Dr. Earl R. Smith II

By Dr. Earl R. Smith II
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
www.Dr-Smith.com

During my six tours as a CEO and through the years of working with other CEOs, I have developed an understanding of the process of change that is considerably different from the one I learned at the Sloan School. I find that helping CEOs understand the subtleties of change is one of the major contributions that I make to their future and the future of their companies. Although I do not see change dualistically, it may be helpful to describe two of the major approaches to change in the constellation. Read the rest of this entry »

By Dr. Earl R. Smith II
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
www.Dr-Smith.com

Both strategic and tactical planning are partially science and partially art. Like a hammer or a football, the intellectualization of their function and purpose does not make a person adept - let alone effective - in using them. Both require careful attention to detail - consideration of every aspect that is either involved or affected. But the process of planning - no matter how well it is done - is still an intellectual exercise until the plan is implemented. Creating good plans is not enough as the results depend entirely on how these plans are executed. Read the rest of this entry »

By Dr. Earl R. Smith II
DrSmith@Dr-Smith.com
www.Dr-Smith.com

Most CEOs have had experiences with building and managing Advisory Boards - many have had one of more at their disposal. But much of that experience has been negative or neutral - in many cases Advisory Boards tend to be mostly window dressing. I have developed a new approach to the design, population and management of these boards - an approach which turns them into very potent business development resources. My book - Amazing Pace: Turbo-Charged Business Development - describes in detail how this is accomplished. In this article, I would like to focus on some of the ancillary benefits that these boards bring. In what follows, I will be talking about Advisory Boards as described in my book - not as they exist in their various and less effective forms. Read the rest of this entry »

By Dr. Earl R. Smith II

I’ve founded and built six companies and two non-profit organizations. Those experiences have taught me the critical role that adequate strategic and tactical planning plays in the success or failure of a start-up. A critical part of that process is the setting and enforcement of goals. In fact, over those years and throughout my work with CEOs - helping them to avoid the mistakes I made and to build their businesses - I have discovered that the setting and achieving of goals is probably the least effectively pursued of all the components of the planning process.

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By Dr. Earl R. Smith II

Much of my coaching practice is focused on helping clients alter behaviors and habits which have been allowed to develop and solidify over months and years. Changing habits is a terribly difficult challenge for most people - the longer the habit has been in place and the more addictive its inducement the more difficult it is to break or alter.

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By Dr. Earl R. Smith II

Barely one out of ten start-ups survives the first five years. Of the remaining less than twenty percent make it to the tenth year. Understanding the process of starting a business is best something other than a purely intellectual exercise. In an important sense it is one of the biggest challenges facing any entrepreneur. I limit my work with new companies precisely because such fundamental understandings are often lacking. The process of gaining the required insight can often take years - and may, in some cases, never be gained.

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By Dr. Earl R. Smith II

Every once in a while I come across a book or an article which purports to explain why start-ups fail and to advise entrepreneurs on how to avoid those pitfalls. As a successful recidivist entrepreneur, I can tell you that almost all of the writings are not only wrong but, if you take them too seriously, are potentially corrosive to your chances of ever successfully starting a business.

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by Dr. Earl R. Smith II

Yesterday I had a meeting with one of the most experienced people in the field of managing organizational change. We met to discuss the effects of individual’s self-sabotaging behaviors on the process. After a very productive discussion on that subject, I asked another question. “Chuck, once you organize and implement a program of change within an organization, how to you assure that it will not just go back to the way it was after you leave?” Those of you who work in this field know how important developing a good response to the question is. Without it, your reputation and the experience of the organization may suffer. Change takes a long time to settle in and become the norm.

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By Dr. Earl R. Smith II

Lately I have been remembering fondly an old friend who lived in Jacksonville, Florida. When I first met him he was at the end of a long and wildly successful career in the real estate and railroad businesses. He used to have breakfast every Sunday morning at the old downtown Holiday Inn. He could afford to eat anywhere but he was a man of habits and that old restaurant suited him.

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By Dr. Earl R. Smith II

Many companies fail for reasons that have little to do with their core product or service. It is often the afterthoughts or ‘under-thoughts’ that cause failure when success has been looming on the horizon.

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