Tag: self-evaluation

Airplane on tropical runway and title "Doing a Post-Flight Check of Your Business"

Doing a Post-Flight Check of Your Business

Published on by Grace LaConteLeave a comment

The pilot skillfully descends, hits the tarmac smoothly, and taxis to the hangar. What happens after the plane lands?

Rest & relaxation would be nice, but pilots always do a post-flight inspection of their aircraft. Not only do they make sure that everything is in working order, they also inspect every system for signs of possible malfunctions that could affect the next flight.

Business owners can avoid potential loss or harm by conducting both a Pre-Flight Check of events or projects yet to occur, as well as a Post-Flight Check. Let’s take a look at what you can do once a project ends. 

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Airplane taking off runway and title "Completing a Pre-Flight Check of Your Business"

Completing a Pre-Flight Check of Your Business

Published on by Grace LaConteLeave a comment

An airplane pilot has the responsibility to conduct safety inspections—both before they take off and after they land. Diligent maintenance checks can help to avoid things going wrong: equipment failure, accident, injury, or a catastrophic crash.

Before launching a project or initiative, risk intelligent business owners can identify potential vulnerabilities by conducting a Pre-Flight Check. This evaluation can reveal valuable information that is both quantitative (numbers) and qualitative (experiences and sensations).

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How to Apply the StrengthsFinder Assessment

Published on by Grace LaConteLeave a comment

As one of the most prolific personality assessments in the world, StrengthFinder® is a tool that can help identify your decision-making process and unique perspective.

In this post, I will explain how to use this assessment for self-awareness, why the “Balcony and Basement” concept is important, and how often each talent occurs.

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Perspective Shifts and My (New) Irish Heritage

Published on by Grace LaConteLeave a comment

March 17 is an American holiday to commemorate St. Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland. Although it was not originally celebrated in Ireland, this day is important to Irish immigrants as a way to remember their heritage.

Happy St Patricks Day
And it’s one that I have never celebrated. Until recently.

As with most oral family histories, mine was shared by relatives who spent time digging through genealogical records. I knew that my Dad’s side was German & English, and my Mom’s side was mostly English (my Grandmother is a descendant of the first King of England, Egbert of Wessex).

But that’s where my identity ended. Mostly English, with a German surname from my Dad’s side.

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Year in review, review of year, year-end review, end-of-year review, yearly review, yearly evaluation, year-end evaluation, retrospective evaluation, risk intelligence

How to Do a Year In Review

Published on by Grace LaConte3 Comments

It’s that time of year… to review whether you have reached your goals!

As a business owner, you may feel ready to leave last year behind and move forward—especially if you’ve experienced failure: Disappointing sales, high staff turnover, unpaid invoices, frustrating delays, or negative outcomes.

financial crisis, downward trend, low profits, decreased revenue, bad results

But we shouldn’t avoid talking about failure. It may be easier to talk about happy things, but there are just as many (if not more) reasons to review the unpleasant ones.

In this post, I’ll explain the benefits of using a Year In Review, and how to start.

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“Employee For a Day”: How to Start

Published on by Grace LaConte5 Comments

Are your staff afraid to share what is going wrong in your company? Do problems keep happening, and you don’t know why?

A great solution is to step into the roles of your staff and see the situation first-hand.

One fantastic technique is what I call “Employee For a Day.” It is a simple, hands-on activity where an executive leader leaves their role, and she or he sits in the seat of employees to see the organization from their point of view.

In my previous post, I describe what happened when I entered the day-to-day world of my staff. It humbled me, challenged me, and ultimately led to several changes in the organization.

There were a few drawbacks as well. Here are all the dirty details of how to get started.

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