. Joe runs a profitable company, providing value to his customers. He did not achieve this on-going success with only luck and hard work. He focused strategically on his goals. He purposely set out to be the best. He was early in utilizing computers to control and measure processes.

Limiting Beliefs

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Limiting Beliefs

Mark Twain was fond of saying, “When a cat jumps on a hot stove, he’ll never jump on a hot stove again. He’ll also never jump on a cold stove.” Twain was pointing out something we humans do regularly. To save time and effort, we use one or a few “facts” to make a quick judgement. The tendency to overgeneralize is

Why do you want to boil the ocean?

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Wally is smart, savvy, and like other Raven Roundtable members, enjoys sharing his hard-won wisdom. He purchased a small manufacturing plant, growing it into a $15 million company in 5 years. In a recent CEO Roundtable meeting, he listened as John shared his plans for transforming his company by bringing on a new and very different product line. Wally couldn’t

Business Lessons in Junior High

Linda LaitalaBusiness, Career, Employees, Marketing, Sales, WorkLeave a Comment

In seventh grade, I learned one of my most important business lessons: the benefits of clearly communicating a message to an audience. Picture a geography class full of 13-year-olds. Our assignment was to create a diorama about building the pyramids. We were divided into teams, given a shoe box and our assignment. My team was diligently painting and gluing, all

Cheaper can cost more

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Cheaper can cost more

Do you agree that cheaper sometimes means it can cost more? For years Mike and his employees have been frustrated with inefficiencies due to cramped space and disorganization. His company is in dire need of space dedicated to storing tooling and fixtures. Mike finally agreed to add an addition to his shop; plans included a new tool room. Everyone was