One of the most valuable things in business and life is trust. Trust is hard to earn but can be easily lost. As a consultant, I have encountered issues related to trust and its effects on business. Specifically, I've witnessed the remarkable impact of saying "yes" in business on cultivating and maintaining trust. I have observed how confidence can affect business and life, and I've come to a significant realization: in most cases, people who kept their word earned trust. People tend to say YES to those they trust, and this correlation between trust and saying "yes" is undeniable. What does it mean to say YES? We use the word YES to approve if something said is accurate or correct. YES comes from the Old English word gise, gese, which means "so be it!" There are many ways to convey the sense of YES. Some of the synonyms include: definitely, of course, sure, by all means, that’s right, you bet, you’re on, affirmative, be my guest, I don’t see why not, yea, yeah, yebo, yep, you betcha, yup, is the Pope Catholic? The meaning we give to a YES varies. Saying YES after long and arduous peace negotiations or at your wedding doesn't have the same significance and importance as answering YES to the question: “Are you hot?” These nuances are the origin of many interpersonal difficulties. Let us look at the different types of yeses below. Types of YES Saying YES does not necessarily mean we agree on something. Some factors determine the type of YES we are likely to receive or speak to someone—the word YES can be said deliberately or coerced. When YES is forced, there will be no willingness to follow up on the YES, which can be detrimental. A YES should be intentional and contain a desire to carry through what has been agreed upon. Looking deeper into the process of saying YES to something, the degree of freedom of choice, the intentionality, willingness, circumstances, and surroundings when deciding to say YES play an essential role in the type of YES. These factors form the basis of the four variations of yeses: The Gut-Yes The Social-Yes The Defensive-Yes The Fake-Yes Below is a pictorial representation of the variations of YES. Anssof Matrix of YES From the image above, the horizontal axis goes from a YES said under total external pressure, no natural choice, to a YES expressed when you are free to do so, and it is your own choice. The vertical axis goes from being 100% willing to make what we have said YES to a reality (total commitment) to zero willingness to comply with what we have agreed to. Let’s look at what these types of yeses mean. The Gut-Yes The Gut-Yes corresponds to the YES, that is entirely deliberate. The person is then unquestionably willing to bring what they are saying YES to into existence. We have a conscious decision or choice, an expression of total agreement about the subject. In other words,…

Why the perception that the scope of team dysfunctions is confined to just five represents a grave misconception that needs urgent correction. This prevailing belief undermines the multifaceted nature of team dynamics, potentially obscuring the broader spectrum of challenges that can impede team success. Is your team failing to function well despite fixing the common five dysfunctions of a team? Today is your lucky day. In this blog, I will share my fortuitous discovery, which will give you an insight into other team dysfunctions you may have overlooked. Recently, I had the idea to write a blog article on team dysfunction. Just like everyone will do, I decided to research the keywords to find out what people out there thought about team dysfunctions. I started by typing “Team dysfunction” on Google, and to my surprise, at least all the results in the first five pages were based on “The Five Dysfunctions of a Team” by Patrick Lencioni. I was surprised because this didn’t match my expectations. In my mind, I expected to find different sources or a variety of viewpoints on team dysfunction. I was shocked to be the only one with a unique perspective on such a sensitive subject that has troubled many organizations. Don’t get me wrong, I read The Five Dysfunctions of a Team back in 2002, and it was one of the best books on team dynamics that I stumbled on. I have used it for my coaching ever since. However, what was shocking was the impression my Google search results gave me 20 years later. With most of the answers based on the book of Patrick Lencioni, I felt that Google was telling me: “There are only Five Dysfunctions of a team." A belief that most people have adopted. Why could people believe that there are only five dysfunctions in a team? We cannot take away the credit for the book being well written. The choice of Patrick Lencioni to present the concepts as a fable with examples makes the story very captivating and easy to remember. Like every good story, people have shared and recommended the book to others. I remember that I got the book on the recommendation of my friend Philipe Sarrazin. Word of mouth, the excellent marketing of the book, the services around the book, and the good SEO made it possible to get the impression that there are only five dysfunctions in a team. To the defense of Patrick Lencioni, I should mention that I have never read anywhere that he stated there are only five dysfunctions in a group.  The situation reminds me of the story of the monkeys isolated in a room with a banana placed on top of a ladder. As the story goes, the monkeys were sprayed with cold water as soon as one monkey tried to climb the ladder. Quickly, the monkeys learn that they should not climb the ladder; otherwise, they will be sprayed with cold water. The monkeys stayed away from the ladder…

Recently, during my travels, I encountered an unexpected flight delay at Amsterdam airport that shed light on a significant issue: preventable profit margin waste. The scene was all too familiar – interminable queues at check-in counters, exacerbated by a glaring shortage of personnel. As a consequence, I, along with numerous fellow passengers, missed our flights. This setback led to a frustrating 10-hour wait before rebooking for the following day and prompted my contemplation about the avoidable loss incurred by the airline. Amidst the collective inconvenience, it struck me that had effective measures been in place to prevent profit margin waste; the airline could have reaped substantial benefits. By optimizing operational efficiency, not only could the original flight have taken off with a full complement of passengers, but the replacement flight could have accommodated additional travelers, bolstering profits in the process. This experience made me see how easily a company can lose profit and reminded me of a book I read long ago called Six Sigma Simplified by Jay Arthur. This book talks about a tale of two factories. According to Jay Arthur, every business has two “factories” running simultaneously: The "Good Factory" is where you focus most of your energy on producing goods and services for your customers. The "Fix-it Factory" cleans up all of the mistakes, rework, defects, breakage, returns, scrap, and other problems of the “Good Factory." The "Fix-it Factory," in most cases, is overlooked. This is where frustrations accumulate and also the area where valuable resources such as time, energy, and clients are lost. As a business owner, the “Fix-it Factory” can prevent you from sleeping at night and give you grey hairs prematurely. In other words, the “Fix-it Factory” consumes the company resources without any positive output. The cost of running a “Fix-it Factory” in any business is enormous and very harmful. Let’s illustrate the effects of the “Fix-it Factory” on the company using the following example. Jay Arthur says the “Fix-it Factory” costs 25 to 40% of every 100 Euros you spend. That means, for 100,000 Euros paid, a company could have saved 25,000 to 40,000 Euros; or for 500,000 Euros spent, they could have saved 125,000 to 200,000 Euros, and the saving could have reached 250,000 to 400,000 Euros for 1,000 000 Euros spent. The “Fix-it Factory” cost is even higher because you don't pay it out of the revenue but directly out of the company's bottom line. Let’s consider a company with one-million Euros in sales. Let’s assume they have only 3% waste. That means the "Fix-it Factory" will cost them 30,000 Euros. Considering this company has an 8% net profit before taxes, their profit will be only 80,000 Euros – 30,000 Euros = 50,000 Euros. The pain is even more significant when you consider that to get to the same profit level, the company has to sell nearly 400,000 Euros more to make up for this 30,000 Euros loss. Just imagine if the business can save a fraction of the money used…

Are you familiar with the constant lament about time being in short supply? A simple observation of daily life reveals an astonishing number of grievances centered around time. From the perennial complaint of insufficient time to the exasperated grumbling about excessive hours leading to sheer boredom – it's a narrative we've all encountered. But what if I told you that as a dynamic business owner, you possess the ability to rewrite this narrative? In this article, we will address these complaints head-on and equip you with invaluable time management tips tailored specifically to your entrepreneurial journey. Let's delve into the world of mastering time for entrepreneurs and discover how to make each moment count towards your business success. Why is it that we complain so much about time? In this article, I will be sharing practical observations about time that will help you put all time-related frustrations behind you and never complain about time again. “Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.” – William Penn The unfulfilled promise of time management training If you have been worried about time at a certain point in your life or career, then you have already done a course in time management. If not, you have at least done some research and read articles about time management on the Internet. Sometimes lessons learned from these courses or articles work when implemented, and sometimes they don't. More often than not, you will find yourself back on the drawing board with the same complaints like “I don't have time," "I am late," "I am under time pressure," or "I don't have enough time." This experience clearly explains that time management training is not the right solution to fix complaints about time. Shocking conclusion, isn’t it? I have completed several time management courses and read many books on the subject, yet I did not master time. Why do people often complain about not having time? Think about when you used the phrase "I didn't have time to…” ? Do you picture the moment? How did you feel? Think of a time when somebody told you, "I didn't have time to…." How did that sound to you? Credible? How did you feel then? In both cases, didn’t you have a vague feeling of something not being right? I used this sentence many times until I realized that when I said, “I didn't have time…”, I was giving an excuse for not doing what I needed. This realization was an eye-opener for me. I started observing when I used the phrase and when other people used it. I confirmed that in every case, it was just a mere excuse. Try it for yourself; think about any two moments described above when the phrase "I didn't have time" was used. Do you realize it was an excuse to cover for something else that was not easy to face? This excuse is so engraved in our minds that we find it normal and no longer question it.…

The success of your business hinges on the prevailing company culture, especially one that is results-driven. Every business inherently possesses a culture, whether by design or happenstance. From my own experience, I've come to understand that establishing a results-driven company culture for entrepreneurs necessitates more than mere instruction or discussion; it requires a fundamental shift in the mindset and behaviors of individuals within the organization. Creating a culture requires systemic organizational changes transforming how people think and behave. In this article, I will share my discovery on developing and cultivating a culture of results to improve performance in your organization. The work environment greatly influences people. Company culture can make weak people highly productive, and the stronger lose their edge. It is the primary concern and responsibility of every business owner, manager, or executive to create a culture of results inside their company. Every employee makes and maintains this through disciplined adherence to ensure profitability and continuance of the company's operation. Getting the right people that can come together with unique business systems to create a culture of results through discipline, enthusiasm, and high productivity is not easy. The magic begins once you find the right team, and performance shoots up the roof.   ((Efficient People + Motivation) * Accountability) = Effective Team Results HIRE THE RIGHT BEST PEOPLE The only proven way of getting good results is to ensure you have the right people to drive your dream. No matter how good your ideas are, you'll have difficulty getting the expected deliverables if you don't have the right people to actualize them. "Those who build great companies understand that the ultimate throttle on growth for any great company is not markets, technology, competition, or products. It is one thing above all others: getting and keeping enough of the right people. GET THE RIGHT PEOPLE ON THE BUS FIRST, AND THE WRONG PEOPLE OFF THE BUS, THEN FIGURE OUT WHAT DIRECTION TO DRIVE THE COMPANY" – Jim Collins, Good to Great. Results depend on employee performance, which is why every business owner or manager should only hire Top performers. Top performers have a history of getting results and are unafraid of accountability and scorekeeping. They are self-confident, can apply past successes to new assignments, and are teachable and eager to learn. Top performers make good things happen, especially when their personal goals align with your company goals. Note that you always pay less cost for the Top performer as compared to what you pay for the Poor performer. The Poor performer comes with a hidden cost of lower performance, poor decisions, and costly mistakes, which in the long run, eclipse the cost of keeping the Top performer. It would be best if you always went for the Top performer for effective performance and results. Take Away:  Hire and empower goal-oriented people. To achieve better results, you must ensure the team understands why you created the system, how it works, and how it will benefit them. Enlist their knowledge, talents, energy,…