Looking for a strategic advantage for your organization this year? A way to set your company aside, to differentiate it from the rest? Consider further cultivating generosity as a core component of your business.

It’s a misconception that culture is born out of operations, that the personality of a business (what we usually call culture) could is shaped by its operations. While this may, in some cases, be partially true, more often than not, it’s the other way around and it is useful and prudent to let culture dictate operations. Let nature (culture) set the ground for nurture (operations) and both will thrive.

We ask each other a question every Friday at dojo4. It helps us understand ourselves each other better. Recently the question was: what makes an exemplary leader?

We do it every week, whether there are 2 of us or 12 of us. We do it with guests. We do it whether we're busy or not. It's part of how we've overcome the inevitable seasickness that comes with the swells and dips of being a small business. No doubt, it's made us a better business.

One of the most rewarding opportunities we have as entrepreneurs is to build a dynamic, reliable, and resilient team. And yet, hiring and retaining the "right people" is also one of the greatest challenges in business.

As entrepreneurs, we are often expected to tell a seamless and aggressively positive story about the dauntless progress and profit that our businesses are making and the unparalleled "solutions" we're offering…

There is a difference between having a lot to do and being busy. And there is an even bigger difference between being busy and getting things done, i.e. being effective.