By Michael Kanazawa

Frequently in working with large company executives looking to move into a new business sector and entrepreneurs looking for funding, I’m asked what should be in the business plan or strategy. A second question not always asked, but necessary to answer, is what makes for a successful business plan or strategy. One great resource is to look at Sequoia Capital’s tips for success and business plan outline. They certainly have some great proof points, having invested in the founders of Google, Apple, Oracle and Pay-Pal. Sequoia published two great lists that are fantastic resources to leverage and apply the best of what they’ve learned by launching these types of growth companies. (more…)

By Michael Kanazawa

Very often you’ll see companies slip into a mode where they start growing by the averages, benchmarking expense ratios, setting “competitive” pricing, and “market-level” salaries. It’s not necessarily bad to play by the averages unless it leads to being an average company. Great companies are built and run by great people. How can you get there?

The Container Store is a story in corporate success. They have been consistently growing at double digit rates and have been listed as one Forbes’ Top 100 companies to work for, eight years in a row. In the tough business of retailing, especially with bigger rivals such as Target, Sears, and Walmart, The Container Store is setting it’s own standards for innovative products and great customer service.

One of the most innovative ideas at The Container Store is their formula for talent management. (more…)

Listen to Michael Kanazawa’s interview on the Cranky Middle Manager Show

In this interview, Wayne Turmel and I talk about how to implement the best ideas in our book to the tough jobs middle managers face. We discussed how to tell people that their project isn’t a top priority, how to work through competing priorities when some of those are being presented by sales people as critical, and how to build organizational power by leveraging “The Power Curve” as you ascend the corporate ladder.

 

 Doing More On Less [28:12m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (49)

Listen as Mike talks with Lisa Haneberg author of the Management Craft blog during one of her fireside chat sessions.

Lisa has a very unique perspective in the interview in that she focused on the challenges of middle managers and she has been a manager herself facing many of the challenges we talk about in the book. It was a fun and lively conversation and one of my favorite interviews to date. Hope you’ll enjoy it and find good value in it as well. This is a second post, but people had asked to have the MP3 file available here. My Podcast Alley feed! {pca-b720560dbb15c2bd3b4fc510cc1d2c27}