President Trump signed the Taxpayer First Act, which helps prevent businesses from civil forfeiture, reports Forbes. 

Read the article on Forbes

Only 32% of small businesses surveyed managed to secure a traditional bank loan, reports Small Business Trends. 

Read the article on Small Business Trends

According to Small Business Trends, Mastercard has teamed up with Zoho, a CRM & business productivity platform, to offer small businesses access to Zoho’s suite of tools. 

Read the article on Small Business Trends

Small businesses can’t offer over the top perks like their larger competitors, but they can give employees more creative perks like no set hours or fun team events. 

Read the article on The Motley Fool

Well-established companies generally provide their Sales and Executive team with corporate credit cards to use for travel expenses and networking activities such as dinners and Happy Hours. Company-issued credit cards allow employees to expense work-related expenditures without having to rely on their personal credit card alleviating the stress of incurring late fees. If you are looking into the benefits of a corporate credit card, there are a few things you should know before making a decision.

Not all businesses will be approved for a corporate credit card. There are standards that needs to be met. For instance, an organization will have to meet a certain revenue threshold to be considered for a corporate credit card and aren’t free. Just like a credit card with an annual fee, a company issued credit card has a fee per employee that goes towards maintenance and exclusive customer service for your business.

Assuming the criteria is met, it’s important to create a credit card agreement that appeases both organization and employees. These guidelines will inform an employee what instances and situations they’re allowed to use their corporate credit card versus their personal card.  This agreement will hold your employees accountable incase an issue arises and not hold the business liable for any misuse.

It is important that the agreement between the organization and the employee is clear and concise when it comes to do’s and don’ts. It’s wise to have a per diem amount on travel expenses to ensure employees are not spending the company’s money frivolously. Best practice would be to require itemized receipts for charges over a certain amount and clarify who, if anyone can fly business or first class when traveling. What happens if an employee doesn’t follow those guidelines? It is important to state consequences in the agreement if an employee fails to abide by the agreement.By ensuring the company issued credit card agreement is clear, fewer mistakes will be made, and fewer exceptions if any will have to be given.

Most corporations require their employees to submit expense reports. The agreement should detail what is expected to be submitted in the expense report. This can include the date where the event took place; the names of any clients that attended a dinner; which hotel an employee stayed at and Deadlines are also important to note in the guidelines, so employees understand when they need to submit their expense reports by.

Last but not least, it’s important to get the agreement approved by your legal department. Legal advice is extremely helpful when creating agreements. At this stage the legal department will be able to let you know if there are any issues with your agreement. They will be able to notify you if anything in the document is offensive, unclear, or could be construed a certain way. Legal will also be able to read through the document and give advice on what (if any) changes need to be made.

Having a solid credit card agreement between the business and the employees ensures that mistakes don’t happen and everyone is on the same page regarding expectations. There will always be issues that aren’t accounted for, but by providing as much information as possible in the agreement and getting approval by legal ensures that those scenarios will be minimal.  By taking these precautions, you are well on your way to decide if a corporate business card is right for you.

A promissory note is a crucial document for large transactions. It is used by businesses in consumer lending and other businesses. Some other examples of transactions where the promissory note can be used include home purchases and student loans. Owing to the importance of promissory note, it must be created correctly so that it serves the purpose for which it was intended. It must specify the method of payment and at the same time be simple but reflect the terms of the agreement. These components make the note legally enforceable. Below are some tips t you should consider when writing a promissory note:

1. Meet the needed elements of a legally enforceable promissory note

For a promissory note to be enforceable, it must contain some crucial elements. Without such components, collecting money loaned might be futile. These elements include:

• The amount you loaned -the amount borrowed or owed
• Date of repayment- The date which the payment must be made
• Interest rates – This is the rate which the lender will charge on the borrowed money calculated by annual percentage rate (APR)
• Amount after interest (calculated as principal + interest)
• Collateral or agreed security (goods or services used as a guarantee for debts to be paid)
• Terms for late repayment – What happens in case the agreed repayment made late
• Terms for defaulting – What will happen if the borrower fails to pay
• Signature

2. List down the terms of the agreement

The terms of agreement are the things that the lender and the borrower agree upon. These terms should cover the elements listed above. The terms of agreement should be specific and must contain the repayment schedule which can be weekly or monthly basis, etc.

3. Chose either secured or unsecured promissory note for repayment

In a secured promissory note, the borrower provides collateral in terms of goods, services or property which is to be taken in case he/she defaults repaying. Usually, the collateral’s value is equal to or greater than the debt’s principal.  An unsecured promissory note, on the other hand, involves no collateral.

4. Find proper security for your loan

For the case of a secured promissory note, the person borrowing cash has to agree to collateral which can either be property or services. To make sure that you get paid, you should consider filing a financial statement (Form UCC1) to collect loans if a debtor fails to repay or files for bankruptcy. The form should list down the value of the collateral and its description in full.

Ensuring the promissory note is enforceable

1. Making promissory note enforceable

The note must be signed to make it enforceable. If not signed, it is not legally binding and will not hold in a court of law in case of a dispute. It must also include:

• Legal names of the parties involved
• Addresses and phone numbers of each individual involved
• Signature of the lender, borrower, and the witness
• Purpose of the money borrowed

1. Inform the borrower of the right to transfer

The person borrowing the money has a right to be informed that the note is transferable to another party by the lender. However, the original terms of the agreement will remain effective although the debt will be payable to a different party.

1. The borrower should be informed of the right to cancel the note
2. Issue a release of a promissory note when the loan is paid back to signify the end of commitment for both parties. Such a release clause helps to prevent future disputes and lawsuits in the future. If collateral which secured such note exists, ensure that every lien is cancelled and terminated appropriately.

Small business credit cards are becoming an increasingly popular option for business financing. This is particularly useful for small businesses which do not qualify for traditional loans and lack access to funding organizations.

Regardless of the industry of your business or the number of years it has been in operation, a credit card can be of great help as long as you use it wisely and shun buying items which are not needed or cannot be afforded by your business. Small business credit cards differ in various aspects. For instance, while some have higher spending limits and generous rewards programs and promotions on the transfer of balance, personalized concierge service and other benefits, others have an annual fee and require excellent or good credit to qualify.

Owing to the importance of credit cards to any business, it is often challenging for many business owners to get a single solution for their credit card needs. At the same time, switching between credit cards and the expenses that come with using many of them are the luxuries that small business can’t afford. Therefore, separating your personal account from the business account should always be done to minimize the misuse of funds and ease the transparency of expenditure.  It is always good to find a single best credit card that addresses all your business needs and keeps your spending transparent. The best business credit cards have bonus schemes for business expenditure and rebates which cannot be offered by typical credit cards. Here are a few options of business cards you can choose from for your business:

Ink Business Preferred Credit Card

 This solution from Chase is known for value for its annual fee. It gives you three points per $1 spent in popular categories such as travel and allows one to select business purchases. Once you reach an annual cap of $150,000, you can still earn a point for every $1 you spend. For new cardholders who spend $5,000 within the first three months from account opening, they are given 80,000 bonus points. If these points are redeemed, they can amount to $1000 in travel or $800 for cash back. It also has advanced fraud protection which is crucial for any business.

Capital One® Spark® Cash for Business

Capital One Spark Cash for Business is an all-rounded solution that a small business should have at hand. First, it has no annual fee for the first year and after that, you get charged only $95 a year. Employee cards are free and the welcome offer is amazing. The combination of perks and features make this solution an amazing small business credit card. The one-time $500 cash bonus when one spends $4,500 on a credit card within the first three months of account opening makes it even better. The user is also awarded a 2 percent unlimited cash back on every purchase carried out with the card.

The Business Platinum® Card from American Express

This card offers business owners a comprehensive number of benefits despite high annual fee and inability to carry the balance beyond a given cycle. As a start, the customer is given up to 75,000 membership rewards which can get them started. If the customer feels that the points are not enough, they can have an opportunity to earn more points. This card also offers various premium benefits and travel perks. Apart from this, if you spend an additional $10,000, you are given 50,000 membership reward points and after spending an additional $10,000 you are given another $25,000. With an annual fee of $595, the employee cards can be added at no additional cost. You can as well earn 1.5 points on any eligible $1 spend on a purchase of $5,000 or more and a point for $1 on any other purchase. Membership rewards can be used to pay for first-class flights with any airline available through American Express Travel and you can be rewarded 35 percent of the points back.

The solutions above are just a few among the best credit cards for small businesses. However, there are many other credit cards which have different advantages that can be beneficial to your business.

When it comes to financial planning, most Americans take a do-it-yourself approach. In fact, various surveys and studies over the years have shown that anywhere from 60 to 70 percent or more don’t have a financial advisor. But does that mean the remaining minority who do hire someone are more confident about what the future holds for them financially?

Maybe. But maybe not.

Most of those people say they don’t completely trust that their advisor is always acting in their best interests, according to a poll by the American Association of Individual Investors.

That distrust could even be part of the reason some people decide to forgo using an advisor at all.

“People see headlines about shady practices that exist in the financial word, and as a result they become leery of working with any financial advisor because they no longer know who to trust,” says Chris Hobart (www.hobartfinancialgroup.com), a financial professional and financial commentator.

It was the shady practices of one such advisor that put Hobart on the path to a career in financial services. His grandmother placed her trust in an advisor who “advised her right out of her life savings,” he says.

“I think it’s important for those of us in the industry to demand more of ourselves, because investors deserve more from us,” he says. “We must call out questionable practices when we see them.”

But what can the average person do to improve the odds that they are working with an advisor they can trust? Hobart suggests a few questions to ask yourself about the person you rely on to handle your finances:

Is your advisor honest when discussing how they are paid? Financial professionals are paid in a number of ways, but the financial industry hasn’t always been forthcoming about compensation, Hobart says. Some are paid on commission. Some charge fees. Some work based on a combination of commissions and fees. It’s important to know just what you are paying for the services. “Clients often are hesitant to ask how their advisors make money,” he says. “Don’t be. A trustworthy advisor will have an honest, open conversation with you about this.”

Does your advisor encourage questions? “Any good relationship is built on open, two-way communication,” Hobart says. “It’s your money. You deserve to know exactly how it’s being invested and why.” But a good advisor will do more than answer your questions, he says. They will also proactively provide information to your about your accounts, whether you ask or not.

Does your advisor know you? Everyone is different, with their own goals and dreams about the future. “The right financial plan for you isn’t the right plan for anyone else,” Hobart says. “Your advisor should offer personalized financial planning that fits your life, not cookie cutter advice that’s the same for everyone.”

“Now, more than ever, investors are demanding honesty from not only individual advisors but also larger financial institutions,” Hobart says. “There is no longer space within the industry for financial professionals who are motivated only by their own financial gains.”

Chris Hobart (www.hobartfinancialgroup.com) is CEO and founder of Hobart Financial Group. A graduate of the University of North Carolina, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration, Hobart is a nationally-recognized financial commentator, an Investment Advisor Representative (IAR), and a licensed insurance agent. Senior Market Advisor Magazine named Hobart one of the nation’s top independent financial advisors. He’s been a featured guest on CNBC and Fox Business and a regular guest on WCNC’s “Charlotte Today.” Hobart has also appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Reuters, The Associated Press, MSN Money, The Charlotte Observer, Men’s Health, Kiplinger, Market Watch, The Street, The New York Times, USA Today and Forbes.

“The people who need the most guidance on how to be successful in the workplace are often flooded with so much information, there’s no way for them to absorb it, let alone change what they do,” says business enablement expert Juliana Stancampiano, Founder and CEO of Oxygen.  In her new book, RADICAL OUTCOMES:  How to Create Extraordinary Teams That Get Tangible Results (Wiley Publishing; January 2019), she shows companies how to more effectively help their people do their jobs, to build more profitable and productive organizations.

Most business leaders recognize that success in today’s environment demands much more than exceptional products.  Companies must also create great experiences for their customers by leveraging the increasingly complex technology landscape.  To do this, employees need to develop new sets of skills on a regular basis.  Indeed, learning and development is now a $140 billion industry.  However, Stancampiano maintains that much of this money is wasted.  

“There is so much pressure to change, and seemingly so little time to do it.  As a result, decision makers make investments that appear to assume we live in a science fiction film, where all you need to do is send those salespeople, managers, or engineers to a five-day training course, and all of the company’s problems will be solved,” she writes.  Moreover, she says, enablement teams – the people in charge of creating the materials intended to help employees learn – often don’t understand the business results they are working to create.

In RADICAL OUTCOMES, Stancampiano explains how to bring an end to this wasted investment in “random acts of training.”  The key, she says, is to use an outcome-based approach.  This mindset demands focusing on measurable results – like proccess improvements or efficiencies, reduced costs, or increased conversion rates – first, and then identifying the tasks necessary to achieve those results.  “If you’re not always working backwards from the outcomes you’re driving and measuring, it doesn’t matter how many people show up to class or how many hours of training you put people through,” she says.

In addition, enablement teams must create training experiences and content that are easy to consume, highly relevant, and sequenced over a timetable that makes sense.  RADICAL OUTCOMES illustrates this process through the story of a fictional company facing a major challenge:  developing an entirely new way of ramping up hundreds of new hires to be able to reach quota in less time.  The key elements of the process include:

Creating An Ensemble -- It’s rarely one person who is able to achieve something all on his or her own.  Being part of a team is what the smartest, most successful people do.  At the same time, teams must find a cohesive way to work together – to become a “collaborative ensemble.”  This demands finding a common goal or mission, achieving role clarity, and establishing interpersonal codes of conduct.

Letting Go Of What You Know – “Many of the concepts we use at work today to engage, converse, produce, and develop are rooted in stale, decades-old theory. In some cases, we try to enable our people using methods developed during the Industrial Revolution,” writes the author.  But if you’re going to effectively help others to do their jobs better, you have to let go of some common beliefs.  For example, you don’t have to create perfect “stuff.”  “Even that which is polished is not perfect – and, it’s much harder to change. You’ll need to be agile. And you need to be relevant. But not perfect. Letting go of perfection, we have found, is a big relief,” explains Stancampiano.

The Outcome Is The Thing – Stancampiano and her team have found that leaders aren’t seeing the connection between their investments in enablement, the work that’s happening to create those programs, and the results generated by that work.  “There’s a BIG difference between an outcome and an output.  The “stuff” we create does not, in and of itself, constitute an outcome for the business,” she writes.  Instead, a “radical outcome” that moves the needle must: involve executive-level, cross-functional stakeholders; achieve results over time; and have measurable results.

Know Your Audience – The audience are the people for whom you are creating your enablement experiences.  If you don’t know them, and where they stand in their journey at work, how can you ensure that they have a good experience in consuming what you create for them?  Stancampiano says that there are three simple aspects about your audience that you must know:  their realities (such as what kind of environment they work in, how they get information, and what time constraints they have); their role (a front-line supervisor’s world is very different from the manager of a call center); and the time frame for their role (consider such questions as “What is reasonable to expect someone who is new to their role to be able to do in 90 days?“)
 
“If you’re frustrated by the obvious ways in which people are wasting their time or working at odds with each other, by the constant stops and false starts, re-dos and re-implementations, with no discernible progress, there’s a real alternative,” declares Stancampiano.  RADICAL OUTCOMES will give you the tools you need, so you can stop wasting time and money and learn how to enable your people to do their work better and get results faster.

Juliana Stancampiano, author of RADICAL OUTCOMES, is an entrepreneur and the CEO of Oxygen. For more than fifteen years, she has worked with Fortune 500 companies, both in them and for them. Her firm’s clients include Microsoft, DXC, Delta Dental (of WA), Starbucks, F5 Networks, Avaya, and Western Digital, among others. Her in-depth experience, along with the research that Oxygen conducts and the articles she has published, has helped to shape the perspective that Oxygen embraces.  

The fact that people are wired to react so strongly to stories should motivate business leaders to develop their storytelling skills. But what business situations call for a story?

You might have guessed the answer—it depends. It depends on both the situation and what you’d like to accomplish in the situation. The situation might be a staff meeting where you’re introduced to the people on your new team, for example. As their new boss, your objective might be to get them to like and respect you and to start dismantling the barriers of mistrust and uncertainty. Another situation might be that members of your team have lost enthusiasm for their work, and your objective is to restore their engagement and give them purpose, so they understand the “why” of what they’re spending most of their waking hours doing. Or maybe valuable members of your team feel unappreciated or don’t get the credit they deserve. In that situation, your objective may be to reinforce or highlight certain norms and behaviors with your stories and to draw positive attention to them.

Below are three types of stories that every leader should master. My hope is that they inspire readers to dig deeper into this topic and to identify and cultivate potential stories that can help you accomplish important objectives.

1. Stories We Tell Ourselves

We constantly assemble bits and pieces of information of what we observe around us and automatically turn them into stories that tend to reinforce our long-developed beliefs. If those stories are positive ones—you admire a colleague and tend particularly to notice the admirable things she does, you pride yourself on your own punctuality and pat yourself on the back whenever you find yourself (again!) to be the first person to show up at a meeting—these perspectives are often uplifting and empowering.

The problem comes when we tell ourselves negative stories. For instance, if I feel that the people around me are lazy and incompetent, the stories I create will be based on morsels of data that “conform” that belief. Or if I feel that I don’t measure up to others’ expectations, the stories I create will reinforce this self-assessment, prominently featuring my mistakes, my failures, and others’ expressions of disappointment in me. And so a vicious loop is created where negative perceptions—including of the self—determine the stories we tell ourselves, which in turn play out in full color to reinforce these perceptions.

Clearly these aren’t productive narratives, nor do they serve the people and organizations we lead. And while I’m aware that years of cognitive behavioral therapy may sometimes be the most effective solution to modify such beliefs-and-values–powered narratives, I’d like to suggest that we have the option to intervene any time we recognize (self-awareness!) the unproductive nature of the stories we tell ourselves.

It’s clear that the stories we tell ourselves have an impact not just on our own behavior, but also on our engagement with others and in turn on their perceptions of us as leaders, colleagues, and partners. By carefully examining our dominant narratives and making sure they contribute positive value to our and others’ lives, we’re one step closer to wielding real influence with the power of storytelling.

2. Stories We Tell Others About Ourselves

Whether you are a leader joining a new team, or a job candidate in the first round of interviews, or someone meeting a potential new client for the first time, the stories you tell about yourself often set the tone for how the relationship will unfold, if it does, that is. Which are the right stories in such scenarios? It’s hard to go wrong with stories that illustrate your humility, good judgment, integrity, and expertise and experience. As for what to emphasize, putting yourself firmly into the shoes of your audience should provide clues. The needs and expectations of the people in your audience will, of course, vary, depending on the context of the meeting and their future goals as they involve you.

For instance, if you are the new boss meeting the members of your team for the first time, you know they’ll wonder about your leadership style and how you’ll treat them. Acknowledge this and share a personal story or two that show you empathize—maybe from when you met your boss for the first time. Mention the lessons you’ve learned in managing others and make sure to highlight any mistakes from which you’ve grown. Share examples of how you’ve navigated new cultures in the past—organizational or regional—and what you’re hoping to learn in this next stage with their help. This shows humility, humanizes you, and reduces the power distance that can hamper the open and honest dialogue that builds trust.

If your audience—whether a group or an individual—is looking to engage you for your expertise, share stories that illustrate how you’ve delivered results or solved similar problems for others. Mention the challenges you encountered along the way and how you met them successfully—even if it took a few attempts to get it right. This is also an elegant way to share your strengths without bragging about your accomplishments.

When others want to get to know us, they aren’t just looking for the content on our LinkedIn profile. They want to know the real us to determine whether we’re trustworthy and whether associating with us will be of positive or negative value to them. That’s why recruiters and hiring managers no longer have qualms about digging into our social media pro les and online musings to evaluate our reputation and our judgment.

And judgment is key whenever we share personal information. Faulty judgment can result in some awkward moments if not lasting reputational harm.

Faulty judgment in personal stories isn’t always this glaring. But if you are unsure of how your stories might land, run them first by people you trust. In the end, with personal stories less is more and humility is better.

3. Stories We Tell Our Teams or Organizations

The type of storytelling that is intrinsic to successful leadership is the ability to tell compelling stories of the future, to articulate a vision, to both internal and external audiences. Leaders need to master another kind of story too—this kind is about organizational values.

Whatever the management goal, there are storytelling strategies that can help further it. A former Facebook director of engineering, Bobby Johnson, once saw the need for a cultural shift in the company’s infrastructure team. Although many of his engineers were drawn to exciting new projects and innovations, Johnson knew that other Facebook engineers, the ones who worked behind the scenes to ensure that the existing systems ran faster and better than before, also did critical work. He wanted to highlight these “unsung heroes,” both to honor them and to get more engineers interested in their less glamorous but nonetheless essential work. To accomplish this, he would take every opportunity—in one-on-ones, in meetings, and in group e-mails—to share stories of important fixes that these day-to-day engineers made and to publicly praise them.

Similarly, if you want people to speak up more in meetings and challenge each other, share a story of how a lone dissenting voice was able to change your mind about a decision you’d made, and how this wouldn’t have happened if the person hadn’t felt comfortable in challenging you. Or if you want to increase collaboration among teams, share a story about two teams who decided to join forces and whose combined creativity and brainpower led to important breakthroughs for the organization. And if it’s courage and risk taking you want to promote, highlight stories of risk-taking colleagues—and include their failures, to make the point that learning from mistakes is just another way forward.

As you can see in the three types of stories above, the formula for telling a story is simple. Decide which values you want to promote and which behaviors you want to encourage, and then make those traits the themes of your stories, and include characters who demonstrate the desired traits. Do these stories have to be true? It helps if they are, and it’s even better if your audience knows the protagonists. However, hypothetical scenarios can pack just as big a punch, as we’ve learned from neuroscience research and our own experiences from the myriad of stories that surround us.

Harrison Monarth is the CEO and Founder of Gurumaker and author of Executive Presence: The Art of Commanding Respect Like a CEO. An Executive Coach, he teaches C-suite leaders, senior executives, high potential managers and other top professionals effective leadership and positive behavior change for professional and organizational success. For more information, please visit, www.gurumaker.com and connect with Monarth on Twitter, @HarrisonMonarth and LinkedIn.

Enterprise resource planning (ERP) gathers all the various processes that are essential for running a business in one integrated system. It is considered the backbone of your core business and serves as a shared database for the different departments, making your business run smoother by breaking down organizational silos.

However, there are still plenty of businesses that have yet to make the move. Primarily because they think it is expensive, that it is not designed for smaller businesses, or not sure what to expect when implementing one. The truth is, with an ERP system specifically designed for small and midsized businesses you can cut costs, improve collaboration by unifying the different departments, and increase efficiency and productivity.

Here are 5 reasons why it is important.

All In One – Seamlessly integrated

One of the biggest advantages of ERP is the possibility for all departments and functions across a business to work in one seamlessly integrated system. Collaboration becomes a lot easier and it will help your business make smarter decisions, serve your customers better, and work more efficiently overall, by streamlining your business processes.

Automation – Reduce manual work

With automation, many of your business processes, errors and costs are greatly reduced. For example, the accounting field involves a lot of number-crunching, a manual task that now easily can be automated with the use of artificial intelligence (AI). By automating tedious tasks, you unlock time for more valuable, creative work.

Scalability and flexibility – Room for growth

If you have big ambitions to grow your business, you should consider an ERP system that can handle everything from simple to more advanced tasks. ERP is not only valuable for the present, it is an important investment for the future. As your business grows, so does the complexity and the need for more advanced functionality.

Customization – Tailor it to suit your needs

All businesses are unique, which is why customization is another important reason for converting to an ERP system. A top modern ERP system provides you with a wide range of customization, including tailored user interface, workflows, approval processes, and more.

Most ERP systems have a modular approach, meaning you can customize it to meet your specific needs and not having to pay for unneeded extras. The system can also adapt to the ever-changing needs of a growing business, ensuring you won’t have to buy a new solution once your needs change, or your business grows.

Cloud-based/SaaS – Ready for the future

Implementing an ERP system is an investment for the future. Will you decide to go for on-premise or cloud ERP, and how do they differ from one another?

An on-premise software is installed locally on the company’s own hardware. There is usually a significant fee upfront and there will be ongoing costs of maintaining your server room and IT department. An on-premise ERP system is also known for being less scalable, flexible and efficient compared to a cloud-based ERP system.

A cloud-based ERP system is hosted on the vendors cloud computing platform. The software is more agile, faster, make better use of your data, but also enhances data security. It is more cost-effective, easier to implement and requires less maintenance compared to an on-premise software. In addition, customization and upgrades to your product will be done by the provider, meaning you will always have access to the latest and most advanced version of the ERP system. By choosing a cloud-based ERP system, you will strengthen the backbone of your business for many years to come.

Stian Rustad founded 24SevenOffice back in 1997, which is the world’s first cloud-based ERP system. Besides being the Founder and CEO of 24SevenOffice, Stian is an experienced serial entrepreneur and angel investor with several successful startups and investments since 1997.

Visit https://24sevenofficeus.com/ for more information about 24SevenOffice.

Within any story, whether it’s fictional or real, everyone knows the main character—be it the CEO of a company, the lead in a movie, or the inventor of the latest technology. In business, it’s the executive who innovates and exceeds expectations who gets the spotlight.

In reality, behind that successful front person and their achievements is a highly collaborative team – one that has set the context and expectations for how they want to work together, and has established strong, interpersonal codes of conduct. They have spent time figuring out and agreeing on how they act and how they don’t act.

Although a team’s code may vary depending on its work or industry, high-performing teams have a lot in common. Here are five tenets that the best teams in business share: 

The ability to say “I don’t know”  

Complex situations rarely have easy answers, yet we’ve been taught that we are supposed to show up to a discussion or conversation with solutions. This is not realistic in a world with so many moving parts and variables. Articulating the truth of the matter–that one person doesn’t have the answer–unburdens the individual and makes team members more powerful in their ability to collaborate and brainstorm. These teams show up to meetings ready to contribute, saying things like, “I don’t know the answer to this—here are some of my thoughts.” Or, “I’m not sure I know, and here is what this makes me think.”

Sentences like this create space for others to chime in with their thoughts and, especially when a team is responsible for a high-value business outcome, the best ideas are born from collaborative work, not the Herculean efforts of one person. 

Authenticity

High-performing teams recognize that each member is human and everyone is different. They know that each person has strengths and weaknesses. When teams acknowledge this—and enable one another to show up authentically, without posturing or posing, it enhances the communication between the team members.  No one pretends to be something they’re not. Having this authenticity also encourages people to lean in and help.

Transparency

The best teams and their leaders know that, as important as work is, everyone is juggling their business priorities with the rest of their lives. Businesses have often discouraged transparency and put work first at all costs, but high-performing teams allow for individuals to communicate up-front about responsibilities outside of work. For example, giving team members the space to take a family member to a medical appointment or handle a business-hours-sensitive errand (as long as it’s communicated up front and ahead of time) allows the rest of the team to cover and engenders good will from the individual who needs to step out.

When teams have this kind of transparency, they can coordinate coverage and set expectations for clients and colleagues up front, rather than scrambling right before a deadline when someone suddenly is out and can’t be found. Transparency breeds proactive planning and discourages secret-keeping.

The ability to ask for help

Especially in today’s increasingly complex world, teams must be able to ask each other for help. A rule of thumb to consider when stuck: don’t spend more than fifteen to thirty minutes thinking about something before reaching out to a teammate and saying, “I’m stuck, can you talk through this with me?”

Even the small act of verbalizing a problem usually results in an individual figuring out a way forward in far less time than if they’d been operating alone. It can feel intimidating, but it works. 

The ability to say “Yes, and...”

These high-performing teams also foster a culture of improvisation through the use of “yes, and..” instead of “yes, but…” when they are dealing with differences in opinion. The human brain hears “but” as a negation of everything said before it, as opposed to “and” which implies a willingness to collaborate without putting listeners on the defensive.

When teams work well together, they know that it took everyone to pull off the achievement. They’re stronger together when they are committed to collaborating and adhering to a code of conduct.  

Katherine Shao is Executive Creative Director at Oxygen, where she develops programs to help senior leaders better understand the changes that are occurring around them, and how to improve communication up and across their organizations. Before joining Oxygen, Katherine worked at Forrester Research for 10 years where she covered Forrester’s CIO Leadership Board, co-founded the Sales Enablement practice, and held positions in business development and consulting. Katherine’s diverse background includes 15 years in Information Technology.  A graduate of Bowdoin College, she has a Master’s degree from Indiana University School of Music.

Rob O’Such is a principal at Oxygen where he helps clients accelerate execution of their growth strategies.  A transformation specialist, he has more than two decades of systems integration, business process outsourcing, and management consulting experience. Rob holds a degree in Management Science Decision Support Systems from Virginia Tech and is a certified Project Management Professional.

It’s been a common occurrence in recent years: Company downsizing or restructuring has left skilled professionals looking for a job. Or, feeling constrained, they jump to a better growth opportunity.

But, with the era of lifetime jobs at a single firm or company long gone, many doctors, dentists, lawyers and other professionals also are opting to work for themselves, becoming entrepreneurs and launching their own start-ups.   

Some who already started small practices have expanded into several locations. As dentists and business partners Dr. Seth Newman and Dr. Efstathios Giannoutsos can attest, the learning curve of running and growing a business in multiple offices — while still practicing their profession — can be challenging but also rewarding.

“It was never my plan to run a practice, or even co-run one,” says Giannoutsos,  (www.asktheorthos.com), an orthodontist and co-author, with Newman of Giving It To You Straight: Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Orthodontics But Were Afraid To Ask. “But then the financial crisis of 2008 happened, and a lot of the opportunities that had been available before were now gone.

“But we were able to flip those circumstances on their heads and use them to our advantage.”

“The biggest challenge initially was finding clients,” Newman says. “But we learned to use different resources and educate ourselves in the business side as we did in our chosen career.”  

Newman and Giannoutsos offer five tips for professionals transitioning to running their own business:

• Be passionate. Entrepreneurs tend to be extremely passionate about their work. They need to incorporate the same passion for running a business. “Think about how running your own business could transform your career, send it soaring,” Newman says. “That kind of spirit energizes you and all those around you.”

• Be bothered by inefficiency. Entrepreneurs don’t have a high tolerance for inefficiency, and the bonus is they don’t have corporate red tape to cut through. “You can fix problems that come up quickly because of your expertise and the freedom of not running into typical corporate obstacles,” Giannoutsos says. “If  you or your business partner are mired in work processes that are too slow, analyze the inefficiencies and consider the places you could implement solutions.”
• Don’t be afraid to take on more risk. One thing that sets many entrepreneurs apart from the average professional is their appetite for risk. “A business owner knows the risk-reward possibilities, and by taking well-calculated shots, bigger rewards can come,” Newman says. “Set aside time to strategize, and listen to the best-qualified people working for you to develop a precise plan.”
• Brainstorm more. Constant innovation is crucial to a business’ long-term success, so entrepreneurs have to take time to let their minds be loose and creative. “Set aside time each week for brainstorming sessions with your staff — and remember to have fun doing it,” Giannoutsos says.
• Don’t limit your dreams. “The most important aspect of the entrepreneurial spirit is being limitless – the sky’s the limit,” Newman says. “Many people are conditioned in the workforce to be realistic and practical, but dreaming big sets the mission for your company, and it’s why you became a business owner.”

“It can be daunting at first, performing the myriad tasks of a business owner,” Giannoutsos says, “but if you believe in what you do and those you’ve hired around you, it’s so worth the effort.”

Dr. Seth Newman (www.asktheorthos.com) is an orthodontist and co-author, with Dr. Steve Giannoutsos, of Giving It To You Straight: Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Orthodontics But Were Afraid To Ask. He owns orthodontic practices in the New York City area. Dr. Newman completed his dental training at Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine, where he was a member of the National Dental Honor Society. He was a clinical instructor of the Invisalign system at the NYU School of Dentistry.

Dr. Efstathios Giannoutsos, or “Dr. G.” as he is commonly called, was born in Astoria, Queens, just outside of New York City. He graduated from St. John’s University in Jamaica, Queens, with high honors and a BS in Biology.  He is also the co-author with  Dr. Seth Newman of Giving It To You Straight: Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Orthodontics But Were Afraid to Ask (AskTheOrthos.com). He completed his dental training at NYU, where he graduated with a Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) degree. He was also accepted into NYU’s highly competitive orthodontic residency program. During that time, he also discovered a passion for treating children and adults with facial deformities. Coinciding his passion, his research thesis to attain specialty certification involved children with cleft deformities.

If you’ve ever gone on vacation and returned feeling renewed, then you’ll understand the popularity of a small business retreat. The concept of leaving the office behind and bringing the team to an off-site, special destination follows the same vein as a vacation. A retreat offers the chance for a team to refresh and return to work in a better state of mind.

Unlike a 1:1 in your office or a conference center townhall, informal retreat meetings break the mold and give the team a chance work outside the confines of roles and titles. The more relaxed atmosphere of a retreat promotes better communication and team bonding, allowing your employees to let go of office politics and embrace a shared experience. Even with nothing in common at the workplace, everyone on the retreat can find common ground through the experience of the get-away.

Reap the Benefits of a Small Business Retreat

The benefits of a retreat appear in employees’ increased productivity. Like the advantage of a vacation, retreats are a break that lets employees relax so that they can come back with more energy. Also, taking their work to a new environment brings fresh perspective to the job and can inspire more contributions back at the office. Finally, retreats improve communication by opening channels between management and employees and developing informal networking between teams in ways that just aren’t possible at the office. The more relaxed retreat atmosphere fosters connections, even between those who may not normally interact, and improves communication overall.

Not Your Traditional Retreat

Though beneficial, there is a cautionary tale from the 2000s to be told about using retreats as rewards without value. Tradition saw executives splurge on retreats while employees watched from the sidelines as these lavish paid vacations catered to the top tier management. Back then, a retreat was a sign of executive largesse, excessive and reserved only for the C-Suite & Friends.

Value-Added Experience

Today, a retreat offers much more meaningful value to the business and pertains to all levels of employees. The ability to remove the team from distractions of the workplace is an opportunity to really focus on an initiative. If you do it right, you can use the time to focus on training, brainstorming, and team building in ways that the office just doesn’t allow; you have the space and atmosphere to shake employees from the routine and explore new ground.

Investment With Returns

There are costs to a retreat, but more than just the price of doing business, this expense is an investment. Spending the money to develop your employees only comes back to you in droves when the work gets done better and more efficiently by employees who feel valued and more committed.

March is the perfect time of year to schedule a retreat since you can take advantage of the quarter’s end and Spring Break season. Use the time to evaluate the years’ progress thus far and set goals as well as minimize the bite from budget with seasonal travel discounts and packages available.

No matter what industry you’re in, there’s always an unknown element when it comes to job security. The economy, who happens to be President, natural disasters, and a host of other life events could take a stable job and turn it on its head, or you may be one of the lucky few who enjoys a 30+ year run at the same organization. Yet with as much innovation as there is in today’s job market, it’s tough to say with certainty that we won’t all end up getting replaced by robots at some point in the future.

On a more serious note, however, it can be difficult to plan ahead if the foundation of your career is uncertain. While there are steps that people can take to help secure their future, it seems that the roadmap to success is always changing. According to a recent article in USA Today, it is possible to create your own destiny in the career world, and it’s as easy as taking two little steps.

Evaluate Your Employer

All too often, we think about changing jobs because of our dissatisfaction with our own position. Perhaps we want more money, different responsibilities, or our coworkers are flat out terrible to be around. But how regularly do people take a hard look at who’s running the show and try to predict where things are going? Probably not as often as is needed.

Whether you work for a small corporation or a multi-national group, try taking an objective look at the future. Are the people in charge innovative? Do they have the foresight to adapt to a changing marketplace? Will they survive and thrive, or will they fall by the wayside as other newer brands make them irrelevant? While you may not be able to control any of the factors that help to answer these questions, you can watch for red flags that may indicate it’s time to look for other opportunities.

Put Yourself First

Time and time again we hear that making yourself valuable is incredibly important in the workplace, but many people don’t really take this message to heart. No matter the industry, you should create a personal mission of always continuing your education. Being someone who is on the forefront of upcoming changes, new ways of doing things, and contributing to the vision of your organization puts you on the short list of getting a raise, promotion, and at the very least, not being the first one to get laid off.

Even more important is the time and energy you put into building your own reputation separate from your company. Online review platforms often associate you with the place you work, making it hard to create a name for yourself within your given industry. However, at Completed.com, you can put all of your networking skills to good use and develop a profile that demonstrates how valuable you really are.

If and when it comes time to make a change and you’re looking for another job opportunity, you can consider your Completed.com profile as an extended resume, highlighting qualities that will help you to stand out from the rest of the crowd. At the very least, it’s a tool that every career-minded individual can benefit from, even if their current corporation is on the path to success.

Young leaders typically go too far or not far enough. They are born to take chances but when the time comes, many retreat to what they have been told by elders or those with more experience.

There is something to be said for brash youth, its penchant for breaking the rules and coming at problems from an entirely different mindset.  But sometimes those rules are there for a reason, and going completely against what has been done before leads to a road to nowhere.

Before young leaders head out to conquer the world, Phuong Uyen Tran, author of Competing with Giants(https://www.thp.com.vn/en/) and deputy CEO of THP Beverage Group, Vietnam’s leading beverage company, says they should dig deeper into their beliefs, actions and goals in order to chart a successful path.

“Young leaders bring passion but sometimes it doesn’t make up for a lack of wisdom,”  Tran says. “Before they set sail, there are a few questions they need to ask themselves to increase their chances for success.”

Tran says the six questions are:

• What are your core beliefs?  To be successful, a young leader needs to be grounded in some fundamental beliefs. Understanding and writing down core beliefs will guide you through stormy times.
   
• What is the mission statement of your product or service? - The mission statement reflects every facet of the business: the range and nature of the products offered, pricing, quality, service, marketplace position, growth potential, use of technology, and your relationships with customers, employees, suppliers, competitors, and the community.
   
• Have you done your homework? - As a young leader, it is imperative that you  do plenty of research.  Older leaders can sometimes go by their gut feelings, but young leaders don’t have that luxury.  You need to be over-prepared before moving forward.
   
• Do you really believe in you product or service? Great leaders truly believe that whatever their product or service is, that it is the best option among all the competition.  If you don’t believe in your product, it is hard to lead your troops into battle.
   
• Are you ready to set sail or are you moored to the dock? - Sometimes you have to take chances. Are you ready to take risks and not be tied to what has always been done in the past?
   
• How will you handle success or failure?  One of two things usually happens - you will succeed or you will fail.  How will you handle success - are you ready to pull all the levers you need to get to the next level?  If you fail, how will you handle it?  Will you go into a depression and blame others, or will you learn from your mistakes?

Tran says young leaders can overcome many obstacles by taking some extra time to  ask themselves those questions.

Phuong Uyen Tran, author of Competing with Giants (https://www.thp.com.vn/en/), is deputy CEO of the THP Beverage Group, a leading beverage company in Vietnam that was founded by her father. She is responsible for the company’s marketing, public relations, and CSR programs nationally and across Vietnam’s 63 provinces. She also leads THP’s international marketing programs across 16 countries where THP’s products are distributed including Canada and China.