Business partnerships require more than just trust to be successful. My very first business venture was a coffee shop. This was back in the early ’90s when coffee shops were new and edgy. I’m not sure why they were considered edgy—maybe because we were asking you to pay a full $1 for a cup of… The post Forget Trust: The Real Foundation of Successful Business Partnerships appeared first on Christian Muntean ..read more

Achieving growth doesn't have to mean constant overexertion. Learn how the 80 X 80 framework can help your company double or triple in size while reducing effort, avoiding burnout, and sustaining success over the long term. The post The Power of Margins: Why 80% of the Effort Produces 100% of the Results appeared first on Christian Muntean ..read more

Pacing is crucial for leaders to maintain productivity without burning out. This post explores how to implement annual, weekly, and daily rhythms that balance effort and rest, ensuring sustainable success without sacrificing personal well-being. The post Pacing for Success: Lessons from the Olympics and Beyond appeared first on Christian Muntean ..read more

After achieving success, many leaders feel overwhelmed, stuck, or even depressed, leading to self-sabotage. This post delves into the reasons behind these feelings and offers five strategies to help leaders redefine success, avoid comparisons, practice gratitude, savor achievements, and surround themselves with fulfilled people. The post Why some leaders crash when they achieve success (and how to avoid it) appeared first on Christian Muntean ..read more

Learn how overreactions to past issues can create new problems in business and how to address these challenges constructively.c The post Handlebars, ribs, and overreactions: Don’t let solutions become problems. appeared first on Christian Muntean ..read more

Learn how Strategic Staffing can ensure you have the team you need when you need them. This guide covers anticipating staffing needs, developing internal talent, and building long-term recruitment strategies to stay ahead in a competitive market. The post Strategic Staffing: The Single Most Important Tool for Outpacing Your Competition appeared first on Christian Muntean ..read more

It’s said, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” This observation can apply to business as well. Business partnerships are often compared to marriages. Like a good marriage, they require effort, commitment, alignment, and clear communication to succeed. When done well, they can achieve what otherwise may be impossible. Research on partnerships is difficult to find. But here is an observation to chew on: Depending on the data source, only 5% – 9% of all businesses in the US grow beyond $1M in revenue. Very few companies that grow beyond $1M in revenue are owne ..read more

The attempted assassination of former President Trump shocked me, as it did many in the nation. But what has perhaps impacted me more was watching the nearly immediate pivot of talking heads and keyboard warriors into speculations on political strategy, conspiracy, blame, threats of vengeance, and regret that the shooting was unsuccessful. They never even took a breath. It’s ugly. Your leadership is needed now We need national leaders who will call for calm and unity. We have an opportunity to shift the tone of the national debate. Hopefully, some will step up. But we can’t pin our hopes on w ..read more

“We’re going to have to do surgery on his shoulder. We’ll cut through the shoulder joint and open it up entirely and clean out the infection.” I was sitting in a hospital room with my wife and one-year-old son. He had developed sepsis in his shoulder capsule – one of those freak things that just happened. The surgeon was advising us that to save him, they were going to have to cut his arm nearly entirely off. At least that’s what I heard. There was no way I was going to let that happen. “There has to be some other way! Can’t you go in with some kind of arthroscopy and clean it out?” The surge ..read more

Years ago, a friend challenged me to run a half-marathon with her. I wouldn’t consider myself a runner, but I did run cross-country in high school. So, I figured if she could run a half-marathon, so could I. She sent me her training plan. I ignored it. I thought, “If you want to run a long way, just run a long way. Do it over and over again, and it gets easier.” I didn’t need a plan, or so I thought. I started running a lot, in old shoes. I logged many more miles than her plan called for because I believed I was better than the plan. Then my hip started to hurt. It hurt so badly that I could ..read more