Are you a leader? Before you answer that question, consider … there’s a big difference between management and workplace leadership. Try this quote on for size: “Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall.” – Stephen Covey

How many times have you been a customer and heard that line? It usually happens right after you bring a product or service defect to the attention of someone at an establishment where you’re spending your hard-earned money. I was on the receiving end of this statement recently. It was tempting to give a customer service lecture to the person in front of me, faultless as he may have been.

Are you ready to start business planning for next year? Here’s a checklist for jump-starting the process. Start with a Vision Think about the business - where you came from, where you are, and where you want to be. Pick an appropriate time-frame, maybe 3-5 years out and think, "How will the business look?" Think of revenues, people, locations and lines of business.

Did you have a bonus plan in place last year? If so, was it effective? How is this year’s plan working out? If you have a good year and want to share some of the fruits of your labor with your team, great, but to do so without a well-planned and executed bonus plan is a wasted opportunity. So, here’s a list of best bonus and incentive practices to help you get the most bang for your bonus bucks.

Though he’s referring to baseball, Jim Evans’ stance on tracking metrics can be applied to professional organizations just as they are to professional baseball organizations. Metric tracking is a fundamental process for companies that practice the Great Game of Business. And although it’s an essential part of playing The Game, it isn’t uncommon for companies to find themselves at a loss for whether or not they’re tracking the right numbers (what we would call a Critical Number™). Sometimes company leaders don’t even know where to start tracking!

“The numbers in a business are just stories about people.” - Jack Stack, CEO of SRC Holdings and author of The Great Game of Business What are your company’s numbers, and how do you use them to assign accountabilities to departments and people?

“The difference between something good and something great is attention to detail.” - Charles Swindoll An alien spacecraft lands near a mobile home park (as alien spacecraft are prone to do) and abducts an earthling. As the extraterrestrials examine the human, they’re fascinated that one toe on each foot is much bigger than the other four. Why aren’t we earthlings similarly surprised when we see another person’s foot for the first time? Because it’s the norm. Like water to a fish. Ho-hum.

“Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.” ― Confucius About ten years ago in my past life – as CEO of a medical equipment company which I have since sold – we were exhibiting at a trade show. An attendee walked by, checking out our booth. As I started to introduce myself, he exclaimed with a scowl, “Our business goes to the lowest priced vendor! Price is everything!” If his goal was to set the tone for our interaction, he succeeded. I’m rarely at a loss for words, but I had never encountered anyone so obviously hell-bent on turning his organization into the home of crazy-low prices. The one positive outcome of my blissfully brief meeting with him was the eventual inspiration for this article.

Every company makes mistakes. That's one thing all businesses have in common. That said, each mistake is an opportunity - especially if the error affects a customer. Some companies blame anyone or anything but themselves. They may or may not correct it. They may or may not apologize. Some act like they’re doing you a favor if you ask them to correct their own goof-up. A culture of blame exists in these firms. Their mantra is “It’s not my fault."

"The trust of the innocent is the liar's most useful tool." - Stephen King We all have people we trust. And they trust us in return. In some cases, that trust has been earned via confidences kept and commitments achieved. In others, it's possible that the mutual trust is there because ... well, just because. Among my friends are two entrepreneurs who have been harmed by being too trusting, and perhaps too eager to offer others the opportunity to benefit from their businesses.