I’ve been at Arment Dietrich for almost five years, and as any longer-term employee at a company can tell you, I’ve learned much more than I ever did in business school. Yes, I’ve learned about marketing, HR and management theories, a dibble-dabble in finance, but there are three main ideas that have been presenting themselves to me as I reach my half-a-decade-mark that I would like ... Read More

If you read this blog often, you know I’m a big fan of Les McKeown and his Predictable Success. If you follow both of us on Twitter, you’d be surprised to hear me say that. He started it. Last week he sent me a direct message on Twitter that said his blog post that day was reflective of the work I am doing as a leader. ... Read More

See that picture? That’s me. Crying with joy, because I just rappelled down a 40-foot icefall halfway into a day-long cross-country ski tour. I signed on for that little adventure knowing full well what I was getting into. And I was scared to death until I got past it and was able to relax the rest of the afternoon. Some of us love to scare ourselves, ... Read More

My friend Sarah Robinson has this cool thing going on over at her blog, Escaping Mediocrity, this month. It’s 28 days of getting your shit together and highlights guest bloggers each day who have new and interesting ways for you to, well, get your shit together. I blogged on day three, which was at the beginning of the month. This is what I had to say. ... Read More

I met Carol Roth last year and immediately loved her. She’s smart, fiercely independent, and tells it like it is. What you see is what you get with Carol and it makes her even more lovable. As a friend, she’ll tell you if you have spinach in your teeth or a booger hanging from your nose, but she’ll also tell it to you as a would-be ... Read More

I got cross-country skis for my birthday. For those who know me well, you know I am an avid cyclist. During season, I ride about 300 miles a week. I love my bike. But during the winters, which are really long here in Chicago, I’m stuck on a trainer. In the basement. Not moving for an hour or more. Watching sitcom after sitcom on DVR, hoping ... Read More

Lisa D. Jenkins is an erratic blogger growing into her Big-Girl Business Panties one terrifying decision at a time. One of the hardest things we do is to make the choice not to work with everyone who wants to hire us. That’s easier read than done. In some cases, we say no to protect ourselves. Those of us building our young reputations and growing new client ... Read More

I received my copies of “The Now Revolution” last Thursday. While I’ve had a few days to dig into it, I’m not quite finished reading it so am not ready to give you a review. What I will tell you, though, is I have lots of pages dog eared and lots of notes in the margins. So you’re going to get a full-on review when I ... Read More

My momma, Christy Norton, is today’s guest blogger. This is not the first time she’s been on Spin Sucks. Last summer she made her debut in our weekly video blog. In honor of my birthday she writes about grounding me for my entire life and other fun stuff. Here she is…Skirsty, momma, mumsily, Mamma Mia…my mom. Happy Birthday Gini Gin!!!! I wish that we were together celebrating, ... Read More

Barbara Weaver Smith is founder and president of The Whale Hunters, a strategic sales coaching company that helps small businesses grow fast by selling bigger deals to bigger customers. What are you doing to be a post-recession winner? Historically, we know that recessions spur innovation, big ideas, new products, and new services that propel small companies to greatness.  Small companies benefit more than larger companies, simply ... Read More