Overcoming Self-Sabotage and Blind Spots in Business
Overcoming Self-Sabotage and Blind Spots in Business
How can an entrepreneur clearly communicate their business plans?
You have to put it on paper. A lot of people think that when you write a business plan it needs to be in long form with prose. I am a huge fan of concise planning.
Concise planning can be done in one of two ways. It can be done in an outline, which is the way I approach everything. Work with an outline and decide exactly where we're going to go in simple statements. Then you can shuffle those statements around. Think of it like a PowerPoint deck with one or two bullets in each slide, the simpler the better.
Another thing you can do is use mind maps. I tend to use mind maps more tactically than strategically. I would have a mind map for every major arena of the business. I would have a finance mind map. I would have an operations mind map. I would take every category of interest and map out all of the spinning wheels in each category so that you could, at a glance, work with each departmental VP or manager and demonstrate this is what's in play. What are we going to work on now? What are we going to work on next year? What have we already finished? So everyone, when we have these departmental meetings, would be in a position to know exactly what's in play for them.
How can business owners ensure both parties feel valued in a negotiation?
Negotiation ought to be a win-win. You don't really want the other people to lose. You want them to feel like they've maintained their self-respect and that they're coming out beneficially in a situation. Having said that, you also have to have tremendous clarity on your position, your pricing, and your VAT. When I say position, your value proposition has got to be super clear because if you're not selling value, then suddenly you've just commoditized yourself and that's a problem.
*This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.*
