Guiding Business Principles
Brian has spent almost 30 years building, leading, fixing and advising companies. Along the way he has learned much about what makes companies and CEOs successful. He firmly believes that in most cases successful CEOs are made - not born. But to be successful a CEO has to have the humility to keep learning, and the courage to act.

Through his ongoing work experience and studies, Brian has discovered a handful of principles that drive business success. Listed below are some of those principles:

"We become what we think about most of the time."
There is no substitute for focus and concentration. To excel, a company has to become "best in the world" at something that is uniquely valuable to the market they have chosen. What is it? Find out, and then tell everyone in the company. Help them choose what to think about and do every day – and what to ignore. In other words, develop a winning strategy and install a strategic management system to create a strategy focused organization where everyone thinks and acts strategically.

"No one is smarter than everyone"
Level 5 leaders (per Jim Collins) don’t have all the answers. They know that being the smartest person in the room is way too hard - and it doesn't work over the long run. Instead Level 5 leaders focus the organization on the right questions so that the "team" can help generate the answers.

"Business is a team sport"
Everyone in the company plays a part in its success. Hire good people, develop them, involve them and help them be their best. Note that some roles are high-impact and require "star" players. Identify those star roles in your company and fill them with super-stars.

"Where there's a will there's a way"
Develop your team’s will to win. How? Help them feel good about themselves and make them part of the game plan. We all want to feel important and valued. Give everyone plenty of positive reinforcement. Keep everyone informed. Ask their opinion. See them as they can be, not as they are. And respect them by giving them honest developmental feedback so that they can become their best.

"If it ain’t broke … it might be soon"
Remain vigilant. Keep an eye out for external and internal risks. Consider alternative scenarios and prepare for them specifically as well as generally, by accumulating a rainy-day fund to weather the inevitable storm. It’s only “bad luck” if you’re not prepared.

"Get the facts"
Empirical-based decision making beats opinion-based guessing every time. Sure you can't always have all the information you need but fact-based decisions beat the alternatives almost every time. And a fact-based culture helps promote open and candid conversation and broad support.

"Help managers lead"
Because people typically represent our single most important resource, maximizing their potential through proper leadership at all levels is a vital component of success. Acknowledge the challenge and meet it. Pick a system (e.g. Situational Leadership) and train everyone in it.