Job satisfaction…down
Employee engagement…down
Hiring…down
Profits…down
Consumer spending…down
Consumer confidence…down
YIKES!!
How do we stay UP when things around us are down? Continue reading ‘Everything seems down in the Global Recession’ »
Archive for the ‘Philosophy Statements’ Category
Before you ask yourself “why” should I engage with InnerActive Consulting Group, let’s look a bit deeper and find out “why” the consulting group chose this name?
First of all, this group had fifteen years of SUCCESS operating as Kaizen Performance Group in Memphis, Tennessee. With this success came instant name recognition! But branding efforts flushed out the need for a name change since Kaizen could not be branded because another business as well as a quality initiative had previously claimed the Kaizen brand.
So…InnerActive Consulting Group was born. The consultants here are truly catalysts for change. And real change begins with “inner” thoughts and beliefs. Inner thoughts migrate to the outer world in the form of taking action.
Equation: Thoughts + Actions = Results
Hence: InnerActive Consulting Group
With over twenty years of business- to- business consulting and B2B selling as well as personal development training, one of InnerActive Consulting Group’s primary principles remains “to work with beliefs to improve both life and work issues.”
…Getting You to the Next Level
Every year we lose some source of reference that we have been using for information, continuity or some other emotional tie-in for providing some happiness or routine in our lives. Yet, every year a popular brand or store goes away – never to be seen again. Are you missing an old brand name store or product.
The loss of brands and stores is a common component of the changing times and a rough, extended recession. Therefore, we must adjust our life or lifestyle to accommodate this element of continuous change.
So what brands disappeared in 2009? While there are numerous local and small businesses that disappeared from your local economy, there is a small number of key losses. Here is a quick list of key losses… Continue reading ‘Ten Brands Missing in Action in 2009’ »
Over the weekend I heard an interesting question – What is Normal Today?
What a great question to get you thinking about the answer. Is it like the 1950’s or 1960’s – No, see China for that designation. That’s right China has an emerging middle class that is buying anything they can find to increase their standard of living. This behavior is identical to the United States budding middle class of the 50’s – they purchased everything that could be manufactured. It was an interesting period for business as steady growth and employment was the standard or normal.
Is it like the 1970’s and 1980’s? No, too much regulation and attempts to conform everyone into one way of thinking. The 1970’s and 1980’s were periods of growing independence, distrust of the establishment and working hard at being unique and different from everyone else.
Well, what about the 1990 ? No, the 90’s were a period of high growth rates for business and your standards of living. Business and employment was very strong and while we had growth, most of the experts gave credit to a long term growth market (including the stock market) and life was really quite calm and routine.
How about the 2000’s – is this the new normal? No, not yet. The 2000’s have been marked with danger, war and depression. People are hurting and hunting for opportunities – our life has changed as we knew it.
Enter the past two years. The worst recession since the great depression of the 1930’s has changed the game – for everyone. The republicans have been voted out of power and the democrats voted into power. And while politics does not totally control our economy, it does change the field of play. And, that my friends is moving us toward the new normal.
We will find that the past two years will place us in new territory and the normal desired by so many will be hard to find during the coming years. Life and business will change – some for the better and some for the worst. I will cover some of my projections this week. Plus, your comments about what you see coming over the next two years will be valuable input for everyone reading these forecasts.
Today is Thanksgivings.
A holiday whereby we have the opportunity to give thanks for what we have.
Some have more material possessions than others. Yet, what is truly important today is the all we have inside and the quality of the relationships around us.
Take a moment and be thankful and grateful for what you have in life. Even if life has offered some challenges and obstacles, we still have the opportunity to be thankful for what we do have. Life. And, the opportunity for happiness with others.
Happy Holidays to all from InnerActive Consulting Group.
This past weekend while doing my thing – watching college football games (SEC games, too) I had one of those ah ha moments. And, in this case, it was about how you win.
It seems my favorite team is winning all their games, yet, they are not running up scores or running away from the other teams. They are just winning. And, it seems a large number of their fan base is up in arms because they are not winning with huge score differentials. Yet, they are playing tough and are winning the games no matter where they are played.
As I thought about this situation, winning their games with disgruntled fans. I began to think about companies that are winning the earnings battles every quarter and hitting their numbers – yet are not blowing away the competition in the process. Sound familiar? Only this time it is the talking heads of the business news programs who are trashing the companies and their managements with all sorts of personal opinions about their ability to perform at high levels.
It is almost like the sports talking heads and the business news talking heads get together and decide who they want to trash during their sessions and then see what happens. It appears their mission is to stir up trouble for the organizations – sports and business – to see how others will response or react.
In the sports arena, the fans and the pollsters get together and talk about things that in some cases they know nothing about – but they heard it from a “reputable” source. My personal opinion is some of these reputable sources really don’t know what they are talking about! Some do, and they usually explain their position in a very logical fashion – while missing a very important point – the team or organization is winning their games! Hello! Are you really keeping score?
Style points are cute and give others something to talk about – except in some cases it has nothing to do with the will of character. To me, I learned that character and the will to win are the backbone of high performance. My grandfather who was a very successful and humble man was a big time winner. He did things that others could not figure out how he did it – but he did and on a regular basis. He taught me that the will to win is a personal driver. He shared that being flashy or having a big ego did not relate to being a real winner.
My question to you? Do you and your organization play to win or to show for some external group? Real winners know what they want to accomplish, set their goals and objectives and move to execute on these things in a consistent and meaningful way. No show boating, no style points, only focused attention on getting the real things done.
Finally, beware of the talking heads, for they are in the game for show rather than reality. Focus on the target and resist the temptation to be distracted by these people. They are not accountable or responsible for any real performance.
I ask this question each week as a form of reality check. If I answer with a “huh?”, then I know it is not over. This week I had a different answer, so something must be up – or – over – or – coming to a close.
You see this week my answer contained five signals that things must be improving on the home front and maybe I should begin to prepare for an improved business future. So, what were my signals or triggers that got an answer to my question this week? Here are the five things: Continue reading ‘Is the Recession Coming to a Close?’ »
Okay, it is now time to send Fear to the Bench. In fact, it is the only way we are going to get out of the current economic downturn. Too many people are fearful of the future, fearful of making a mistake, and fearful to take any kind of risk.
Well, here is my advice: Go over it! Continue reading ‘It’s Time to Send Fear to the Bench!’ »
