Success Advice
Why You Need to Treat Your Business Like Getting a Haircut

No matter your age or gender we all have woken up at some point and said I need a haircut. Even bald men have to do some sort of maintenance. The warning signs are clear because you do not look put together, maybe you’re uncomfortable, and it’s time to clean up. As an entrepreneur, your business can be giving you the same signs, but you may be ignoring them. Very often our business can be a mess, and we let the look of our business, and more importantly the profits, get swept away like cut hair on the barber floor.
Here are 5 tips you should be asking each quarter to see if your business needs a cleanup:
1. Making an appointment
You better make an appointment if you need a haircut with your favorite barber or stylist. Sure, you can just walk in and hope someone is free, but you never know what you’re going to get. Same is true with our business. Are you meeting with key employees and clients regularly to ensure things are running smoothly? Do you meet with them at the right times too?
If you call a meeting with them at the busiest time of their day, you can throw them off their game, and more importantly not get the information you need. Sure, this may mean meeting earlier in the day, or later at night then you would like, but in the end it’s about getting the results so push outside that barrier.
2. Preparation
Even if you see the same person each time you get your haircut, they always ask, what are we doing today. The usual, something new or maybe they even share an idea they have. Either way, before each haircut a conversation takes place. Why? The person in control wants to know what is going to make you, the client, happy and come back again. They know you are going to need another haircut.
How often do we stop to ask what our clients want or need? In today’s automation society, we very often plug people into a system and feel it should just work. Are you stopping to ask your clients if it’s working, and more importantly are you seeing if they need the usual, something new or maybe you need to share a new idea you have that can take them to the next level?
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” Abraham Lincoln
3. The cut
This is where you get to sit back and relax, but maybe you’re a bit nervous. I see a lot happening, but this does not look like me. If the person cutting my hair stops right now I will look silly. What can you do? You’re in the chair so you have to trust them that in the end this will look amazing!
We have all had clients that have freaked out halfway through the process. For example, your client can say their website is not getting traffic or their social posts are not getting enough likes. The question is are you checking in with them throughout the process? Are you making sure they know where we are and where we are going? More importantly, do you stop to ask the questions, do my clients trust me?
4. Final touches
For the ladies it’s the blow out at the end, for us men it’s the hot shave to square you up. Either way, you can see things coming to gather and you sit up a little bit straighter in the chair. You feel good and you begin thinking about where you can go to show off your clean new look. Before you get up, your stylist takes out that big mirror and shows you all the angles so you can see the work, and they ask the final question, how does it look?
How many times do you report to your clients? If you are not giving monthly and/or quarterly reports on progress then you are missing out on showing them all the angles. If you have a large customer base, are you sending out regular surveys that ask how you’re doing, and more importantly are they happy? Finishing a job right is better than finishing it fast. Any job you’re working on should have final touches that make your clients feel good, sit up a bit taller in their chair, and more importantly tell others about the great work you are doing.
“If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it again?” – John Wooden
5. Maintenance
Before you leave, very often you are given a plan to keep your hair looking great. Maybe it’s a product you should use, or a routine you should put in place. More importantly, a good barber will ask you when will we be seeing you again, and you want this experience again so you will want to book that next appointment before someone else does.
We have all had a great meeting with a client where after, we all feel great. That feeling will stay as long as each party continues to deliver on what we spoke about in the meeting. It’s so important for both you and your client that you give them a maintenance plan to follow after a meeting. Even if they are hiring you for a service, there is very often work that needs to be put in by both sides. Make sure you set the next meeting so you can keep up the momentum.
What part of this article resonated most with you and why? Share your thoughts with us below!
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Leadership has always been as much about people as it is about performance. Ken Blanchard, in his influential book, “The One Minute Manager”, put it simply: different strokes for different folks. (more…)
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The Leadership Shift Every Company Needs in 2025
Struggling to keep your team engaged? Here’s how leaders can turn frustrated employees into loyal advocates.

In workplaces around the world, there’s a growing gap between employers and employees and between superiors and their teams. It’s a common refrain: “People don’t leave companies, they leave bad bosses.”
While there are, of course, cases where management could do better, this isn’t just a “bad boss” problem. The relationship between leaders and employees is complex. Instead of assigning blame, we should explore practical solutions to build stronger, healthier workplaces where everyone thrives.
Why This Gap Exists
Every workplace needs someone to guide, supervise, and provide feedback. That’s essential for productivity and performance. But because there are usually far more employees than managers, dissatisfaction, fair or not, spreads quickly.
What if, instead of focusing on blame, we focused on building trust, empathy, and communication? This is where modern leadership and human-centered management can make a difference.
Tools and Techniques to Bridge the Gap
Here are proven strategies leaders and employees can use to foster stronger relationships and create a workplace where people actually want to stay.
1. Practice Mutual Empathy
Both managers and employees need to recognize they are ultimately on the same team. Leaders have to balance people and performance, and often face intense pressure to hit targets. Employees who understand this reality are more likely to cooperate and problem-solve collaboratively.
2. Maintain Professional Boundaries
Superiors should separate personal issues from professional decision-making. Consistency, fairness, and integrity build trust, and trust is the foundation of a motivated team.
3. Follow the Golden Rule
Treat people how you would like to be treated. This simple principle encourages compassion and respect, two qualities every effective leader must demonstrate.
4. Avoid Micromanagement
Micromanaging stifles creativity and damages morale. Great leaders see themselves as partners, not just bosses, and treat their teams as collaborators working toward a shared goal.
5. Empower Employees to Grow
Empowerment means giving employees responsibility that matches their capacity, and then trusting them to deliver. Encourage them to take calculated risks, learn from mistakes, and problem-solve independently. If something goes wrong, turn it into a learning opportunity, not a reprimand.
6. Communicate in All Directions
Communication shouldn’t just be top-down. Invite feedback, create open channels for suggestions, and genuinely listen to what your people have to say. Healthy upward communication closes gaps before they become conflicts.
7. Overcome Insecurities
Many leaders secretly fear being outshone by younger, more tech-savvy employees. Instead of resisting, embrace the chance to learn from them. Humility earns respect and helps the team innovate faster.
8. Invest in Coaching and Mentorship
True leaders grow other leaders. Provide mentorship, career guidance, and stretch opportunities so employees can develop new skills. Leadership is learned through experience, but guided experience is even more powerful.
9. Eliminate Favoritism
Avoid cliques and office politics. Decisions should be based on facts and fairness, not gossip. Objective, transparent decision-making builds credibility.
10. Recognize Efforts Promptly
Recognition often matters more than rewards. Publicly appreciate employees’ contributions and do so consistently and fairly. A timely “thank you” can be more motivating than a quarterly bonus.
11. Conduct Thoughtful Exit Interviews
When employees leave, treat it as an opportunity to learn. Keep interviews confidential and use the insights to improve management practices and culture.
12. Provide Leadership Development
Train managers to lead, not just supervise. Leadership development programs help shift mindsets from “command and control” to “coach and empower.” This transformation has a direct impact on morale and retention.
13. Adopt Soft Leadership Principles
Today’s workforce, largely millennials and Gen Z, value collaboration over hierarchy. Soft leadership focuses on partnership, mutual respect, and shared purpose, rather than rigid top-down control.
The Bigger Picture: HR’s Role
Mercer’s global research highlights five key priorities for organizations:
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Build diverse talent pipelines
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Embrace flexible work models
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Design compelling career paths
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Simplify HR processes
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Redefine the value HR brings
The challenge? Employers and employees often view these priorities differently. Bridging that perception gap is just as important as bridging the relational gap between leaders and staff.
Treat Employees Like Associates, Not Just Staff
When you treat employees like partners, they bring their best selves to work. HR leaders must develop strategies to keep talent engaged, empowered, and prepared for the future.
Organizational success starts with people, always. Build the relationship with your team first, and the results will follow.
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