Forward Looking Business Training

 Business Essentials Challenge is a fun and interactive test of business knowledge. Follow us on Linkedin under Daniel W. Elliot, CGA, CGA to participate in our daily questions and answers.

  Are you prepared for the storm that is coming? Will you be the one standing, or the one scrambling? Fire, flood, supply interruptions, and even civil unrest can affect your ability to operate. This week on Business Blunders we are delving into Business Continuity Planning. Update: Instead of rehashing our existing Forward Looking Guide: What's the Plan - an introduction to Business Continuity Planning, email us at training@forwardlookingsolutions.ca and we will email you a free pdf copy! We look forward to hearing from you.

‘It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you don’t care who gets the credit .’ (Harry S. Truman)   Let's continue with the discussion on Leadership starting with Teamwork. There is a concept called ‘Synergy’ which is defined as ‘a sum that is greater than the whole of its parts.’ If eight people each tried to pick up a boulder, individually they will fail… if they do it together, they will succeed. We can apply this concept to almost every aspect of our life and business.   ‘None of us is as smart as all of us.’ (Kenneth H. Blanchard)   Multi disciplinary teams are the key to an organization´s success and working together is paramount. Engineers design it, fabricators build it, marketers sell it, mechanics maintain it, and administrators keep us on track. Each of these people are links to a chain, and collectively they accomplish your goals. The key to all of this is to bring everyone and their skills together and have them work in unison to accomplish their common goal.

  This week on Business Blunders Trivia we started the discussion on Leadership. The first question I put forward was if leaders such as Dwight D. Eisenhower were too old school, or were they in fact instrumental in modern leadership theory? I say yes they were instrumental, and you only need to read the quotes I have chosen to agree with me. ‘Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.’ (Dwight D. Eisenhower) ‘The best executive is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and self restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it’. (Theodore Roosevelt) ‘The department is filled with able men who analyze their problems well but always feel compelled to bring them to me for final solution, I must have assistants who will solve their own problems and tell me later what they have done.’ (George C. Marshall) ‘I love argument. I love debate. I don’t expect anyone just to sit there and a

 This week on Business Blunders Trivia we are going to talk about Leadership, and we begin by telling you how it started for me.  On a summer night in 1986, I experienced an event that shaped the foundation of what I, and my organization Forward Looking Solutions are all about.  At the age of twenty, having served in a small town as a volunteer fire-fighter for just under two years and already achieving the rank of captain, I experience a leadership role that will remain in my mind forever. On this night, we were called to attend a dormitory fire at a private school, and when I arrived at the fire station, I discovered due to regular work commitments of our chief and deputy, I would be in charge of this incident. A critical part of the fire service is contingency planning: our equipment was maintained; we were familiar with most establishments; we knew where our closest water source was for each address in our area; hydrants were inspected and flushed regularly; and we also had relatio

  ‘Ability is nothing without opportunity.’ (Napoleón Bonaparte)   The hiring process is often considered a one-sided equation; however, selecting the ‘Right Fit’ should work both ways as the team must have the right members, and the member must have the right team. For those who question the two-sidedness of this, you can be assured the most talented will only stay when the work environment is congruent with their own values, needs and desires.   Selecting the right team member consists of two primary phases: the first being choosing the right candidate, and second, taking the appropriate steps to ensure they are successful.   Selecting the team member includes: Determining what the ‘Right Fit’ is for your organization Advertising clearly articulating the Job Description and what you consider as the ‘Right Fit.’ Assessing potential applicants to ensure they meet the requirements. Selecting the right candidate.   Ensuring Success includes: Providing the chosen team mem