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One efficient way to view work is to consider that there are two types of work—good work and busy work

While the feeling of accomplishment in business—meeting a timeline, beating a budget, winning a sale—are all uplifting, this sensation is multiplied exponentially when others take notice.

Problem solving in business is defined as implementing processes that reduce or remove obstacles that are preventing you or others from accomplishing operational and strategic goals.

In business, a problem is a situation that creates a gap between the desired and actual outcomes.  A true problem typically does not have an immediately apparent resolution.  If it did, it would be solved before it became a problem.

To have a good day, three questions must be answered in the affirmative.

Did you spend your time and attention on things that matter?
Do you feel that you did a good job and had the support of others?
Did the day leave you feeling more energized than depleted?

Although the ego of many business people will resist, luck has a great influence on the success of every business.  Research has shown that hard work can make a business good, but it takes luck to make a good company great.

Being an entrepreneur or a small business owner is all about having ideas—good ideas, crazy ideas, bad ideas, old ideas, unbelievable ideas. This is where innovation comes from.  You see something that doesn’t work right, is poorly served, or is inefficient—and you dream of a way to solve it.  See a need and meet it.  Find where the pain exists and relieve it. Sure, the idea must be workable.  And it requires research to see who had a similar idea before, who else is attempting to solve the same problem, and what has previously failed.  But everything begins with a good idea.

Planning and analysis dominate the business world. But people are not moved by logic alone. According to the French philosopher Gaston Bachelard, behind every apparently sensible scientist is a child who was irrationally drawn to fire. Reason—when animated by the fire of emotion—has the power to motivate and move individuals more than facts alone ever could. An inspired group is likely to achieve much more than one person merely doing their job.

While it may not feel like it in the moment, a little bit of discomfort goes a long way in personal development. Sure, no one likes feeling uncomfortable, but it’s a big part of improving your performance, creativity, and learning in the long run.  Routines may make you feel at ease and in control, but what a constant routine really does is dull your sensitivities.

Entitlement is a stealthy and dangerous virus that has a widespread and abundant impact on your business. Often it becomes so rampant and routine that small business owners and entrepreneurs do not even know any entitlement issues are going on right in front of them.

Research has shown that preexisting relationships give people greater insight into how their evaluators think, reason, interpret, and process evidence, helping them tailor their messages with a process called linguistic mirroring. For example, suppose you know that the person you are attempting to address favors linear, logical reasoning in their own communications. In that case, you’re most likely to convince them with arguments that rely heavily on facts. On the other hand, to influence someone who uses a more narrative, informal style, you would be better off leading with a story.