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Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. It's your employees' job to motivate buyers, but employees similarly need the right tools to succeed. In today's competitive environment, a well-written value proposition fills that need. What is your value proposition? A value proposition isn't just useless information about your company, products or services. It's a statement about what outcomes a person or group can expect when working with your company. A company's value proposition is at the core of its business model. It's a promise the organization makes to its customers regarding the value of its products and/or services. A value proposition should be simple, but powerful and clear. A compelling value proposition strategically examines the factors that influence customer focus, and overall business ambition and sets expectations. It serves both your customers and employees by setting up their expectations. Guiding ...

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Whether you run a start-up that focuses on a single market or own a large business that operates worldwide, defining the company's mission and values is the fundamental thing needed to communicate its reason for existence, connect to customers and organize the group of people who will work toward a common business goal. This is what the "First Who, Then What" concept presented by Jim Collins in his book Good to Great refers to. It also encourages entrepreneurs at the helm of building successful organizations to "get right people on the bus" — in the key seats — and only then decide where to steer the bus. My company quickly became convinced of this idea's veracity, and I am willing to share how we ensure no "random passengers" on board. Related: How Establishing Core Values Drives Success People come first When we saw our company growing 10x in the first three m...

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Which came first? It's a fierce dinner table debate. Dinosaurs laid eggs, so they came first. But did the chicken egg come first? One much simpler problem to discuss is whether the customer or the employee came first. https://www.tausiinsider.com/is-my-customer-more-important-than-my-employees/?feed_id=332674&_unique_id=64620a6d9475e

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Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. "My Fixation on Time Management Almost Broke Me" The above title is one of the most honest and striking stories I read in 2021. Not because it was controversial or revealed something deeply surprising, but because it affirmed a long-held belief I've been a proponent of. The article was penned by Harvard Business Education contributor Abbie J. Shipp and spoke to how managing one's time well isn't about discovering new time hacks, but learning better practices that won't jeopardize one's health. She writes: "In 2019, I hit a wall. To the outside observer, my career was successful, my family was happy and I seemed to be living the dream. What people didn't know, however, was that I was struggling with chronic insomnia, malnourishment, a pinched nerve in my neck and a wicked hormonal imbalance," she adds with candor. "I would later discover that, ironica...

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. On-the-job training is a common practice, regardless of how many employees work in an organization. As human beings, we naturally observe and model the behavior of those around us, especially when their behavior aligns with compensation, promotion and cultural norms. The not-so-secret secret of on-the-job training is that it relies on top performers to teach when they could or should be performing revenue-generating tasks. Relying on top performers to deliver training also limits the scope of skills exposure to what a top performer is willing or able to share. Not every expert is conscious of their own competencies or actions that help them achieve consistent success, nor is every expert a good instructor. The reality is that on-the-job training is inefficient, not standardized, unreliable and very hard to scale. However, on-the-job training does have one core benefit — it isn't theoretical. Prac...

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. I see it every week: the frustration over blown deadlines, the I'll-get-this-to-you-by-tomorrow commitment that floats into next week, the helplessness with always waiting on the same person to follow through on what they said they would do. So many leaders I work with are discouraged with their culture of accountability, not only because they believe they can't trust their reports, but also because they really want to . They feel like they're on a tightrope, balancing between being a compassionate, inspiring leader and a deadline-minded hardass. Accountability is an important part of culture, but according to the Workplace Accountability Study from Partners in Leadership (now Culture Partners), as many as 93% of employees are "unable to align their work or take accountability for desired results." How do effective leaders hold that tension between giving autonomy and holding...

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. The holiday season is here, and while that might mean family gatherings and hot chocolate for some, for those of us in customer success, it can mean high-intensity and understaffed teams. The last two months of the year tend to be frenzied. Leading up to holiday vacations, clients are rushing to wrap up projects before they're out of the office, organizations want to utilize the remaining budget for the year, and even those who aren't taking vacations are rushing to wrap up projects because they know that so many others will be unavailable. This can create a lot of pressure for your customer experience teams that these employees turn to during this season — not only because your teams will have to deftly help clients under stress, but because your teams might also be trying to prep for their own holiday vacations or working with a smaller headcount than usual if holidays have already begun. T...

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. The concept of remote work and the impact it could have on the productivity and motivation of employees, has been in discussion long before the Covid-19 pandemic. A 2013 Stanford University study with 500 employees in China reported that employee productivity increased by 13% as a result of working remotely in quieter environments. The pandemic forced employers and governments across the world to adopt the remote work model. According to Statista , the global collaboration software market revenues rose by a whopping $15.9 billion in 2019 to $19.2 billion in 2021. These figures are expected to increase over the next few years, as digital transformation and remote work are here to stay. Some companies believe that the best practice is a hybrid-first work model, while others are pursuing efforts to bring employees back to the office. In September 2022, Kastle Systems, a key-card property management com...

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Answering this straightforward question may change your business forever: What does it mean to be a leader in your organization? As a leadership coach and trainer, I am often asked, "What is the best leadership training for my organization?" My response is always, "What change do you want to make, and what makes that change important for your organization?" I ask those questions because most organizations use leadership training to react to an adverse behavioral or systemic trend in their operations. That simple question almost always leads to discovering a simple truth: Leaders in the organization don't know what it means to lead effectively. Effective leaders lead in a way that encourages their people and promotes business sustainability. Rather than doing reactionary training, I encourage my clients to develop a leadership framework. Developing a framework for leadership in...

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Your employee is asking for a raise. And you can't blame them. Inflation is running between 7-8%, and people need to, at the very least, keep up with the cost of living. This is now the norm in 2023. It's happening everywhere. Payroll company ADP recently reported that employees received 7.3% more pay over the past months — with employees changing jobs seeing more than double that amount. And many experts say that trend will continue through this year. But giving raises is certainly easier said than done. Big companies may be able to absorb the additional costs. But if you're running a small or even mid-sized business doing so isn't so simple. The good news is that there are options. So before handing out that raise and shouldering that extra expense, here are seven things you can do that may lessen the impact. Related: 'Ask For a Raise Now': Salaries Aren't Keeping Up Wi...

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. One of your crucial responsibilities as the CEO or General Manager is making the best decision for your company. While at this, there are occasions when your employees are buzzing with ideas, which seem fantastic to them, but may not be the best fit for the company's growth. Reasons may be because of the company's current stage or other factors. Giving constructive decline to employees' suggestions is far more than just a typical staff management duty. One of the most beneficial things you can do as a manager is to provide employees feedback on why the suggestion may not be the best fit. Your capacity to pinpoint specific areas for improvement and motivate your team to take charge of their development will determine how well you can assist staff members in moving on to the next level. And when you give your employees constructive criticism, it can inspire them to improve their performance...

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. A few weeks ago, I got into an interesting discussion on LinkedIn about the value of meetings. The exchange started with this post , wherein I broke down the cost of a 90-minute meeting I'd just sat through. By prorating the salaries of everyone involved, I calculated that the hour and a half we spent cost our company $1,826. Then, I asked the person who ran it if he thought it was worth the money. We didn't have that meeting again. In the post's numerous comments, some people agreed with me and proposed things like including the cost of a meeting in each invite. Others mentioned how they'd made similar calculations while consulting, and quoted some astronomical annual costs for their companies. A notable comment cohort wasn't quite as big on my cost-counting idea, however, and pointed out that putting a dollar amount on everything we do was a "1950s way of thinking," an...

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. "I don't feel well. Call 911." That was supposedly what I said to my husband, who was sitting next to me at a midtown Manhattan restaurant, but I'm not quite sure. I do recall telling him a bit earlier about a new business angle my maternity brand, Emilia George, could potentially pivot to, as well as taking out my cellphone to snap a selfie while jokingly observing: "This is gonna be the moment when the next great business idea was born!" Suddenly, all was a blur, and quiet — far too quiet for a New York eatery — followed by people around us panicking and wishing me well. Then there was an ambulance, a stretcher and siren, then doctors, nurses, EKG and blood work, and a few hours later my husband took me home. I'm a mom, so went immediately to check on my baby and toddler, but didn't know what to say or think in the wake of the diagnosis. It wasn't long therea...

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. As your workers adjust to rising energy prices and the ever-changing hybrid work landscape of post-pandemic Europe, they're facing stresses in their personal and professional lives. A good manager wants to inspire employees, especially in difficult times, but where do you begin? Jacob Lund | Shutterstock The dreary final stretch of winter is a great time to give them some extra inspiration, so here are a few tips. 1. Spruce up the work environment. You already know that after the work-from-home boom of the pandemic, return-to-office pushes weren't universal. Some offices have downsized as more employees have stayed remote while others have started a four-day work week or other hybrid model. There may be some open space in your office as a result, so why not spruce it up? Invest some time and money in...