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The "boot camp" of starting a new year for your business, was, of course, a metaphor. We spend much of our lives working "at" our business and jobs, instead of being engaged "with" the meaning and purpose of the activity we undertake.  This is true, especially so, when the nourishment of business, cash flows, new sales, ongoing productivity and loyal customers seem to be waning.

So with our boot camp, the emphasis wasn’t so much on what you were going to physically accomplish, but the new awareness you would gain. What we really wanted you to do was sit back and think about your business – realizing with the right amount of determination and a good plan, you could transform it.

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January is over, but business boot camp isn’t.  Is your business feeling fit yet?  This week we’re teaching you to slim down – teaching you how to get your business lean and automated – just like ours.  So let’s get connected!

Just like cutting out junk food, tabloid magazines and junk mail, we’re going to get your communications in order, streamlining everything from social media to websites to newsletters. The best way to succeed is to get your message heard. The goal of this step is to gather your Unique Content and put in a place where your market will get your message.

Do you “connect” to your market on the internet?  Like really connect? Look at what’s evolved in this area in the last few years, and the social media “treadmill” you’re trying to keep up with:

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I returned yesterday from a meeting of some thirty plus entrepreneurs from all over the world - we had a stimulating discussion about technology and how tools in “The Cloud” will change our business.  As I listened to the list of technologies many of these entrepreneurs are using, I couldn’t help but envision a world of entrepreneurial CEOs flying their businesses “in the cloud” with no control tower.

Any experienced pilot knows that the best flight is not in the clouds but above them.  Imagine a bunch of aircraft (like businesses), soaring through the sky, constantly in the clouds without ever breaking through to get a clear view. Have you ever been in a plane when it breaks above the clouds to see an endless expanse of blue sky and sunshine? That’s what CEOs must do to be truly successful -  get above the clouds to soar above and beyond the competition.

Instead, I feel like I’m watching as entrepreneurs fly around, using solution after solution trying everything to see if it works for their businesses... The process looks to me like airplanes flying without any navigation equipment. The whole business world seems to be up there, but almost nobody knows how to fly...  Worse yet, some have a "few hours" into technology and are calling themselves expert pilots - and many CEO's are hopping on board!

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Every month, every day, I hear about or am invited to use a “new tool” my business can’t do without.  Personally, I’ve had ENOUGH with this gluttony of software.  We have enough software to run the planet right from our iPhones and Blackberries! All these programs are doing is distracting us from what should be our primary task – running an efficient business.

What happened?  How did we get into this mess? Firstly developers love to, well, develop.  It’s fun, exciting and enthralling to develop new gadgets.  However, too many of these gadgets are just technological junk food - they fill up your system, but they don’t really do anything for you. Just like real junk food, these programs don’t give your business real ‘nutrition’ and if you indulge in too much junk food you get bloated and sick.

So, the first thing we’re doing for Business fitness month? Cutting out the junk and untangling your technology!

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It’s always a bit melancholy to say goodbye to the holidays - helping put away the decorations while thinking about all the family, friends and smiles that make this time of year so special to us.  This past year my family received more cards than ever from our loved ones – cards about triumphs, about struggles in work and health, but all laced with hope, strength and love.

Many of us have been faced with challenges from the economic downturn for a few years now.  In our family, like so many others, health struggles surprised us and added to the stress.  For me, connecting with family, friends and associates during the holiday, and finding the time to reflect on the things we thought we wouldn't have been able to handle, yet did, provides a great source of personal growth and strength. The year past always seems to have many more bright spots than we saw at the time.  Perhaps this is why December always seems like such a wonderful month - the holidays let us reflect and anticipate.

As a lifetime entrepreneur I always find reflecting on these close connections, along with the holiday cheer and food to be a great springboard for new ideas, innovation and transformation.  This is the time of year I look back at our  business and the businesses we support in the Connected Market and say - “what can we… should we… will we do better, differently, more effectively in the coming year?”   It’s resolution time.

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