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BILL MURPHEY, from page 5

outside of the Czech Republic,” Finley says. “But we have clients that have interest in the local markets and we see opportunities working with them in Europe and, hopefully, the Czech Republic. That’s a ‘next year’ goal with an action item for our strategic plans.” While Prague is a big international step for FINLEY, it might not be the only one, as the firm is “optimistic” about its prospects in Central and South America. “We are pursuing several projects in Colombia and believe that this is a very strong market that is quickly gaining a lot of momentum,” Finley says. “So far, FINLEY has not had any difficulties in finding great people to join us. For the most part, they have been known to us or came via a contact from someone we knew.” Doing nothing is easy, but it will lead to problems, much like taking your hands off the steering wheel while driving on the highway. My client’s company has much potential for growth, if only the owner would make some decisions to put the company on track for success. Take a look at the decision points in your business. Are you actively guiding your firm or have you fallen into a pattern of inaction? BILL MURPHEY is Zweig Group’s director of education. Contact him at bmurphey@zweiggroup.com. ❚ ❚ Don’t accept the phrase, “Because that’s the way we’ve always done it,” unless it’s been documented as the best, most efficient or effective way of accomplishing a task. Accepting that phrase in any other circumstance is just an- other way of saying: “I’m too lazy to come up with a better way of doing things.” ❚ ❚ Attend a business management program with other peer company leaders. These types of events are great opportuni- ties for learning from other peoples’ successes and failures. When confronted with a similar situation, you’ll already have an idea of what does and doesn’t work and will boost your decision making confidence. you have to act? This is the equivalent of covering your ears and shouting: “I can’t hear you!” ❚ ❚ You don’t get involved in details when numbers and sta- tistics are concerned. Looking at “the big picture” and “stay- ing out of the weeds” can be useful tactics if you’re trying to avoid becoming a micro-manager, but not if you’re trying to keep your firm on track to meet its strategic goals. Becoming a deliberate leader can help you break the pattern of inaction. ❚ ❚ Replace the phrase “I don’t know” with “I’ll find out.” By making this statement, you’re committing to others that you’re going to look for an answer or solution to an issue, but you have to take action or you’ll lose credibility. ❚ ❚ Start with the premise that there may be a problem. When you accept that there may be a problem, you’ve already committed to taking the necessary steps towards improving your business.

had the time to obtain formal training on how to actually lead a company. Now, after the firm has expanded, they’re too busy to take the time needed to understand how to run a business. They, too, are stuck in a pattern of inaction. Despite my best efforts to explain basic accounting principles, the owner can’t understand where the money is going. There’s an antiquated process for analyzing monthly cash inflow, but no accounting of the cash outflow. Some of the accounts payable are in arrears by more than 18 months. “Doing nothing is easy, but it will lead to problems, much like taking your hands off the steering wheel while driving on the highway.” It’s like a train barreling down the tracks and the engineer is ignoring the flashing lights warning that the bridge is out. Hopefully, your firm isn’t in such dire straits, but how do you know if you’re stuck in a pattern of inaction? ❚ ❚ Your first response to any difficult question is “I don’t know.” The business owner I work with loves this phrase. When asked why a specific action was taken, the response is: “I don’t know.” Where are your 2015 receipts? “I don’t know.” How much are you paying for marketing? “I don’t know.” For the owner, it’s easier to deflect uncomfortable questions with a simple brush off, because any other response would require action. ❚ ❚ You would rather make no decision than to make a bad one. A bad decision typically leads to bad results, but the as- sumption is that if you don’t make a decision, nothing can go wrong. In reality, quite the opposite can be true. The decision to not make a decision can lead to lost proposals and missed deadlines, resulting in lost revenue. ❚ ❚ You refuse to accept, or you dismiss, bad news. Accepting bad news typically prompts people to take some action to cor- rect the problem. If you don’t accept the bad news, why would

FINLEY, from page 7

two have joined forces on multiple projects, including the Road 1 Motza Bridge design-build in Jerusalem. The $170-million project, begun in 2013, is still under con- struction. On the main road into Jerusalem, it is a project that must take into account religious archeological sites. The precast segmental bridge, three lanes in each direction, is about 800 meters long. In the early stages of Prague, FINLEY will continue to com- pete for jobs like the Motza Bridge and the Benyamani Bridge, a 417-meter span in Israel. But over time, FINLEY looks to diversify. “Initially, we’re going to focus on FINLEY’s client base “FINLEY’s social media presence seems to be keeping us in front of potential new hires, too.”

THE ZWEIG LETTER June 27, 2016, ISSUE 1158

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