I don’t know about your business, but mine tends to slow down twice a year: mid year, around the 4th of July holiday and right about now – as most of the business winds down for the Christmas holidays.  So, like many people I take some time off to spend with my family.  Many call that work-life balance; I just need that intentional time to really disengage from work and it helps me think about, focus on, prioritize, pay attention to all these other things that are equally important in my life.

A few years ago, I also blocked off time on the calendar for this type of forced introspection.  I clear off my desk, throw out all of those gilt-written to-do lists that I didn’t get to, throw out boxes of recycled newspapers and magazines, and really try to clean up and clear out my work area.  I review my notes throughout the year, client meetings, phone conversations, opportunities won and lost.  Relationships I’ve touched and those who impacted me more than a cordial interaction.  Think of this as spring cleaning for your brain and I’d submit it’s an essential part of your personal and professional growth – if you don’t ever clean anything out, how will you make room for more ideas, more key initiatives, and just as important, more strategic relationships.

So, use some time during this holiday season to really think about your strategic relationships this past year.  Where did you invest time and effort?  Whom did you neglect?  Where do you need to prioritize your strategic relationship investments in 2012?  Make an intentional list of the type of relationship-builder you want to become vs. just that you want to achieve and really work on those attributes, those relationships, those friendship that will help you grow in the New Year.

After all, holidays are for more than just gift giving.  It’s a great time for gift receiving – in forms of introspection that will help you grow, personally and professionally.  Talk about a gift that keeps on giving.

Happy Holidays,
David

p.s.

If you haven’t yet, check out these channels to subscribe to various insights from our team in 2012…

One thing I’ve learned in the last decade in my consulting practice is that it’s absolutely a relationship business.  70% of my work this past year has come from a handful of strong referrals by trusted relationships.  90% of my successful engagements – whether speaking or consulting – is because I’ve done a decent job in investing in and nurturing a trusting relationship with an economic buyer.  If I look at my success rate in engaging new clients vs. those where we don’t work together for whatever reason, it’s because they believe our relationship today, and believe in our considerably stronger relationship with performance, execution, and results down the road.

But have you ever stopped to think about the ideal relationship profiles you should focus on?  From my large corporate clients to individuals I mentor in strategic relationships, everyone understand the fundamental importance of business relationships.  Very few systematically identify, prioritize and invest in those relationships for an extraordinary return to fuel their personal and professional growth.  Read the rest of this entry »

Recently, a CEO asked me to spend some time with two of his prominent senior executives, whom I’ll call John & Nancy.  These two got along so well that they could literally finish each other’s sentences; they were equally creative, spontaneous and enthusiastic, and had very similar approaches to solving problems.  I found them to be jovial and fun, engaging, and motivating.

And a complete waste of the company’s resources (time, effort and capital) in their respective roles! Read the rest of this entry »

Nice review of my book by these folks.

by David Nour. Roughly six million entrepreneurs begin a new business every year. Less than 2 percent of those new ventures attract investors, and those 2 percent are this book’s target market. Author Nour has witnessed numerous investment deals, and his guide reflects both his observations and those of investor colleagues. The book seeks to help entrepreneurs look at their business through the eyes of an investor; failing to do so not only costs money, but worse, it costs time and attention. Investor quotes–some insightful, some not–populate every chapter. Where Steven Rogers’ Entrepreneurial Finance: Finance and Business Strategies for the Serious Entrepreneur (2nd ed., CH, Jul’09, 46-6298) dedicates five chapters to valuation, Nour spends less than one chapter on the topic. Nour instead stresses financial intermediaries, professionals dedicated to helping firms attract capital. He also devotes a chapter to advice from entrepreneurs, advice they wish they had been given when they were seeking capital. This book’s real strength is an appendix full of helpful resources, useful not only to the 2 percent of entrepreneurs attracting capital but to many other entrepreneurs as well. –Choice (Check Catalog)

See the post here.

Relationship Economics

by David Nour; John Wiley & Sons

Relationship Economics takes a strategic view of business relationships as a platform for long-term business growth and success.

David’s seminal book Relationship Economics ranks in the top 10 on the Inc. business book bestseller list.  Read more here.

Laura Rich at FastCompany published a great article today on Why You Should Start A Company in… Atlanta.

I’ve lived and worked in & out of Atlanta since 1981 – I’m passionate about this town, the quality of life here, and so much that it has going for it.  I know Alan Taetle at NMP and agree with a number of references in the article.  Unfortunately, here are several fundamental points Alan didn’t mention:

1. Lack of Ideas – Even with Tech and Emory in town, there are not enough compelling ideas being generated by intellectual curiosity and horsepower!  Wonder how many quality and quantity deals Alan has looked at in the past month?
2. Lack of Seed Funding – Atlanta has never been a strong capital market and we seem to lack visionary angel investors who are willing to put their money, experience and reputation behind budding entrepreneurs.  In the past Angels would fund early, promising ideas – now they’re looking for proven market validation, i.e. customers!  Wonder how many Angel deals of say less than $1M has been completed here in the last year?
3. Lack of Institutional Funding – ATDC can produce great ideas backed by decent entrepreneurs.  A handful maybe able to find Angel investors, but then what?  Without a robust and competitive venture capital community, how can these early stage firms mature and progress their vision?  Wonder of all of the deals Alan looked at last year, how many did NMP fund?  How many were co-syndicated by other local VCs?
4. Lack of Entrepreneurial Ecosystem – Detrimental to the entire picture is lack of any sustainable entrepreneurial ecosystem. Unlike other regions where successful entrepreneurial exits tend to reinvest their green- and gray matters back into the market, Atlanta’s successful entrepreneurs retire to Lake Oconee or move on to real estate development, depriving the ecosystem from much needed fuel to support the next generation of ideas.
5. Lack of Leadership and Vision – The local business chronicle has yet to replace its technology staff writer from the last one they let go two years ago!  Leadership Atlanta seldom selects class members from the technology entrepreneur ranks.  The local technology association often confuses vibration with forward motion.  And our last several governors and mayors couldn’t spell technology if they tried.

Atlanta is an amazing town with some amazing people – unfortunately, a technology entrepreneurial Mecca, it’s not.  It’s about time we stopped kidding ourselves and started doing something about being seen as more than just the town that hosted the Olympics and home to Coke, UPS and Delta!

David Nour is CEO of the The Nour Group, Inc. and author of Relationship Economics (Wiley), ConnectAbility (McGraw-Hill), and The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Raising Capital (Praeger).