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Wouldn’t it be nice if every issue were black and white—crystal clear? Every single issue. Every subject. Every day. It would undoubtedly simplify decision-making, conscience issues, and controversies.

In the slower moving and less complex business environments of times past, the old hierarchical leadership model that depended mostly on only a few people at the top for leadership simply doesn’t work anymore.

One road is paved in scarcity, and the other road is filled with abundance at every turn. The irony is that at any moment, we can choose to change which road we travel.  And, as business leaders and entrepreneurs, we have plenty of opportunities to choose between an abundance mindset and a scarcity mindset.

Choice is full of uncertainty. Every time we make a choice, we make a bet over a particular set of outcomes that we think we can predict. Sometimes we predict rightly, and sometimes we never see what is coming. We continually make decisions in an uncertain and unpredictable world.

But CSR isn’t limited to just big corporations. Small businesses do this too and have for a long time; they just didn’t know it.  Small business leaders often build tight bonds with the communities they serve, and because of that, their civic engagement is driven by the customers and clients they see every day.

Earning a profit is essential to a small business because profitability impacts whether a company can secure financing from a bank, attract investors to fund its operations, and grow its business. Companies cannot remain in business without turning a profit. Business owners and entrepreneurs must understand the importance of profitability in business management and develop strategies that give the company the best chance at remaining profitable.

Business leaders and entrepreneurs need to have passion. Whether you’re passionate about selling a product, running a business, or your hobbies, passion must be present. Passion leads to success.

But motivating employees causes stress.  And pushing them for the stretch goals causes even more stress. The stress is on you as the manager and on the employees to meet production. Unfortunately, stress is a demotivator. So, our normal operating cycle is defined as: motivate = stress = demotivate

All managers have employees who can do more for their company. Realizing this untapped potential requires an understanding of your role as a manager, the personality types and motivations of your employees, and a variety of proven management techniques.

According to a 2016 survey of 63,924 managers and 14,167 recent graduates, critical thinking is the number one soft skill managers feel new graduates are lacking, with 60% feeling this way.