The last straw was when faced with a dilemma of one of my client’s competitors "cheating" for positioning online by using tactics obviously against terms of service for most search sites, in this case Google. I explained that they had great listings (only one slot below cheaters) and that our plan was for long term successes while other guy’s could end at any moment. I then had to listen to this client lecture that I was too ethical when I would not use these same tactics to help gain listings for their site. They then commented "We'll have to work on you!"

Work on making me less ethical? Work on getting me to agree to break rules? It seems as of late my solid methodology of strong business staples, knowledge acquisition and long term strategizing seems to be making me a real PIA. See, I am not one of those who will say what a potential client wants to hear just to get call back stating "send us a contract." Nor do I cater to hype and online schemes of quick results or easy income just to book another billable hour. Silly me.

How about all those online auctions where item’s price is $1.00 only to find out they charge you balance of product’s cost in "shipping and handling" fees? I sure wish eBay would nip that in bud! Shipping and handling should be shipping and handling, not a combo of product’s price just so seller can be listed as least expensive ­ when in fact they are not.

I contacted one such seller online about this strategy and was typed to as though I was idiot ­ “do math” he said. Is everything online turning into best man wins that figures out how to use deceptive practices or sugar-coat reality to point of making your teeth ache just to make a buck? On second thought, don’t answer that...

I commonly say that in order to be successful you only need to be right 51% of time. You really don’t have to be much more right than that to make it. Fortunately or unfortunately more correct you are in your actions, decisions, policies, directions and programs more agreement you get from your group.

Some people, one would say, are natural born leaders. I believe a natural born leader is one who is right more than 51% of time, but even more importantly is willing to be wrong 49% of time. He or she is willing to make difficult decisions organizationally in planning, administration and justice within group. The group then respects him or her for making call and is more likely to support leader in future decisions.

If a business owner has guided his organization to high levels of prosperity over a period of time, when that business owner presents a new plan or goal to staff they are likely to support it because that leader has demonstrated a majority of correct decisions and actions in past.

Conversely, if a business owner has not guided his organization to desired levels of success in past, when that business owner presents a new plan or goal to staff they are likely to disagree with or not comply with plan because leader has demonstrated a majority of incorrect decisions and actions in past.

Business owners I have met commonly know what they should do but most of time they lack courage to make decision and act. I see this so often — an owner knows exactly what he needs to do to expand his organization or handle a particular staff member, but chooses to do something else; something easier to face, something easier to confront. This choice, in essence, makes him do wrong thing. A real leader is one who does right thing for group even if it doesn’t win a popularity contest.

If you formulate a positive plan, if you get agreement on it from your staff, if you are not weak about your orders and if you follow through and get compliance, you will expand.