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Are You At The Mercy Of Computer Geeks? Many business owners are sabotaging their business without even realizing it. They are completely out of the loop when it comes to all technology aspects of their operation such as websites, computers and software. They become completely dependent on their technical people and naively believe that things are "being taken care of". Preparing a Budget Ok, you say, I know I need a budget, but how do I prepare one? The most common budget period is one year, but this can vary depending on whether or not your business has seasonal or cyclical fluctuations. For example if you run a Christmas decorations shop, or a costume shop your business is going to peak during certain times of the year. The Few & the Many: Free Trade, Outsourcing, & Communication Have you noticed that some sound ideas get bad publicity? Two Ihave in mind are outsourcing and free trade. Eight Skills of Highly Successful Consultants With deference to Dr. Covey and his very popular Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (all habits that will make us better consultants!), here are eight skills that all of us as consultants can work on to improve. This article will start with three overarching skills, then describe five more specific skills to consider in your ongoing development. Problem-Solving Success Tip: Measure the Right Things. Measure the right things. It's not enough just to measure-you have to measure the right things. Delegate Tasks to the Right Person SELECTING THE RIGHT PERSON: To whom should tasks be delegated? Selecting the right subordinate to do the work is an evaluative process, and managers must be able to identify individuals both capable and willing to handle responsibility. Five Steps to Successful Business Succession The great majority of family businesses in North America are still owned and operated by descendants of the founder. The business acumen that these first, second, third, and sometimes fourth generation managers possess largely determines how much longer the business will remain under family control. To perpetuate a business, the current owners and managers must first identify and then prepare a successor to take the reins. Are Your Meetings Smart? Soon after I finished a brief seminar on how to accomplish more in less time every day, Roger shook my hand and said, "I can use what you said. But there is one thing you didn't talk about. It is something that drives me crazy. I can't get anything done because I'm in meetings all day long. We have gone overboard on meetings. We discuss practically everything as a team before making decisions." I asked Roger for his card and I called him later that afternoon with some ideas that could help get him and his team out of their meetings trap. Have You Fixed the Broken Window? Left alone it doesn't take long for a building with a single broken window to rapidly become a building with many broken windows. Fixing problems when they are small will prevent them from developing into larger problems. Knowledge Management: More Than Just Know-how! People sometimes interchange the terms "know-how" and "knowledge", but there's a world of difference! Systems vendors are falling over themselves to sell you so-called "integrated knowledge management solutions", but these are rarely more than glorified information management systems with go-faster stripes. Personnel Access Poses a Continued Risk The Security Consultant's Perspective... Uncommon Common Sense ? Know What is the Most Important Thing in Your Business Over 3 of my meetings with 3 business owners last week, what really shocked me was how uncommon common sense was. 2 out of 3 I spoke to do not know what is the most important thing in their business. They keep on trying on other things that are not important. As we know, every business has ONE most important thing in their particular industry. You need to do well in your most important thing and the rest will take care of itself. Seven Cs to Avoid Procedure Writing Errors You do your best to make sure your organization is operating as effectively as possible. But if your policies and procedures are incomplete, outdated, or inconsistent, then they are not driving the performance improvement they should. When employees try to use incomplete or undefined procedures, waste and costly errors soon follow. Know the Source of Business One of the first questions we ask a prospect or new client is, "How did you get the business you have so far?" Some can answer exactly. Others aren't as certain. Sexual Harassment Policy Guidelines Part I Sexual Harassment Policy Guidelines ? Part I Being a Great Boss Are you one of those bosses that people just love to hate? Maybe successful, maybe very intelligent, maybe organized and moving forward but just can't get along with people. Communication and other people skills are as important to the success of your business as your talent, knowledge and entrepreneurial drive. After all, you cannot do it all by yourself and you need good people. Top Ten Tips About People Management To get the best results you have to be very good at Managing People...and it's not as hard as you might think. Here are the secrets of the very best managers:- One Bad Apple One Bad AppleI know what you are thinking but no, I am not doing atribute to Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5. Although I will admit that their hit song from the 70's keeps rolling around in my mind as I type this. While the Jackson Five might have believed that "One bad apple can't spoil the wholebunch" I don't think that they were responsible for getting high quality production results from their bunch. The fact is, in business one bad apple can make your life and the life of the people who work for you, pretty miserable, reduce production from your organization, and even cost you good employees.The "one bad apple" that I'm referring to of course, is that one bad employee in your department who drags everyone down with them. I'm not talking about the employee who is temporarily struggling with their productivity. A lot of employees go through that problem from time to time. With training and coaching, theseare potentially very productive employees. And I'm not talking about that the employee who is going through some personal problems and is struggling to keep their business and personal lives separate. This is also a temporary situation that usually rectifies itself relatively quickly. Instead I'm talking about theemployee who seems to have made it their personal mission in life to be unhappy, and to ensure that everyone else around them is just as unhappy as they are. These "bad apples" come in various shapes and sizes, all kinds of different backgrounds, and all different levels of experience. You have the:· Information hog - who hides key information about their tasks and projects· Martyr - whose assignments are always more difficult than any else· Bully - who intimidates all those around them· Professional Devils Advocate - who never met a concept that they actually liked, but they will gladly take credit for any concept that actually works· Company/Management Haters - who spend all of their free time telling anyone who will listen (and many that won't) how bad and evil the Company and Management Team really is· Slacker - who never really seems to do anything, but is always telling everyone how busy and overworked they are Generally speaking, it's not hard to tell if you have a bad apple in your group. They do tend to stand out. They wear their misery with pride. All kinds of bad things happen to them routinely, but the problems are never their fault. And anyone who is nearby (and some who aren't so nearby) will hear about it. The problem is not that they are miserable. The problem is that they make everyoneelse miserable as well. Sometimes it's pretty blatant. They actively incite or intimidate those around them so that no one has a comfortable working environment. They get their power by sucking the life out of people around them and they know exactly how to do that.As a leader, your team looks for you to lead and to remove obstacles that can keep them from being productive. This bad apple is an obstacle and how effectively you deal with them is a barometer that your staff will measure you by. The place to start is with Performance Management and measuring their productivity. But don't limit Performance Management to production only. Remember that all members of the team are responsible for soft skills as wellas hard skills and that an employee who produces acceptable numbers but doesn't share information, or bullies those around them is still a Performance Management problem. Manage the soft skills the same you manage the hard skills, with detailed Performance Plans. Remember, even if they play key role in your department one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch, for everyone. Work closely with your HR representative to ensure that you are in compliance with both company policy and federal law, but you must remove them. And speaking of HR reps, take a minute to think about yours. A good HR rep is worth their weight in gold. A good HR rep will help you in identifying problem employees when the issues go beyond straight production. They will also work with you to ensure that you are working the issues both legally and that your conclusions are based on fact and not emotion. A good HR rep is also a boon for the employees, because they will work with the employees to improve their performance by identifying problems before they become severe. If you are one of the lucky ones that have been blessed with a good HR rep, then take the time to thank them for their work. Being an HR rep is a thankless job, and never more so than when they are doing the right things by being actively involved inresolving problems. Why Soft Skills? The industrial age is over. Organizations still stuck in the industrial age business models are going out of business very fast. Technology is only as good as the people using it. That is the clear message of the new millennium. The knowledge era is supported by tapping into the immense power of the humans to think creatively, find unconventional solutions to add value, improve productivity, and find answers which will make life and work more valuable to the society. 10 Ways To Maintain Profits In A Slow Economy 1. Sell more back end products to your existing customer base. You already created rapport, trust and proved your credibility to them. |
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