We are not logical: Our buying decisions are PSYCHOlogical! Your customers are not rational, and their buying decisions are 9/10ths subconscious and emotional!

Download this newsletter for my free gifts to you this month - top insights to help you make better products and services. Plus numerous ideas from neuromarketing for a sales bonanza this year.

Any business that does not implement new ways of doing things will be swallowed by the competing companies. A business that tries to survive in the growing market feels the consumers’ pressure from one end and competitors’ from the other. The only way to deal with this pressure is to be agile and adapt to the change.

Download this newsletter to learn how applying the EOS strategy, the Entrepreneurial Operating System, from the book Traction, can benefit your business so you and your business can thrive.

A good business leader should reward the employees when they deserve it. However, the reason why they often shy away from it is that it costs money. While one could argue that losing valuable employees is more expensive, there’s a middle ground. There are ways to increase motivation in the workplace that are free. Business leaders can make their employees feel valuable without breaking the bank. Download this newsletter for more of these employee incentives that don’t cost money.

Year 2020 has been like sailing in a tiny boat during a sea storm. It's important to remember that now that we are about to sail into the new year, hopeful that things will start to change for the better.

Year 2020 has revealed all our strengths and weaknesses. Download this newsletter to learn more of the many things to be grateful for in 2020.

If there is one thing the current pandemic crisis has taught us, it's to expect the unexpected and prepare accordingly. We are all learning to live by the new rules in all aspects of our existence; we also realize what we can do. We continue to see how flexibility stands out as a prominent feature that often determines the fate of a company. Download this newsletter to know more about many business lessons learned amid COVID-19 that are here to stay, and that, it turns out, is a positive thing.  

According to some professionals that we've talked to, many customers will value the experience much more than the actual prices and products. Therefore, it makes sense for them to spend more for better customer service. It's as simple as that. Download this newsletter to learn what you can do to achieve that.

WFH: “Working from home” is here to stay!. WFH, driven by the pandemic, has not led to as much loss of productivity as the experience of other significant changes led many of us to fear it may.

Download this newsletter to learn more about the 3 leadership challenges posed by enforced WFH, taken from this fascinating series of HBR articles, “Do we really need the office?”

Whether you are in charge of a small business or perhaps only a leader of a small team, you are aware of how connected motivation and productivity are. Download this newsletter for more on these many simple ways to increase motivation in the workplace that are easy to apply.

In these crisis times, we are even more likely to lose our equilibrium between the practical and personal side of interactions. Stress causes us to default to our dominant brain patterns, either overly analytical OR randomly emotional. Download this newsletter for more on this vital leadership balancing act and check out the source article in the Harvard Business Review.

Google’s extensive manager research project found that the top-rated managers were those who met regularly for 1-to-1s with team members. This survey of 1,100+ managers and 800+ employees was conducted by “Know Your Team,” a management software company. They found 89% of managers reporting the 1-to-1s as positively affecting team performance, as did 73% of employees. Download this newsletter for more on this.

It is an opportunity to take the lead in your sector and to enhance trust in your reputation and brand. The 4 Ps of marketing have to become 5… price, product, packaging, placement, and prophylaxis (the prevention of disease or control of its possible spread).

Download this newsletter for the 4 steps to apply this 5th P.

The good news is that EQ is learnable. You CAN develop your emotional quotient. Usually you hear us talking about the success we have with improving EQ with tools like Everything DiSC, or Emotional Intelligence 2.0. In this newsletter we will discuss other valuable tips based on Nick Wignall's article "4 Things Emotionally Intelligent People Don't Do."

Download this newsletter to discover 4 self-indulgences that you can really do without and some guidelines for kicking out this head trash.

At PBC we are accustomed to virtual working - as is more than 25% of the US workforce - but for many businesses, it is an unanticipated and worrying new requirement.

Download this newsletter for the PBC guide to starting up and managing remote working with our easy-to-implement guidelines. We are grateful to the Boston Globe and Harvard Business Review (as well as many others) for their helpful articles on working from home.

Good business decisions are the prerequisite of wealth creation, so at PBC we aim to promote a 3-phase decision-making model to guide our client organizations. Download this newsletter for an outline of this essential leadership skill. Much of what follows is inspired by the 10-step process in the book How GREAT Decisions Get Made, by Don Maruska.

Use your strategic review to take your bearings and brainstorm all you know and believe about your customers. Download this newsletter for two must-do guidelines and five clichés NOT to use at your strategic review (or at any time, for that matter).

Delegation, when we don't do it right, is a frustrating business. We discover down the road that things never turn out as we thought they would. We find ourselves looking at deadlines in the rearview mirror. It drives us crazy and reinforces the conviction that "if it has to be done right, then there is only one person to do it.
Download this newsletter to "Delegate the problem. Not the task."

What are YOU really good at? What are you passionate about?
In this newsletter, we are focusing on strengths-based leadership. Because the truth is... working on our strengths makes for a better life, makes growth easier, makes for personal development, and makes our businesses grow.

Download this newsletter for the continuation on the topic of our free download CPR tool. This important tool can help all businesses, large and small, without exception.

So read on to see how best to implement our CPR tool and learn the business advantages that will flow from doing so.

In this issue, we're putting out for free an invaluable strategic overview tool that helps you prioritize your time and ensures you cover all the basics with your key referral partners. Use this spreadsheet template to create and track your key prospecting plans as your business relationships develop. Use it daily to get into the details of managing your strategic relationships as appropriate.

Download this newsletter for an outline of this crucial best business practice.

Do you have a "growth mindset" or a "fixed mindset"? It's important to know because it is fundamental to how we view the world and has a profound impact on our level of success in business and life. We talk about mindset a lot when coaching clients and recommend Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, by Carol S. Dweck, a book that explains how our psychology affects our success and how we can develop an attitude for growth.
Download this newsletter for a summary of these powerful concepts and tips for putting them to work in your life right now!

Facebook is launching a cryptocurrency called Libra. It will be a bank-free means of exchange for transactions online and is the tip of a technological iceberg. This evolutionary strain is based on the new wave known as "blockchain technology."
Download this newsletter for a heads-up thought-provoker, because as business leaders we need to inform ourselves and our IT strategies about the pros and cons of blockchain.

So, you want to boost your profits and add value to your business?
Will that takeover or "buy-in" of some of the target firm's equity give you what you want? Or should you go for an inter-firm alliance instead? Each of these strategies is mutually exclusive, with no chance for a do-over. So, your choice must be right the first time.
Download this newsletter for a great decision-making algorithm to help you come to the right decision whether to buy or ally.

Are you a truly effective business leader?
We've drawn up list of actions from Peter F. Drucker's The Effective Executive and Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. We use the wisdom of these "gurus" with our clients almost daily.
Download this newsletter and rate yourself on the PBC Leadership Checklist to discover what you do well, what you don't do enough of, and what you should begin doing in order to become ultra-productive.

Research shows that Americans have more discretionary time now than ever. Yet it's ironic that we spend all our time beavering away BECAUSE "time is money," and we hold the insidious belief that ever-greater consumption of things will make us happy. But research shows the exact opposite is true: The happiest people are those who spend money to buy time.

Download this newsletter for some fascinating time and mind shifts that could upgrade your life.

We have all the motivation in the world to get a good night's sleep every night. All we are missing are the rational habits to make it so. Well, miss them no more!
Download this newsletter to learn about the six secrets to take you into the REM realm so you and your teams can find the treasures therein. Enjoy, and continue to get some good and restful sleep.

Product- and service-based businesses are as alike as pudding and putty. Fail to appreciate the differences, and all of your windows will fall out.
Download this newsletter for 5 top marketing techniques that are ESSENTIAL to ALL businesses, but that require all-important adaptations for suppliers of physical products by comparison with service-based businesses.

In our November newsletter, we looked at Influence and the 6 sources of "Power to Change Anything" AND implement improvements through people. This month we go to the next level by adding two more skill areas: how you are perceived, and your visibility in the world. As we end this year, we thought this would be a great tool to help in your planning for the next. Think about how you can take your career and your business to the next level.

Download this newsletter for the outline plan on how to implement these common-sense concepts.

What superpower would you choose?
The power to change people's behavior is the most common topic we have when coaching our clients. If they were to choose a superpower, that would be it.

Download this newsletter to learn the six sources of influence that, when applied in your business, can not only make extraordinary change possible but completely certain.

Where would you rank "self-control" in your list of personal attributes? Psychologists at the University of Pennsylvania asked this question in a survey of many people. Almost all of them put it very low on the list, if not at the bottom. But self-control is a crucial element of emotional intelligence and the foundation skill of personal productivity.

At PBC, we believe that self-control is a skill that can be learned, practiced, and built upon, so as to exponentially improve your personal productivity.

Download this newsletter to learn about the three keys to the enigma that is self-control and personal productivity.

Are you going to hit this year's revenue targets? This is a perennial issue with many of our clients at this time. The first thing we ask is: Are you focused on the right metrics and are your salespeople on top of their game? All too often we find businesses that look at end results while neglecting the sales process.

Download this newsletter to learn about our trusty dozen selling fundamentals. Then call us to talk about our "Client Builder" sales methodology training. 

Your business is like your body. When it's fit, it is profitable, growing, vibrant, and a fun place to be. AND a real wealth-creating asset to your communities. But...How fit is your business? Are you well designed for the future?

Download this newsletter for insights to put your business on its own coaching and exercise regimen.

Emotional Intelligence Quotient (EQ) is a hot topic right now because it is a proven factor for success in both business and personal life. But how can you build your EQ skills? As coaches, we are focused on getting our clients to take actions to do just that.

Download this newsletter to learn about this exciting new development in the EQ arena.

Living in accordance with our values makes us better people. Implementing our business values at the micro decision-making level makes our businesses better and more successful. The big question is "How do I implement my values?"

Download this newsletter for the 4 essential and practical steps to values-driven profit growth.

For businesses of all sizes, mindfulness training can reduce sick time, build trust in your leadership, and fully engage your employees. By developing mindfulness in each individual employee, you instill a holistic organizational culture that is agile and able to respond effectively to anything the market, the economy, or your competitors throw at you.

Download this newsletter for a discussion of how mindfulness can help your business overcome information overload and perpetual distraction.

We are "old school" here at PBC. A lot of our coaching is encouraging business leaders to take a longer view of their activities. We like to paraphrase that wise old Chinese proverb: "If your plan is for one year, grow rice. If your plan is for ten years, grow trees. If your plan is for one hundred years, grow people." For many entrepreneurs the big questions are "what would happen to my business if I were not there?" and "what can I do today so as to ensure tomorrow?"

Download this newsletter to understand why training your successor is your prime leadership responsibility, whether you are a start-up, growing the business, or preparing an exit strategy.

As entrepreneurs we all have goals, but the real key to achieving them is to focus on the processes that deliver the results. The coaching team here at PBC has lost count of the number of clients who neglect the input activities and spend too much time and energy on their own unmet expectations.

Download this newsletter for more on the business secret that we all know, but that we all forget sometimes.

What business lessons did you learn last year? We learned a lot, and we are sure you did too. At a recent team meeting, we talked about things we (re)learned over the last 12 months.

Download this newsletter to learn about the 4 things we consider essential to business success.

It's new year once again - the time when we resolve to do better, to make those significant changes in our life and/or health. How many of you are repeating resolutions from last year? I know I am, because I've been procrastinating when I should have been doing. But I'm going to succeed this time around.

You see, I've discovered 4 keys to freeing up my super productive self. I've been reading "Rework" by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson. It is a reassuring call to action. Download this newsletter to learn more about these 4 keys to super personal productivity.

Nowadays, it is undeniable how addiction to the dopamine shots of social media is spoiling the millennial generation. According to Simon Sinek, there are 9 pathways to curbing your smartphone "addiction."

Download this newsletter to learn how you can retake control of your lives, loves, and relationships, and have a mobile-free life!

The old sage advice to business people: "Prepare TODAY in the fat times for the lean times to come tomorrow."  
How can we ensure our survival when the business cycle turns against us?

Download this newsletter to learn about those seven preventive practices to improve your balance sheet, the anchor of your enterprise, when the economic storm winds begin to blow

Happiness is the prerequisite to success in both business and life. We live in amazing times, and neuroscience is showing us the way to grasp happiness, and therefore success, by editing our inner screenplays.

Download this newsletter for the summary of 4 super powers revealed to us by neuroscience. Then change your mind to happy feel good, and take the road to business success, NOW!

Meeting sales challenges NOW! Or how has the Internet changed the market? This digital era simply offers us more and bigger stages on which to strut our stuff - ONLY the medium has changed!

Download this newsletter to know more about the reminder of the timeless secrets to selling more, and some tips for adapting to the digital marketplace.

Have you had some well-earned R&R time to consider the big picture disconnected from the daily grind of work? I suggest you spend some time to reflect on what you really want to get out of life. I am reading and discussing with clients the concepts of Designing your Life by Burnett and Evans. The practical exercises are very impactful, and use "design principles" to help people discover a "Well-Lived and Joyful Life."

Download this newsletter to learn more about those five excellent self-improvement tips to design your own destiny.

There are five most common reasons for small business failure. Those five big business risks do not have to be death knells for your business. Forewarned of the challenges ahead means forearmed.  

Download this newsletter to not only learn the five main causes of bankruptcy, but also to take steps to limit your business exposure to those risks.

There are only twenty-four hours in everyone's day. Going back and doing things better the second time around is the stuff of science fiction. But you can gain an extra twenty minutes from every hour of work!
How?
By concentrating on the high-value stuff! By making it a priority over the ubiquitous "to do" list.
But how do you know the right stuff when you see it?
Download this newsletter for some great personal productivity tips.

There are fantastic opportunities to help us think out of the box, compare notes with other business owners, get ideas that will help us render better products or services to our customers, and run our own practices better.

This newsletter will guide you on how to make time for a strategic planning 'time out', at least once a year. Get inspired and brainstorm ways to make your business the best in your industry.

I have been reading about Alan Mulally's remarkable achievements as CEO at Boeing (post 9/11) and Ford (post 2008 crisis). The essential secret of his success is in his leadership meetings, where he always talks about The Vision, then the Strategies, and then the Tactics for progress.

Download this newsletter for some additional insights about these impactful management practices.

We have been spending a lot of thinking time lately with Nassim Nicolas Taleb, the author of The Black Swan and Antifragile. Black swans are his metaphor for events that are a) unpredictable; b) massive in their consequences for the people concerned; and c) obvious in hindsight.

Download this newsletter to learn more about the three of his most significant points. We call them “risks hiding in plain sight.”

Bill Gates, Andy Grove, and Steve Jobs, the greatest business minds of our  time, have some common themes and timeless lessons that help explain the phenomenal success of their companies - Microsoft, Intel, and Apple.

Read this newsletter for a summary of those key concepts.