Astra Growth Partners

11/05/2020

Truly inspiring

I recorded an episode of the podcast late yesterday for this morning. Like you, I'm feeling wobbly and weary — this is the practice that's really saving me right now. Listen at https://bit.ly/32at7HM

05/06/2020

Just finished working through this great book with a team at a client. What a transformational experience for everyone on the team.

One of my favorite books on leadership that I keep recommending again and again to all my clients.

Leading as a human being with your whole heart and willing to be vulnerable takes a lot of courage. And courage is contagious.

The lessons in this book are important in these trying times more than ever for any leader.

The ultimate playbook for developing brave leaders and courageous cultures. Daring leadership is a collection of four skill sets that are 100% teachable. It’s learning and practice that requires brave work, tough conversations, and showing up with our whole hearts.

05/06/2019

One of my clients recently needed to let go an underperforming employee. Even though the employee has received some feedback in the months before, it still came as a surprise to her. While she thought that she had remedied the feedback, her manager didn't see an improvement.

Where did things go wrong? Are you dealing with an underperforming employee?

Having clear objectives and key results to be achieved, regular check-ins with employees on how they are doing against them, and agreed upon plan in place, are the keys of minimizing employee underperformance and avoiding the unfortunate outcome of having to let someone go.

Here's a great article on the subject from Harvard Business Review. What other practices have you found that work to maximize employee performance or to deal with an underperforming employee?

https://hbr.org/2019/02/how-to-talk-to-an-employee-who-isnt-meeting-their-goals

Be clear, be specific, and end with a plan to move forward.

02/26/2019

For all entrepreneurs out there - a quick reminder that it's easy to get overwhelmed and exhausted, and decide to quit. Learn to take a break and rest, instead. Regain your strength and get back at it!

02/08/2019

Congratulations to Sabrina and Dave from Davrina.com on their big breakthrough and a deal with COX Business, the host of this year's CES show in Las Vegas. Davrina's video welcomed the hundreds of thousands CES visitors this year.
https://www.davrina.com/MoviePlayer2.html

Davrina Created Multi-Language Welcome Screens for COX Business/LVCC which ran throughout the convention center during CES 2019.

01/24/2019

In a recent post, I wrote about the importance of goal setting. Have you set your 2019 goals yet?

If yes, you are ahead! How about creating your quarterly strategic plan?

Need some help with goal setting or strategic planning? Give us a shout http://www.astragp.com

01/22/2019

"Willpower is for people who are still uncertain about what they want to do." — Helia

A better approach to success is:
1. Make a decision
2. Commit
3. Create the conditions to execute

https://www.businessinsider.com/willpower-doesnt-work-heres-how-to-actually-change-your-habits-2017-5

The very fact that willpower is required comes from two more fundamental sources —you haven't committed, and you haven't created the right conditions.

01/07/2019

Now that the holidays are over, and we’ve sent off 2018, celebrated our achievements and reflected on our failures and learnings, it’s time to welcome the new year with a solid plan.

Have you set your 2019 business goals yet and created your quarterly strategic plan? Time and time again, research shows that people and businesses that set goals are more likely to succeed. Setting goals is even more important than worrying about your competition, the economy or the market.

Download this quarterly strategic planning tool to help you work through the goal setting and strategic planning exercise.
http://bit.ly/2Vxvqjg

Want some help with your 2019 strategic plan? Send me a message for a free consultation.

12/31/2018

As 2018 draws to an end, it's time to look back and celebrate our achievements and learnings.

A great exercise to do with your employees as a team is to work through the following 4 questions:
1) How did we do against our goals for the year?
2) What were the accomplishments that we are most proud of?
3) Where did we fail?
4) What did we learn?

Following this exercise, it will be much easier to plan for the next year, taking into consideration the outcome of this retrospective.

Do you do end-of-year reviews of your business? Send us a message and share your tips.

12/30/2018

Merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year 2019!

May it bring success, personal fulfillment, meaning, joy and laughter!

06/19/2018

So excited to meet Maria Marlowe face-to-face for the first time after working with her for over a year and coaching her in growing her health & nutrition brand https://www.facebook.com/MariaMarloweHealth/

It has been such a great and rewarding experience to watch Maria gain traction in social media, publish her book, and launch her podcast!

06/13/2018

Just finished watching the shareholder meeting video. As always, very inspiring to see all the game changing innovation and great progress.
My wish is for solar powered car and hope they are in the works. No need for gas or recharging stations!

06/05/2018

If you are already using video as a marketing tool, you know how effective it can be. Have you considered using it for recruiting and retaining employees? Video gives your company the ability to better communicate the company's culture and mission, reinforce staff camaraderie and share open roles.

Use video to build company culture and, ultimately, your success as a brand.

05/31/2018

The conventional wisdom of running lean, hitting the gas and providing more employee perks can definitely result in faster growth for some start ups, but does it always work? Tailoring these guidelines to the circumstances of your own business will make the difference between success and failure.

Based on 15 years’ experience at six companies, here are three startup trends I see that can lead companies in the wrong direction.

05/26/2018

The pressure to grow your start up fast is enormous, especially if you have taken on funding from investors or a loan. Could there be a right and a wrong way to grow? Experienced entrepreneur, Clate Mask, CEO of Infusionsoft, provides advice on how to grow your start up the right way.

A successful business that is rapidly growing is no walk in the park either. In fact, it can be just as scary as launching one. Learn seven steps to grow your startup the right way.

05/16/2018

Are your sales and marketing emails effective in compelling your audience to engage with your product or service, or are they leaving them confused and uninterested? Follow these 4 simple rules to create emails campaigns with impact.

4 Steps to Crafting Emails That Engage Your Audience May 15, 2018 astragp Leave a comment Are your sales and marketing emails effective in compelling your audience to engage with your product or service, or are they leaving them confused and uninterested? Follow these 4 simple rules to create emails...

12/04/2017

Are you a leader worth following?

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/you-meeting-your-employees-expectations-boss-sandeep-kashyap/

Strong leadership qualities…. Appreciation….. Empathy…. Trust…. Different employees expect different things from their bosses. Some of them appreciate

11/26/2017

When hiring and employee, do you choose the Scrapper - the person who's been through struggles and has varied experiences, or the person with pedigree?

https://www.facebook.com/TED/videos/10159373793685652/