photo by Milos Milosevic

One of the best things that I can do with my clients is to ask great questions.  As a business owner the key ingredient for success is confidence.  Being decisive, having a plan and pushing forward are just part of the job description.  But that doesn’t mean you should just put your head down and go – taking the time to question things, make the right course adjustments at the right time…that’s what will ultimately get you where you want to go.

How do you know what questions to ask?  Every business is a little different, just like every business owner has their own way of doing things.  However there are fundamental core aspects of a successful business that have to be in place if you want to succeed in the long run – regardless of what business you are in.  If you start with that foundation and make it strong, everything else will come into shape.

Below are 10 questions that I recommend every business owner should take time and consider for their business.  If you don’t feel like you have a lot of time, read through the list and pick out the 2 or 3 questions that make you the most uncomfortable and start there.

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photo by paul dex

“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishments.” – Jim Rohn

I had a great discussion the other day with a client  and their frustration with simply not getting enough things done.  This is a pretty common issue for most people – but it especially impacts business owners because they likely have a wider variety of things they have to do and more than non-business owners!

In this case, part of the problem was not having clear priorities…they had a lengthy list of things that needed to get done, but all of them were equally urgent.  Another part of the problem was a lack of organization…this list of things that needed to get done wasn’t literally a list on a single piece of paper, it was a chaotic set of things ranging from emails to post-it notes to stuff that was just held in their head.

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             – CBS Paramount

As a business owner, do you ever find yourself asking “WWKD?”  (What would Kirk Do?).  If not, it might be a strategy worth considering – as Randy Pausch pointed out in The Last Lecture, Captain Kirk is a great role model for a leader.  He knew it was critical to surround himself with people who were smarter than he was, he knew the importance of delegating and he had the passion to inspire people to greatness!

You wear a lot of hats in your business – you might be the rainmaker, bringing in new opportunities.  Or maybe you’re the lead production person – creating the goods or service.  Or perhaps it’s the little things, being the chief cook and bottle washer responsible for just getting stuff done!  Or even more likely – you’re doing it all and more!

However there’s one responsibility that’s unique to the business owner and it’s the trait that Captain Kirk really excelled at.  The one thing that makes everything else work.  Of course that’s your job as a leader…the captain of your ship!  As the owner you’re the only one who can really do the critical leadership activities.

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  photo by makelessnoise

Everyone is busy these days and the last thing anyone really needs is another meeting.

However if you have a growing, fast moving business – that’s exactly what you need, and not just any meeting.  My recommendation is that you need to add a daily meeting into the busy schedule of everyone in your business!

I know it sounds crazy – but hear me out and I think you’ll see this is something that can really help you execute and ultimately will save a lot of time.

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photo by sean rogers1

You have to love the clarity and power of numbers.

Now that school’s started up again, homework is ramping up as well and my wife and I had a great ‘tutoring’ session with my daughter on her math homework.  My daughter was struggling with one of the concepts and wanted to argue that the answer we had led her to wasn’t right….

But that’s the beauty of math and numbers…they are either right or they’re not.  You may be asking the wrong question, but when the answer is in numbers, it’s very clear where you stand.  43 is bigger than 35 – and it’s always going to be bigger.

That’s why when you’re analyzing your business and your goals, the more things you can tie to a number, the better off you’ll be.

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