Business Change Management

As a Guest Blogger for Simon Associates Management Consultants, I recently wrote about my experiences as an Enneagram Type 8, then found myself struggling with writing a second, follow-up blog. I finally realized that what I was experiencing was not typical writer’s block but the result of my Type 8’s natural defense mechanism: denial.

What is a defense mechanism? 

A defense mechanism is a protective, psychological strategy whose function is to keep us within our own comfort zones. It is primarily triggered in uncomfortable or difficult situations in an attempt to reduce our anxiety or uncomfortable feelings.

The purpose of a defense mechanism is to maintain our self-image, and each Enneagram Type has a different one. In my case, my defense mechanism keeps alive my self-image of “I am strong and not weak.” Typically, our defense mechanisms operate automatically and unconsciously. Unless we are in observer mode, we aren't aware of when they are active.

Inbound Marketing Successfully Attracts Interested Buyers Searching For A Company’s Solutions

YORKTOWN HEIGHTS, N.Y. - Sept. 28, 2015 - PRLog -- Simon Associates Management Consultants (SAMC), a privately-owned business consulting company based in Yorktown Heights, NY, has recently launched a new division focusing on inbound marketing, an incredibly powerful tool for business growth. This new division brings to SAMC’s clients highly trained strategists and marketing experts, as well as Inbound Marketing Certified bloggers, all of whom have embraced the new world of inbound marketing as the way to capture demand and help buyers find the solutions they want and need.

One of the many things that I love about being a CEO Coach with Vistage International is the challenge. I challenge my members to be better and they challenge me right back!

Creativity and innovation…Where do they come from? What is the difference between them? How can you develop and utilize innovation and creativity and use these important skills in your business?

I recently wrote a blog entitled “In Five Years, Who Is Going to Be Your Customer?” and got great feedback on the topic. Future customers, however, are not so far away that you cannot find them today. I thought I would follow up and tell you what we are seeing out in the marketplace among our customers that might apply to you to help you find your future customers.

Are you a physician’s practice trying to attract new patients? A hotel chain needing to tell your story so consumers will choose you rather than your competitor? Or maybe an IT firm searching for the best ways to broadcast your new hours, new hires and additional services? Higher education -- all those colleges and universities -- are continuously searching for the right students to fill their classes.

What to do? The answer to all of these? Inbound Marketing.

Inbound Marketingis the best way to turn "searchers" into customers and then promoters of your business

To run a business effectively, whether it's manufacturing, service-oriented or healthcare, you want to attract the people, or prospects, who want the solutions you are offering.

Inbound Marketing has become essential. People are shopping in new ways--starting with their online search. Are you capturing them?

It doesn't matter what you sell. Maybe your are selling travel pillows, like one of our clients. Or you are a manufacturer of housewraps or roofing materials. Perhaps you are a physician with a practice trying to attract new patients? Or a hospital needing to tell your story so consumers will choose you rather than your competitor? It doesn't matter what you are selling or how you provide valuable solutions. 

The answer to all of these? Inbound Marketing.

Inbound Marketing is the best way to turn strangers into customers and then promoters of your company and how it helps them

I was only 26 and excited about my new role as Controller. As a first-time manager, I was driven by a desire to be a leader who both listened to, and acted on, my employees’ problems. In fact, I encouraged everyone to bring me their unsolved problems. One after another, I resolved them and felt like I had nailed this management thing. “What was so hard about being a boss?” I wondered.