Friday, September 25. 2015Life is like a Zip Line!![]() Life is Like a Zip Line - Copyright 2015 Thorsten Consulting Group, Inc. Friday, September 4. 2015The Entrepreneur’s MistressThe Entrepreneur's Mistress - Thorsten Consulting Group, Inc. (c)2015 When making your wedding vows, the idea of having an affair or mistress is not at the forefront of your thoughts. I will also suggest that many entrepreneurs have never considered being unfaithful to their spouse. However, the “love affair” or romance that an entrepreneur can have with their business can result in misplaced priorities.
For again Scrooge saw himself. He was older now; a man in the prime of life. His face had not the harsh and rigid lines of later years; but it had begun to wear the signs of care and avarice. There was an eager, greedy, restless motion in the eye, which showed the passion that had taken root, and where the shadow of the growing tree would fall. Entrepreneurs may forget the main reasons that they pursued being in business for themselves. Stephen Covey’s 2nd habit of highly successful people is, “Begin with the end in mind.” The earthly end of all of us leads to only one place. I have not seen a tombstone that showed the last 5 years of financial statements or cash available in the bank. Nor have eulogies focused on the rapid growth of the business or market share obtained. Tombstones discuss family. Eulogies will include business; however, they too are focused on family. Therefore, “beginning with the end in mind” focuses the entrepreneur on the importance of family and what trade-offs are acceptable and which ones are not.
Thursday, August 13. 2015Left Handed People are Disadvantaged![]() ![]() Coaching Relationship - Thorsten Consulting Group, Inc. ©2015 During the 1950s and 1960s, being left handed was seen as a disadvantage. Great efforts were taken by teachers and parents to train students to use their right hand as opposed to their left hand for writing. As a consequence, many kids were forced to focus on hand writing techniques as opposed to learning techniques. Unfortunately, many managers and coaches still try to force “left handed people to work as if they were right handed.” This metaphor illustrates how people are trained with specific techniques that may not be effective for that individual. Well-meaning coaches and managers may be too narrow in their approach to training or philosophy about business. Unfortunately, their technique or approach may be in conflict with the skills, intelligence or personality type of the individual being trained, managed or coached. There is a significant danger when the coaching or training approach is “one size fits all.” Let’s consider this example as it applies to the role of a coach and their respective student, customer or employee. Since coaching focuses on the coachee, let us begin with the left side of the diagram representing the individual that is to receive the coaching service, counsel or advice. There are three main levels of coaching services that an individual can receive: In essence, these three levels represent the “needs” of an individual that is to be coached. The right side of the graph represents the coach’s role. Note that there are two extremely significant principles that apply to a coach. The first is that a coach cannot allow their self-interest to get in the way of helping another individual. The second principle is that the coach should foster independence in the individual as opposed to dependence. Unless an individual is seeking a long-term learning relationship, most coaching assignments should have a specific task with a specific timeframe. The only type of ongoing coaching relationship should be a life-long learning relationship. Beware of the coach that is hired for a short term need who insists on a long-term relationship. The coach may be putting their self-interest ahead of the needs of the individual. There are many skills a coach should possess including: Now we can reconsider the comparison of left handed and right handed people. A coach that only uses one approach without recognizing the limitations of that approach is not serving his customers well. Failing to understand the needs and styles of the individual being coached typically leads to short and unfulfilled coaching relationships. One of the main reasons coaching assignments do not work out well is that the coachee and the coach are not compatible. A successful coach will be flexible and capable of working in a variety of styles. The greatest of coaches will exhibit the most flexibility in working with a variety of people. Therefore, it is important for coaches to evaluate personality types and intelligence types to determine how their skills must be altered to bring out the best in the individual. About the Author: Jim Lindell, CPA, CSP, CGMA is a best-selling author and speaker. Jim is a TEC Chairman (The Executive Committee), which is the Granddaddy of CEO coaching organizations and with its’ Vistage Affiliation is the World’s largest peer group for CEOs and Senior Executives. Jim has been Coaching CEOs through TEC since 2001. His website is www.thorstenconsulting.com. Jim’s latest book, “Controller as Business Manager” is available from the AICPA at http://bit.ly/1zGOYmz. Tuesday, March 31. 2015Teamwork and Sports Examples![]() ![]() Platteville Scrum - photo by Greg Anderson The history of the term “team” has its roots in Germany and England. Originally it applied to a “team of draft horses” or to “lineage or race.” The latter no longer is used, but the former meaning evolved into its main usage today for sports teams. It is worth noting that some of the synonyms of team are: army, band, brigade, company, crew, outfit, party, platoon, squad and gang. If an employee does not enjoy being a part of the “team,” maybe they would prefer being part of a “party” or “gang.” Typically, participation in sporting events is voluntary. However, in the work world, many of the team synonyms suggest participation is involuntary. Some employees may never appreciate sports examples. Instead of dismissing sports analogies, an employee should interpret and utilize the lesson from their perspective. ![]() Teamwork 4 legged race - image by presentermedia Jim Lindell is the author of “Controller as Business Manager” by the AICPA http://bit.ly/1zGOYmz . He is an Award Winning Speaker and Best Selling Author. In addition, Jim is a TEC Chairman for two groups in SE Wisconsin (TEC/Vistage is the world’s largest peer group of CEOs and Executives) ©2015 Jim Lindell Monday, January 19. 2015
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When You are Down![]() When you are down. ©2015 Jim Lindell - Thorsten Consulting Group, Inc. - Think of Victor Frankl. When you feel that no one cares: - Think of Mother Teresa. When you just want to give up because it is too difficult: - Think of Winston Churchill. Most of us have nothing to complain about. I am always amazed and blessed by those that overcome significant obstacles. They provide the inspiration to pick ourselves up and move forward. For what it is worth... Jimmy ©2015 Jim Lindell - Thorsten Consulting Group, Inc. Friday, December 12. 2014Increasing Controller / CFO Value![]() Increasing Controller - CFO Value. From "Controller as Business Manager" by Jim Lindell,CPA,CGMA, MBA. Published by AICPA copyright 2014. How do Controllers and CFOs increase their value to their organizations? It requires them to move from traditional practices and expand to business strategy, industry strategy in addition to obtaining and understanding trends that impact the business or organization. Sometimes it is not always apparent what impact a specific trend will have. The traditional practices must still be followed and implemented. However, these practices are what is expected of Controllers and CFOs today. It is similar to how quality is expected in manufacturing or service. It is also easier to replace a Controller or CFO that operates only in the traditional role. The Controller or CFO that masters each of the expanded roles in the image will not only be more valuable but will also be more difficult to replace. HR managers and IT managers that have struggled with being excluded from strategic processes in the organization can also take heart in a similar approach. They must become business people first and then be recognized for their expertise. Rarely are they recognized for their expertise. It is in their application of their expertise as a resource or servant leader to the other parts of the organization that their true value can be recognized. Following is a short video on my presentation on Increasing Controller / CFO value. It was delivered in Las Vegas in Nov. 2014 and the topic was Innovation and Creativity in an Organization. This clip is based on an excerpt from my new book published by the AICPA - "Controller as Business Manager." Click on the following link to read more about the book Controller as Business Manager Increasing Controller / CFO Valueallowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" width="535">
Saturday, December 6. 2014Driving Value in an OrganizationTEC Leadership Podcast - Driving Value in the Organization - Controller as Business Manager - George Satula - Jim Lindell TEC Leadership Podcast - Driving Value in an Organization - Controller as Business Manager - Jim Lindell Thursday, April 24. 2014
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Servant Leadership![]() Servant Leadership - Thorsten Consulting Group, Inc. ©2014 ©2014 Thorsten Consulting Group, Inc. Friday, April 11. 2014The Desire for Wealth![]() Building Wealth - Thorsten Consulting Group, Inc. "The desire for wealth is understandable, the pursuit of wealth is underestimated, the harm in achieving wealth is misunderstood. - JL 4/14" The desire for wealth is understandable - Wealth can be attractive. It can be a tool to improve one's: life, family, or community. To pursue it to achieve a noble goal is the starting point for many. The pursuit of wealth is underestimated - The time commitment to achieve great wealth is sorely underestimated. This commitment may have many unforeseen costs that in retrospect are much greater than the wealth to be achieved. The harm in achieving wealth is misunderstood - Wealth that results in narcissistic behavior, reduced self discipline, reduced commitment to improving one's: life, family or community, is not wealth - it is a curse that is cloaked in a very seductive way. ©2014 Jim Lindell Thorsten Consulting Group, Inc. Monday, March 31. 2014
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Why is Monday the Worst Day of the Week?![]() Monday is the Worst Day of the Week - ©2014 - Jim Lindell - www.thorstenconsulting.com
Consider the following image. It is as simple as 1+2=3. Monday is the Worst Day of the Week with a "5!" Friday, August 9. 2013Practice versus Training: Is there a difference? Business vs. Sports
Is there a difference between practice and training? Absolutely! Consider the definitions of each term.
![]() Businesses need to practice in the same manner that Sports Teams need to practice.
![]() Both Businesses and Sports Teams invest in training to acquire new skills.
Sunday, May 5. 2013SWOT and Objective Outsiders - Strategic Planning©2013 - Thorsten Consulting Group, Inc. SWOT - Objective Outsiders - Strategic Planning The typical SWOT process requires input from senior managers. The distillation of the input should result in key points that the management team will: ignore, leverage, invest, divest, mitigate, defend or improve. One way to leverage the SWOT process is to have knowledgeable objective outsiders provide input for the SWOT analysis. The outsiders are typically not: held back by current paradigms, influenced by internal politics, advocates of a particular agenda. Companies have brought insiders in for focus groups and other type of information gathering processes. Expand the use of outsiders to enrich the strategic planning process. ©2013 Thorsten Consulting Group, Inc. - Jim Lindell #strategicplanning #outsiders #strengths #weaknesses #opportunities #threats p> Saturday, May 4. 2013Do you really want to post that comment?![]() Inappropriate Grammar in Post Before you post: 1) Is it an accurate statement? 2) Is it free of grammatical and spelling errors? 3) Are you willing to be associated with the post 5 years from now? 4) If you are trying to be humorous, cynical, or skeptical is it obvious to the reader? © 2013 Jim Lindell - Thorsten Consulting Group, Inc. Friday, August 17. 2012
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Increase your Creativity with Mindmapping
The following video illustrates the mindmapping process applied to disaster planning. Mindmapping will increase your creativity and can be used in all aspects of business from planning to daily operations. In addition, it can be used just as well in your daily life for personal planning, projects and career management.
Wednesday, August 15. 2012"All things are ready if our minds be so..."
Great Inspiration from Shakespeare's Henry V. This is a partial clip showing "Band of Brothers" and "St. Crispin's Day". It finishes with the alarm and Henry's quote - "All things are ready if our minds be so..."
Our success in our daily lives, whether it be business, personal, athletic, etc. depends on our state of mind. Henry Ford was quoted as saying, "Whether you think that you can, or that you can't, you are usually right." 1.
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Jim LindellJim Lindell is a National Speaker, Author, and TEC Chair. He is motivated by helping others improve their lives and businesses.
He is President of Thorsten Consulting Group, Inc. Order Jim's new book - "Controller as Business Manager" Published by the AICPA. controller as business manager - jim lindell - thorsten consulting group - AICPA QuicksearchArchivesCategoriesSyndicate This BlogBlog AdministrationNetworked Blogs |