“The primary purpose of an incentive plan is to positively shape employee behaviour toward improving the company’s financial performance.”

Profit Works is a must read for anyone wanting to create an incentive plan that gets results. Alex Freytag and Tom Bouwer are huge proponents of Traction (the book we base our coaching program on), and you’ll notice how their ideas and advice works together with the EOS system. 

Throughout the book Alex and Tom will walk you through the why, how and what in order to create an effective incentive program for your company. There are clear do’s and don'ts in this process and this book breaks them down and provides straightforward instruction for the “do’s”. 

3 things stood out to me as I read this book:

1. Incentive plans will not make up for bad management. 
2. This is not an overnight process. As mentioned in the book, it takes time and intention to teach your employees how they, as...

Atomic Habits has been recommended to me a number of times so it got moved up to the top of my reading list and it did not disappoint!

In some ways, it’s just really practical. Habits take time. The more often you do something, the more it becomes a habit - whether good or bad.

What makes this book stand out in my opinion is how James Clear says we are to achieve the habits we want. It’s not about motivation, it’s about systems. Small actions over time equal big results.

My 3 biggest takeaways are:

• It’s practical. The framework for creating good habits professionally and personally is easy to understand.
• In order to lead your team well, you need to have good habits. An owner cannot expect his/ her team to have good habits if they don’t model that behaviour themselves.
• It’s self explanatory. Following the methods of the book will allow you more bandwidth for greater productivity in your life and business. 

Right now is the perfect time of...

"When you make a gift all about you, it's not a gift. Gifts are meant to be all about the recipient, from the timing to the personalization of the gift itself. When it's all about you and your company, it shows a lack of genuine appreciation for the recipient.”

So often in business the idea of generosity is believed to be a waste of money but John Ruhlin, author of Giftology, shares that it’s actually the opposite. During the short read you will find practical ways you can give back as an owner. John shares the do’s and don'ts of gift giving in an easy-to-understand and implement way - it takes time and effort to gift well.

Some tips:

• DO make sure the gift is not about you, the giver, but about the person receiving the gift
• DO make sure the gift is personal 
• DON’T brand the gift to your company
• DO budget how much you want to spend on gifts

Reading Giftology has made me take time to really consider the recipient and what would be special to them. This...