Business Leaders and Change

Business owners have no control over how fast markets grow or how sensibly banks lend their money. But one thing a business owner does control is his own attitude and mindset. In these challenging economic times it may only be the businesses that change or do things a little differently that will survive. Economic development needs to be a part of their business community and provide information and assistance to help them grow in any economy.

Harvard Business Publishing put together the 10 questions that every change agent must answer. How would you answer “Do you see opportunities the competition doesn’t see?” or "If your company went out of business tomorrow, who would miss you and why?"

Challenge your businesses and yourself as a business leader to answer the questions and see how you can change the way of how business is done.

Successful businesses grow because they have strong leaders that define them. Read about seven innovative companies that are inspiring workers and boosting their bottom line. What can you learn from what they do? Can your businesses offer on-site daycare, stop smoking assistance or a break room complete with Wii?

Another way to change how businesses do business and to become a leader in your community is to look at how giving can be part of the business strategy. Small businesses are finding that using charitable giving can increase sales, lift employee morale and helps a good cause.

Website Check-In

The importance of a website is not lost on economic development organizations but once the website is up and running how often do you check in to see how it’s doing? Technology changes every day, how people access websites change and user expection change. Here are a few things to look at for your website to improve its efficiency:


Increase the speed – The user expects to find the information from a website quickly. They want to get it and get out. Adobe Flash was the premier choice but demand has decreased so your site may not need showy add-ons. Users would rather read information but you will still need images of some sort. Make sure your image files are as small as they can be and move any unnecessary items to the bottom of the page. This will help load the important information first.


Write a better script – Spend some time reading what is on your website now and make sure it is succinct and not filled with extra and unnecessary filler. It may help to have a third party read through what your website says and offer advice from a “user’s” point of view.


Use only the tech you really need – While you may want to show that you are up to date on the latest software or tech gadgets, use only what makes sense. Evaluate your use of music, video and detailed zoom views . Be aware of adding in the trendy and new technology because it can be costly and time consuming to keep up with. Look at how you will use the technology and whether it really make sense for your organization.


Unique page titles on every page – These are the words that appear in the bar across the very top of the browser window. Users may not notice them but search engines do. If you have 15 pages on your website and they all say Come Do Business Here, the search engines are not going to see them as different and this will affect your search ranking. When you change your page title make sure it actually relates to what the page content is. Again, you may want to have a third party assist with this project.


Short forms – If you have a contact form on your site make sure you only ask for the information you really need. Do you need a physical address when you will only communicate through email? Resist the urge to get more information and don’t make the user jump through hoops to get your information. Keep it simple.