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There are many hard skills to master and apply as a business owner. You have  operations, financial management, industry knowledge, HR, regulations and compliance, and legal requirements, to name just a few. It’s a lot to understand and master, but each of these proficiencies are essential to running and growing a successful company. There is a much softer skill, however, that is also intrinsically important to effective business leadership. It is one that is undervalued, underperformed, and mostly misunderstood. It is a concept that is seemingly so simple and straightforward, yet it rem ..read more

It’s a dangerous digital world out there – and a remarkable number of small businesses are under-protected, unprepared, and largely unconcerned about getting hit by a cyberattack. According to a recent Forbes article, a shocking 57% of small business owners believe their organizations won’t be victims in a cyberattack. But in reality, small businesses are a top target for hackers and account for at least 43% of all data breaches. The main reason for this is obvious. Many small business owners possess a false sense of security – and perhaps obscurity – when it comes to the prospect of cyberthr ..read more

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Social engineering is a hacking approach in which cybercriminals exploit human nature, psychology, curiosity, and ignorance to manipulate unsuspecting individuals into clicking on something harmful. Once the trap is set and a user opens a document embedded with malicious code or maybe enters login credentials to the company bank account, the damage is almost impossible to stop. A virus spreads through the network. A financial account is emptied. Your entire organization comes to a screeching halt due to ransomware. No matter how the cyberthreat manifests, it is always very-very bad news. And ..read more

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So you’re a business owner and you are pretty confident that your hiring process is both sound and ethical. After all, organizations today are bound by numerous laws and regulations that help ensure fairness throughout the talent acquisition process and help prevent discrimination in the workplace. But do those rules go far enough in guaranteeing a fair and ethical playing field? The short answer is, probably not.  The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) enforces a wide range of federal laws prohibiting employment discrimination based on factors like race, color, religion, se ..read more

Most business leaders regard themselves as ethical individuals, particularly when it comes to running a business that values integrity above all else. At the same time, even the most conscientious CEO or business owner can sometimes fall prey to common business ethics missteps ..read more

Business ethics is a tricky topic. First, very few owners or executives, even when acting outside of morality norms, actually believe they are conducting themselves unethically. To them, when faced with ethical ambiguity, they have been forced to make “some hard choices.” But does labeling an ethical challenge as difficult relieve the decision-maker of culpability in its aftermath? Hard to say, but what is clear is that business ethics is a great big grey area in which morality is almost always in the eye of the beholder. And that is a big deal, because now more than ever, customers want to a ..read more

In my time working with business owners, I’ve found out that in general, a common theme is facing challenges and key decision-making alone. On the other hand, I have also found entrepreneurs who have managed to make this journey easier and fun. Their secret? Oftentimes, having the support of an accountability partner made the difference between successfully moving forward or simply going broke ..read more