Do you wish you had more money, fewer employee issues, and the freedom to be able to go home at the end of the day without thinking about problems? 

Wow! Just the idea of that sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? Unfortunately, many business owners are in tremendous debt and feel like their businesses are squeezing the life out of them. That’s how I used to feel, but I discovered that the business will provide excess cash, a peaceful work environment and personal freedom when a business is healthy and functioning as it should.

The BIG question is how do you do it? 

How do you eliminate the struggle of your bills exceeding your bank account and replace it with a cash surplus?  How do you eliminate employee drama and replace it with peace and loyal relationships? And how do you leave work at work, so you can be fully engaged at home?

One word: culture!  Over the past few years, it seems that culture has become overused and even cliché.  The truth is, the good and bad of a business stem from the culture of the company, and are simply a reflection of the business owner’s values blended with what he or she is willing to tolerate. 

For the first 15 years of owning my business, I created a dysfunctional culture because what I believed and what I actually did were not in alignment. This caused confusion within myself and among my team and resulted in a flawed and broken company. We were turning a lot of money, but I was still cash strapped and paid most of my bills late. I was in a constant battle to motivate my employees to show up on time, stop the drama and quit wasting time and materials.  And no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't turn it off at night.  I was losing sleep and it was wearing hard on my marriage. My broken company was slowly killing me and everyone around it! 

My business and life were out of control and I didn't even know who I was anymore.  I had to begin with asking myself a big question: How do I want to be remembered by those closest to me?  Now, that’s deep, but it’s so crucially important because we don't really know how to live until we know how we want to be remembered.

Whether your business is struggling or thriving, it can always be better.  It simply takes a small shift in mindset to make a huge difference, and that is what I love so much about The Great Game of Business® and open-book management.  It’s that mindset and heart of transparency and vulnerability that comes with “opening the books” that creates a trusting culture which is the foundation to building and maintaining a winning team! 

Like everyone, we all have our share of struggles.  The good thing is that most of the answers to our issues are already in us. Often, a few simple questions can be enough to stir us into action and get us back on the road of being intentional with our time and efforts.  Think about your business and consider these five questions: 

• How many hours do I work at each week?
• What is right about my business?
• What frustrates me most about my business 
• Why do my employees CHOOSE to work for my company? (They do have a choice!) 
• With the current cash available, how long could my business operate without any income?

Other Articles You Might Like:

• The Great Game Changed Our Culture and Business

• Leading the Way Towards a Hopeful Culture

• Your CEO Needs a New Title: How to Manage Company Culture