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It's hard to imagine, but once upon a time, “managerial best practices” were a foreign concept. Management in itself was not an area of focus and improvement. In 1982, Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson wrote The One Minute Manager, a short book that revolutionized the way people thought about the skills and effort needed to be a good manager.

As the old saying goes, “When you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” A strategic plan for your business or your team is critical to ensure your long-term success. A basic strategic plan can be created in a couple of concentrated afternoons or evenings, and can help keep you on the right course as you execute the daily tasks necessary to your business.

When creating a basic strategic plan you must consider, document, and share the following items with your team: (If you’re an individual entrepreneur, a strategic plan is still important)

In a previous post, we looked at Stephen Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Successful People, a classic book showing the traits and practices that successful people are continually looking to improve. While it hasn't been around as long, the book, Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies, has drawn just as many accolades as Covey's long-admired classic.

Every day you’re faced with dozens of decisions—some big and some small. There’s no magic formula for making good decisions. Some people use a simple pros and cons checklist, while others try to weigh the best-and worst-case outcomes.

However, in their recent book Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work, authors Chip Heath and Dan Heath describe the “four villains” of decision-making.