Doing a Post-Flight Check of Your Business

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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Completing a Pre-Flight Check of Your Business

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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10 Variations of the “Employee for a Day” Experience

I thought I knew everything about my company… until the day I stepped out of my management role and into those of front-level staff.

Working in new job tasks was the most eye-opening thing I ever did as a manager. The act of observing their roles first-hand made it crystal clear where the problems were originating. And… spoiler alert: 99% of problems in a company are because of poor management decisions!

I call this boots-on-the-ground observation method the “Employee for a Day experience.”

It’s terrifying, enlightening, humbling, and eye-opening.

And it works like magic.

Here are some ideas for how to implement this incredible (free!) tool for yourself.

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6 Versions of the 3 P’s as seen on CNBC’s “The Profit” with Marcus Lemonis

One of my favorite TV shows is “The Profit,” a CNBC production starring multi-millionaire entrepreneur Marcus Lemonis.

CNBC The Profit, The Profit with Marcus Lemonis, Marcus Lemonis, The Profit TV show
CNBC The Profit with Marcus Lemonis

In each episode, Marcus evaluates a small business and decides whether to invest in its growth. The main tool he uses to make business decisions is called the “3 P’s of Business Success”: People, Process, and Product.

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Marcus Lemonis – People Process Profit

I was curious about who first developed this concept. Was it Mr. Lemonis?

It turns out this concept has its origins in Lean (a systematic processing method used to eliminate waste). After doing some research, I discovered 5 additional versions that can add depth to your understanding of how to run a successful business.

In this post, you will see each of the six examples and illustrations, along with ideas on how to increase your level of business risk intelligence.

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How to Calculate the Impact and Probability of Business Risk

I was recently asked to explain the “Impact Score” in a Strategic Risk evaluation process. This is easy to do with a tool called the Strategic Risk Severity Matrix.

In this post, I’ll walk you through each step of using this tool, along with a practical example to demonstrate how it works.

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How to Do a Year In Review

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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