by Chris Hunter | Jan 2, 2016 | General - Personal Growth & Leadership, Leadership, Training Programs
Leadership is a combination of inherited and acquired characteristics. Even if your genes didn’t make you a ‘natural’ leader you can certainly learn a lot about leadership if you’re called upon to lead. Natural leaders stand out – they’re easy to identify. Identifying...
by Chris Hunter | Mar 29, 2016 | General - Personal Growth & Leadership
by Chris Hunter | Mar 30, 2016 | Leadership
by Chris Hunter | Mar 30, 2016 | Leadership, Management & Motivation
by Chris Hunter | Mar 30, 2016 | Leadership
When the leadership is right and the time is right, the people can always be counted upon to follow to the end and at all costs. – Harold J. Seymour We often use expressions like “A born leader” without worrying too much about just what a leader is....
by Chris Hunter | Mar 27, 2016 | Coaching & Soft Skills, Employee Recognition & Rewards, General - Human Resources, Leadership, Performance Management, Retention
Everyone who’s ever worked in a business has thought about how to make it better. It’s usually with the goal of making their own job a bit easier or more rewarding, but that’s natural and highlights the sincerity of suggestions that originate from...
by Chris Hunter | Mar 31, 2016 | Speeches & Presentations
It happens every so often – you’re called upon to give a presentation and suddenly stage fright begins. Relax. There are lots of things you can do to make your next public speaking job a winner and once you’ve learned them presentations will never be a problem again....
by Chris Hunter | Mar 25, 2016 | General - Personal Growth & Leadership, Operations
There are several reasons why you should make sure conditions in your office are comfortable for the members of your team. People who are comfortable work more efficiently and tend to stay in their positions longer than those who are uncomfortable. Maintaining...
by Chris Hunter | Mar 31, 2016 | Communications & Performance Reviews, General - Personal Growth & Leadership, Leadership, Management & Motivation
There is no “one size fits all” solution to succeed in the demanding area of managing people. Most managers have their own styles and some are more effective than others. What is certain is that people management must be an active part of every business...
by Chris Hunter | Mar 31, 2016 | Coaching & Soft Skills, General - Human Resources, Leadership
by Chris Hunter | Nov 16, 2015 | Change Management, Family Businesses, Leadership
There’s an old saying about a family business that is often true: “The first generation starts it, the second generation manages it, and the third generation shuts the doors.” In fact, only about 30 percent of businesses are passed on to the second...
by Chris Hunter | Mar 24, 2016 | Change Management, Leadership, Project Management
by Chris Hunter | Mar 29, 2016 | General - Personal Growth & Leadership, Leadership
How do you feel on Friday afternoon —Â worn out, tired, flat? Do your body and your mind agree that you’ve made it to the finish line, and you feel finished? Maybe it’s time to set a different pace for your workdays. This doesn’t mean...
by Chris Hunter | Nov 16, 2015 | Change Management, Delegation, Family Businesses
Small businesses tend to follow a generational pattern. That is, a highly motivated individual who has a lot of good sense and initiative starts the business. They build it up, and perhaps involve other family members, such as their spouse, siblings and children,...
by Chris Hunter | Nov 22, 2015 | General - Entrepreneurship, General - Personal Growth & Leadership, Leadership, Start-Ups
There are so many risks in small business that it’s impossible to list them all. Many events can put a business out of business and it’s the responsibility of owners and managers to somehow anticipate and deal with them. You’ve probably insured your...
by Chris Hunter | Nov 25, 2015 | Business Development, Change Management, General - Entrepreneurship, General - Personal Growth & Leadership, Leadership, Start-Ups, Strategy
by Chris Hunter | Nov 25, 2015 | General - Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Performance Management, Strategy
by Chris Hunter | Mar 31, 2016 | Business Plans, General - Personal Growth & Leadership, Leadership
by Chris Hunter | Mar 29, 2016 | General - Personal Growth & Leadership, Leadership, Project Management
Problem solving is a part of life, especially in our businesses. How you go about it is often the most important determinant of the outcome you get. Here’s a step-by-step management process for problem solving that you can use the next time something goes wrong...
by Chris Hunter | Mar 31, 2016 | Project Management
Cornerstone Business Solutions is honored to have made numerous workshop presentations to the Four Corners Conference for Professional Development. Â Four of these featured the topic Project Management for Business and For Life. The presentation covers: 1....
by Chris Hunter | Nov 25, 2015 | Business Development, Cash Flow Management & Modeling, Change Management, General - Entrepreneurship, General - Operations, Leadership, Project Management, Strategy
by Chris Hunter | Nov 25, 2015 | Leadership, Project Management, Start-Ups, Strategy
Every firm needs a statement of its vision. A vision statement can be a unifying and motivating force for all team members – those who are part of the organization today and those who join in the months and years to come. If they are exposed to a bold and...
by Chris Hunter | Mar 31, 2016 | Ethics, Leadership
by Chris Hunter | Mar 29, 2016 | General - Entrepreneurship, General - Personal Growth & Leadership, Start-Ups
Consultants are among the most independent of business people. They usually possess a certain skill or knowledge that qualifies them as “experts” but often it’s the case that these experts have to work pretty hard to find clients that will pay them...
by Chris Hunter | Mar 31, 2016 | Leadership
The first-time business owner has a lot to learn and not much time in which to learn it. Whether you have a team or one or twenty it’s always a bit lonely at the top. Here are a few things that can help you settle into the top dog’s role. Get Ready for the...
by Chris Hunter | Dec 26, 2015 | Coaching & Soft Skills, Leadership
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to function as a CEO in today’s high pressure business environment, but the rewards can be immense. Many CEOs make more in a year than their employees will make in a lifetime. The average CEO of a major U.S. corporation...
by Chris Hunter | Dec 30, 2015 | Coaching & Soft Skills, Communications & Performance Reviews, Ethics, Leadership, Legal Issues
Business owners and managers simply can’t afford to ignore problems with team members. To do so is to risk exposure to expensive lawsuits that few SMEs can afford. Problems with individuals can also lead to lower team morale, a loss of productivity and the...
by Chris Hunter | Nov 22, 2015 | Business Development, General - Entrepreneurship, General - Operations, Leadership, Start-Ups, Strategy
by Chris Hunter | Nov 16, 2015 | Boards of Directors, Family Businesses, Leadership
The strengths of a family business are also its weaknesses. If those weaknesses are managed well and turned into advantages, the business may survive and prosper – perhaps even to the second generation (a feat that is achieved by only 30 percent of family...
by Chris Hunter | Mar 31, 2016 | Business Plans, Leadership
Business management requires decisions to be made on a more or less constant basis. Even a bad decision can be profitable for a company, but not as profitable as a good decision would have been in the same circumstances. It’s important to make decisions the...
by Chris Hunter | Dec 26, 2015 | Coaching & Soft Skills, Leadership
by Chris Hunter | Mar 31, 2016 | Coaching & Soft Skills, Leadership
Business coaching is a field that’s experiencing rapid growth. One of its primary functions is to create the circumstances under which performance improvement can happen, and when the client is a team, coaching has been proven to be highly effective. Team...
by Chris Hunter | Mar 29, 2016 | General - Personal Growth & Leadership, Leadership
by Chris Hunter | Nov 25, 2015 | General - Entrepreneurship, General - Personal Growth & Leadership, Leadership, Management & Motivation
by Chris Hunter | Mar 31, 2016 | Leadership
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by Chris Hunter | Sep 14, 2017 | Change Management, General - Personal Growth & Leadership, Leadership, Project Management
Not being able to make the changes you want? Â This tool has been helpful in diagnosis of where you may have gaps.
by Chris Hunter | Nov 21, 2015 | Franchising, General - Entrepreneurship, General - Personal Growth & Leadership, Leadership, Start-Ups
Everyone wants to be a successful entrepreneur, which is why the management and self-help sections of bookshops are full books with titles like “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”. But the term entrepreneur is a vague one, which can mean different...
by Chris Hunter | Dec 26, 2015 | Coaching & Soft Skills, Leadership
by Chris Hunter | Mar 31, 2016 | Leadership, Project Management
“He that is everywhere is nowhere.” Thomas Fuller, 17th century historian, scholar, and author A frantic manager burst into a travel agency and exclaimed, “I need an airplane ticket immediately!” “Where would you like to go?”, the...
by Chris Hunter | Nov 16, 2015 | Change Management, Family Businesses, Leadership
The family business is an important part of any national economy. In the U.S. something like 90% of all businesses are either owned or controlled by a family. It’s about the same in Canada, the U.K., Australia and New Zealand. And they aren’t all small...
by Chris Hunter | Nov 16, 2015 | Family Businesses, Leadership
The family business is often the basis of a family’s wealth. It generates the funds that feed and clothe two or three generations concurrently, and can also be something that is a source of pride and to which all family members have a deep emotional attachment....
by Chris Hunter | Dec 26, 2015 | Coaching & Soft Skills, Leadership
It has been demonstrated across a number of industries that team performance can be enhanced through the application of external coaching. The members of a team will collectively “lift their game” and productivity increases are the norm. However, the...
by Chris Hunter | Mar 27, 2016 | Business Plans, Change Management, Ethics, Leadership, Management & Motivation, Values
by Chris Hunter | Nov 25, 2015 | Business Plans, Cash Flow Management & Modeling, General - Entrepreneurship, General - Personal Growth & Leadership, Leadership
You’ll recognize the familiar way to tell an optimist from a pessimist. Give each a glass of water filled to the halfway point and ask them to describe it. The optimist says the glass is “half full”, the pessimist says it’s “half...
by Chris Hunter | May 3, 2017 | Project Management
Companies typically dedicate a lot of resources towards finding new clients and revenue generating projects. However, an equal amount of resources should also be directed towards finding the right project manager (PM). Each new project will come with numerous unique...
by Chris Hunter | Aug 29, 2019 | Coaching & Soft Skills, General - Personal Growth & Leadership, Leadership
You’ve probably heard this meeting advice before: Set an agenda and send it out ahead of time. But if the purpose of your meeting is to tackle a complicated problem, it’s better to have the group decide on the agenda together. Plan to spend 10%–15% of your meeting...
by Chris Hunter | Dec 26, 2015 | Coaching & Soft Skills, Leadership
Chris’ combination of academic credentials, career experience and temperament ideally suit his calling as a business development advisor. Clients say he has a mind for business and a heart for service.