Berkana Co.

Business owners or team leaders know people must follow through to achieve goals for the organization to be successful. People who are being held accountable consider it a punitive action. Some managers, unfortunately, use accountability as a weapon. People do not respond well to punishment. It may, in the short term, produce some results. However, […]

When shift happens and the world is rearranged, how do you emerge from a place of surviving to thriving? The coronavirus pandemic and the economic recession have been felt around the world. If your business has not been affected directly, someone connected to your business or to you have been dealt quite a blow. In […]

  Communication is the lifeblood of relationships, personal and business. The health of an organization can be measured in how it communicates not only internally but externally. Bad communication habits can be sneaky and costly. It is easy to fall into bad habits without realizing how detrimental they can be. For example, my client told […]

Many companies tolerate poor customer care. Could the damage be $84 billion annually for US companies as some sources claim?  In a recent trip to an automobile dealer to purchase a car, the sales person stunned me. After a test drive in a pre-owned car with 25,000 miles, I asked for a copy of the […]

It is true. Words are free. Underestimating their power is costly.                                Haven’t we all said something we later regretted? In some cases, we are unaware of the impact of our words for good or ill. Words have power; choose them wisely. Business leaders, for example, unwittingly stymie creative thinking with “Have you thought about this […]

Employee reviews are not only time consuming, they are also dreaded by the giver and the receiver. How can an employee review be truly useful with so much fear and loathing? Saving your feedback for an annual review, reminds me of “Wait until your father comes home.” There is a better way. Such companies as Goldman […]

Although many business owners enable dysfunction in their companies, they do not do it on purpose. No leader would intentionally drain the profits from his company. No leader would diminish productivity in her company intentionally.  “Failure in the function of a system” defines dysfunction. Simply put, things aren’t working right. For example, a small but […]

Having an inspiring vision and well-crafted goals are no guarantee your business will achieve them. It is often the norm to put a vision and goals on the shelf so you can get back to work. This frustrates people, especially if they have been part of the process to craft the vision and define the […]

Business owners know marketing is a key element in a successful business. However, many lose sight of the impact of internal thinking patterns. These affect your marketing efforts in powerful ways. Like the submerged part of an iceberg, they are invisible and important. 5 Tips for Smart Marketing from the Inside Out: 1)      Passion. With […]

Socrates made famous the process of asking questions to require thinking-- a rare activity at times. For entrepreneurs, thinking is crucial to your success. All questions are not created equal. Clarifying questions help someone come up with their own solutions. This is the thinking part. Advising questions tell someone what he should be doing to […]