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The Gut Check

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 09:36:51 GMT

Mike Whitaker

The Gut Check

You’ve made hundreds of big decisions in your life. Many of them are business related.

Do you make that deal? Spend that money? Hire that person?

How do you handle decisions that involve risk? Sure, you can look at data — but I would argue that at least 50% of your decisions in your career and in your life are not decided with the data, rather, with your gut. The numbers don’t tell the entire story. I’ve learned a thing or two about achieving success by listening to my gut when making decisions It is a learned discipline that pays off for a lifetime. Here are a few “gut” ideas that you may be able to use:

Going Solo

I’ve tried decision-by-committee in my career. I employ people whom I trust. I value the input of others. I want others to feel engaged, invested, and a part of the process. However, at the end of the day, if you’re the one writing the checks, the success and failure is completely on you. With risk, your gut deserves the primary focus. Stay open, seek opinions, collect data, and then trust your gut.

The Battle

In my work with entrepreneurs and business leaders, I find most people do not give their gut the stage. The Gut gets tuned out, overshadowed, out-debated, and squashed! By what? Your powerful mind. Your mind is a potent device, but it behaves like a child at times. It wants gratification and it wants it now. It wants to be independent and yet yearns for validation. The “mind” is eager to overwhelm, rationalize, and dominate our gut if our gut doesn’t give it what it wants.

My Gut Told Me Not To Do It, But I Did It Anyway

Consider the last many years and review some of the bigger decisions and turning points in your life. Did you take one job over another? Did you miss an opportunity? Did something turn into a disaster? Hindsight is valuable, and negative outcomes are the easiest to analyze. In any of your outcomes, to what extent did you initially rely on your gut? What did it tell you? Did it serve you well? Were you listening?

If we are listening, the gut usually will communicate one of the following three ways in any given scenario:

Absolutely! Yes.
Heck, no.
Not sure yet.

Gut responses of “Yes” or “No” are black and white and thus, easy to act on. The third option, “Not sure yet,” is equally valuable and is not used often enough. We get into trouble when we permit “maybe” to sneak in. That is the opportunity that our persuasive mind and people are looking for – to woo us into not following our gut. It’s much better to abstain for the moment. As my favorite rock band, Rush, sings in their song, Freewill, “If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.”

When there is risk involved, our gut deserves a chance to be heard. Sometimes it takes hours, sometimes days, but time is not the point; accuracy is the point. Learn to trust your gut and take notice when it does great work.

Mike Whitaker is a CEO, author, and speaker who builds confidence in audiences everywhere on entrepreneurship, sales and marketing strategy, and leadership. To book Mike for your next event, visit www.mikewhitaker.com or call (877-843-4110) .

Entrepreneur or Unemployed? – NY Times Article

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 09:28:54 GMT

Mike Whitaker

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Entrepreneur or Unemployed? – NY Times Article

I have commented that entrepreneurship is sometimes chosen unemployment.

Some folks don’t have a choice lately. See the stats.

Read the New York Times Article .

I loved this article. YouGov published its list of the 10 worst business sayings months ago. Some I more than agreed with, like “thinking outside of the box,” “blue-sky thinking,”and “heads up.” Some didn’t bug me as much – “at the end of the day,” “going forward,” and “credit crunch.”

It also got me thinking about my own version of the 10 worst business sayings. Consequently, I compiled my own list, complete with definitions and the reasons they were included.

The first three top my list for their gross factor, pure and simple. Why? Because regardless of the people or situation in question, I’ve found that the overt or indirect referencing of bodily functions in a business environment gets me down.

The Article

Typically each year, large numbers of Americans leave their old jobs to find new ones. Unemployment rises during recessions mainly because companies hire fewer workers, not because they lay more people off. But this Great Recession has been different. Layoffs by mid-sized and large companies have surged while hiring has almost disappeared. These companies have used the sharp downturn as an opportunity to cull their payrolls for good — substituting labor-saving technologies and outsourcing to workers abroad or to contract workers here. This explains why almost half of America’s unemployed have been jobless for more than six months — a greater proportion than at any time since the Great Depression. It also explains why so many people like George have joined the ranks of the self-employed.

Yes, a growing number of Americans went out on their own before the recession, but clearly their numbers have vastly increased. While some are happy about their new status, most are worse off than they were before. It’s one thing to be a contingent worker in good times and when you’re young; quite another in bad times when you’re middle-aged.

Still, many would rather view these people as entrepreneurs and owners of startup businesses, and see their major challenge as getting adequate credit. Congress’s Joint Economic Committee reported last week that small businesses continue to face tight lending standards. “Small business is the job-creation engine that powers this economy,” said Representative Carolyn Maloney, the New York Democrat who heads the committee. Democrats will be pushing bills to make loans more available to them.

Indeed, America’s startup businesses do need better access to credit. But many entities that look like small new businesses are actually self-employed people who need more than bank loans. They need predictable income and benefits.

For starters, they could use what might be called “earnings insurance” that would pay for up to two years part of the difference between what they earned on the old job and what they earn now on their own. Employed workers would contribute to the insurance fund through their payroll taxes, as they do with unemployment insurance, but the total bill for benefits would be unlikely to rise because earnings insurance would get them back to work quicker and thereby reduce the number of weeks they relied on unemployment benefits.

The self-employed also need more help saving. Since they can no longer depend on tax-free corporate matches to their 401(k)’s or I.R.A.’s, they should be entitled to tax credits that match them. Fortunately, thanks to the reform package passed by Congress, they will have more help getting affordable health care, as they will be able to use their aggregate bargaining power in medical exchanges to push down insurance costs.

New businesses are vital to job growth, and entrepreneurship does fuel the economy. And surely some of America’s new independent workers will build their own companies. But when the economy is still so hard on so many, it’s important to distinguish between entrepreneurial zeal and self-employed desperation.

Robert B. Reich, a former secretary of labor, is a professor of public policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and the author of “Supercapitalism.”

How Confidence is Lacking in Business Today

Tue, 01 Jul 2025 08:50:10 GMT

Mike Whitaker

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How Confidence is Lacking in Business Today

“I seem to have lost my mojo!” gasped Austin Powers, at a moment of truth.

Confidence — when it’s high, you’re invincible; and when it’s low, you’re vulnerable. How’s your business mojo holding up these days?

Confidence is something you carry. It is with you at all times and it affects your performance, your verbal and nonverbal communication, and your ability to persevere. Your confidence is contagious to others. A confident person earns your time, attracts your gaze, and makes you feel better. Their confidence is spilling over to you. Confidence is sexy. Low confidence has the opposite effect. It cannot be concealed. It is a virus. People don’t want to be around a person who lacks confidence (or company). We’re not wired that way. We want to be wowed!

No one is immune to swings of confidence. Fortunately, there are ways to get your business confidence back on track. Below, are some common scenarios that you might encounter and solutions for how you can take action to move beyond them:

1. Second-Guessing the Business

Many of us in growth mode built a business model that is expensive to maintain. In the busier times, many optimists moved to nicer office space, updated gadgets, borrowed money, justified higher wages, and set the business model to be profitable at a higher sales level than we have today. Most of us have been forced to make cuts here and there — but it may not be enough. Confidence has been compromised because many are questioning what our business will become at this rate of change.

Confidence-Building Solution: Throw out pride and design for long-term survival. Structure your expenses to allow you to profit when monthly revenue is only at 80% of average for recent months. The business may look different, but keep in mind that you are designing for the current reality. Survival is more important than size.

2. Selling Scared

Do you think salespeople expect to get the order today? Customers smell blood in the water. Lower confidence has been eroding your pricing power. Which is more important to a commissioned salesperson – sales revenue or profit margin? The temptation to get the deal regardless of price contaminates our sales pipeline with low-profit deals that ultimately lower confidence.

Confidence-Building Solution: Set a minimum profit margin and be content to let competitors slash their own wrists. In my manufacturing business, that gross margin minimum is 20%. It’s just not worth the risk to work for less. Adjust commission plans to index higher when sales are made at higher profit margins. It’s a win-win. These two actions are bookends for confidence in the sales you make.

3. We’ve Slipped

In an effort to “get more competitive” and be more like the competitor who has grabbed the customer’s attention with a tasty low price, we have not improved the product or service. In fact, we have likely cheapened the experience due to cutting costs. Most companies have slowed development of new products and services. Because your teammates know these facts, confidence in the company is lower. Instead, imagine saying, “We offer the best and if you buy, you will be thrilled you paid the difference in price.” Either you are confident that you have a premium product or you are confident you are the most competitive (yet profitable). Anything in-between is Death Valley.

Confidence Building Solution: Benchmark yourself against all primary competitors. Buy from them and then test their product/service. Evaluate every aspect of quality and experience. Knowing where you stand is a confidence builder.

4. The Business Must Choose

What result must the business have more than any other by the end of a 7-year recession? Examples: Market share, gross sales level, job security for all, or financial return. Only one can be your top priority. The business that chooses can have confidence in why it acts and be less concerned with how the business changes to achieve that outcome. Choosing why is a relief. Once chosen, all other decisions are more obvious and more meaningful.

Confidence Building Solution: Ask: “What is the most important outcome for us at the end of this recession?” Choose one and don’t look back. Your competitors will wonder how you could be so disciplined.

Action: Re-think how you manage your business confidence. Most people adjust their confidence as a result of what happened to them recently – a reactionary approach. Flip it over and do the opposite. Carry confidence and watch the results reinforce why your “mojo” is working for you.

The 10 Worst Phrases to Use at the Office

Mon, 17 Mar 2025 09:09:36 GMT

Mike Whitaker

More posts by Mike

The 10 Worst Phrases to Use at the Office

Careerbuilder

By Frances Cole Jones, author of The Wow Factor

It also got me thinking about my own version of the 10 worst business sayings. Consequently, I compiled my own list, complete with definitions and the reasons they were included.

1. Pick your brain

Substituted when someone simply wants to ask you something. “Do you mind if I just pick your brain?”

2. Throw it against the wall and see what sticks.

Often used to describe a haphazard approach to presenting a motley product line,

Often used to describe a haphazard approach to presenting a motley product line, batch of ideas, etc. ”Well, let’s just throw these against the wall and see what sticks.”

3. Sweat equity

Offered up when asking people to give their time and talent, and payment is not available. “We can’t pay you your rate now, but — when we do start making money — you’ll definitely have sweat equity.”

The next three were included because of their cliché factor. Like “thinking outside the box” and “blue-sky thinking,” their overuse means they no longer catch our attention.

4. It’s not rocket science

Used most often when pointing out to someone that the task he’s been asked to complete isn’t, in fact, complicated. “After all, it’s not rocket science.”

5. The ball’s in your court

This phrase is usually thrown around (pun intended) to let others know that you’ve reached your limit with regard to handling a situation. “I’ve now done everything I can. After this, the ball’s in your court.”

6. Drill down

This is too often used to denote the vigor with which a person or team will be pursuing an objective. “Yes, Bob and I are really going to drill down on that.”

The following three made my list thanks to their redundancy:

7. I, personally…

Since something that is said by you is, by definition, personal, I see no need to include both words. For example, when you take the ”personally” out of the following sentence, the meaning doesn’t change. “Well, I, personally, don’t think that X should take precedence over Y.”

8. Quite unique (and its compatriots “very unique,” “really unique,” and “most unique”)

Despite the fact that things that are unique can’t be qualified, I see this all the time. “Our store has the most unique items.” Um … no. You can, however, say, “Our store is filled with unique items.” I have no trouble with that.

9. Past history

This one drives me wild every time I hear it, “Well, based on past history …” History is, by definition, something that occurred in the past, so why on earth say “past”?

And, finally, the most overused phrase in a business context:

10. Urgent (and its frequent companion “crisis”)

I include these because, as I’m sure you’ve discovered, the use of either, or both, of these words does little to resolve what might be going on. Instead, they either ratchet up the tension or make others wonder why you are so out of control.

What do I recommend you use instead? I would substitute “immediate” with “urgent.”

http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/worklife/12/16/cb.worst.phrases.work/index.html