What is the single most important business related lesson you've learned this year?

Came from an interview reported with Steve Jobs. Don't get distracted with good ideas. Good ideas stand in the way of GREAT IDEAS.

If you want his other comment related to this "Get rid of all of the crap."

Leadership is not defined by events -- it is defined by consistent patterns of behavior.

-ASB: http://XeeMe.com/AndrewBaker

Have a macro-view not a micro-view of the finical situation. What might look like bad economy it might be a good opportunity for someone else.

Ship.

We do too much talking. Too much planning. Too much tinkering.

Just ship!

Make mistakes. Learn from them. Measure. Make it better.

Conference rooms and conference calls (not to mention long email threads) are an awful forum to determine if a new idea or product is worthwhile.

Ship, and let the market decide.

Be nimble

Diversify EVERYTHING.

Income streams, marketing efforts as well as markets, content generation, social outreach, internal resources, collaborative efforts, outsourcing, etc.

Sometimes taking risks is valuable. Sometimes it isn't. Knowing the difference makes all the difference.

While ghost writing a client's speech for the Women's Wear Daily CEO Summit in November, I read transcripts of several past presentations. The one that really stayed with me was by Kip Tindell, founder of The Container Store, who talked about the chain's policy of only hiring great employees: "One great employee has the productivity of three good people, so we will hold out forever for that perfect great person." I guess I had inadvertantly adopted this position for my copywriting firm. It's not easy, but over time I discovered that fixing the work of a less-than-great writer actually takes more time than just doing it myself in the first place, so there's no upside to just "filling a position" with someone less than amazing.

Attitude is the key to happiness and success

Delegating won't kill you. Handing over work to an employee can free you up for more important things.

The one thing I learned in 2011 is not to chase the money! As a Marketing Consultant it is important not be too hungry to take on a client that you know in your gut will be trouble. Trust your instincts and walk away gracefully from them.

To more thoroughly inspect business plans.

keep learning,stay focussed,be patient.

Hi, Catherine.

My 25+ year career as presented me with many lessons. Last year's most important lesson was more of a reminder: "build."

May the lessons we've each learned make 2012 a particularly rewarding year.

-Steve

It is to "create passionate followers". Or in the words of Robin Hood, "One free man defending his home is more powerful than ten hired soldiers."

Just being "Right" is never good enough. You must also have the right attitude when conveying your answer.

Treat your customers well. The price of the product is important-but the EXPERIENCE during a shopping event or business deal is extremely important. Eye contact, empathy and any form of nostalgia while talking business or making a sale will remind the customer down the line (even years down the line), of that pleasant experience. This in turn, will create a long lasting relationship between customer and business / Industry.

Go for it! Don't stop yourself before you start but talking yourself out of trying. There are many ways to fail, but it only takes one success to win. Keep going for the win you may get it on the first try.

That Crisis really IS an opportunity. People don't want to pay mediocre service. So, if you really are good, this is your time!

It's not about you, it's about them (for networking and socializing).

Customer feedback is everything.

The concept of "I can get two people for the price of that one experienced person" is dangerous. By the time you POTENTIALLY get the return of the two individuals, you would already be reaping the benefits from the experienced person. Looking long term at the ROI, you can save money by hiring someone for more salary.

I'm monitoring, protecting, repairing my online reputation and reviews 24/7.

Here's why:

People and businesses now source to buy at the exact moment they need a product or service. They do this now by searching online by category.

Contacting-buying Decisions are made based on what They see in the reviews and they auto check them - None of these reviews are checked for truth before posting so competitors, ex employees, folks with an ax to grind can kill you by writing a review. The real person's is never used either.

Lesson- Monitor, protect, repair, manage my online reputation 24/7. I hired a company to do that so i could attend to running my business and it worked.

Neil Licht, ndlicht@reputation911.com

For me, Ive learned one lesson: " The only limit to your success is FEAR.." and I'm in the process of getting rid of it this year ;)

It's about going not for the obvious. Most competitors resort to social media or popular TV ads to market products/services. Yes, these avenues are effective. But they forgot to spend a few bucks on less expensive yet just as effective marketing tools like creating customized prints for promotions. One good example is to try custom sticker printing services - http://www.printrunner.com/sticker-Printing.aspx