Category Archives: Business

The four-way test

I wrote a mission and vision for our business long before we launched, but it wasn’t until a few years later that we penned our values. I was in the midst of drafting them when I first learned of the Rotarian four-way test:

Is it the truth?

Is it fair to all concerned?

Will it build goodwill and better friendships?

Will it be beneficial to all concerned?

The values we ended up adopting later that year were deeply influenced by that test, and we regularly find ourselves asking, “What is the right thing to do?”

What are you good at? What do you enjoy? What needs doing?

In 2007, I engaged Andy Fleming, a business coach/therapist/guru/sage/seeker/learner to help me carry my game to the next level. I learned a great deal working with Andy, and I reflect on one of his lessons almost daily.

Andy can’t talk without reinforcing his points by sketching in his note pad, and I clearly remember the first time he shared with me a Venn diagram similar to the one above: three circles, each containing a question.

What are you good at?

What do you enjoy?

What needs doing?

I try to spend a healthy amount of time where those three circles overlap. Clearly, 100% of my time doesn’t make it into the sweet spot. Today, as an example, I paid taxes. I also invest a lot of time in getting better at things that need doing, which I find to be an enjoyable exercise.

Tracking Cash Position

At GuildQuality, we sell a SaaS solution to home builders, developers, remodelers, and home improvement contractors. Early in our history, the bulk of our business came from developers and builders, and when the economic apocalypse hit, it hit hard and it hit fast. Monitoring cash flow became incredibly important, and the way we do it today is very similar to the way we began doing it when the real estate market started heading south in mid 2007.

Click here to access a Google spreadsheet that is similar to the one we use to monitor our cash position at GuildQuality.

Once a month, I update our (much more detailed) financial model in Excel, and use that spreadsheet when I really want to reflect on the direction of the business. But when I am interested in getting a crystal clear picture of where we are at this very moment I use a Google spreadsheet like this one. This was crucially important when money was tight, and though our position is considerably stronger today, I still look at it several times a week. Continue reading “Tracking Cash Position”