5 Questions Great Managers Ask (and they arent hard!)
September 1, 2010
However hard we try, we seem to make life more difficult for ourselves; more challenging; more complex. Yet it needn’t be so. try out these five questions with a regularity; a discipline and you will reap rewards. You will certainly reap rewards.
Budgets that Damage - The Downsides of Making the Numbers
August 27, 2010
In my organisational career, I had budgets from the age of 22 to 47. I lived and breathed them and many times, budgets, the gospel that they were, caused havoc, albeit within the corporate retailer framework that I worked.Here are two examples of the damage caused.
Example One
Typically budgets were initially discussed in January, just after the Christmas rush. They were always dependent on year-on-year sales growth and at the time in question, individual businesses were not expected to deliver ‘profits’, as the way the business was structured was not capable of sustaining that level of information.
So the budget got signed off about May (for the fiscal year staring the April a month before!). Monthly sales budgets were built, usually to a corporate model, as were cost budgets, the biggest of all being salary costs. Half year budgets had to be met and so by the time September’s costs were in, you were well into planning your Christmas.
When Politics Prevent Innovation - Or? Still Fighting Battles and Losing Wars
August 20, 2010
The objective is to beat the competition and make money. Everything a business organization does should be focused on that simple objective, with interpretation through various Vision and Mission Statements. However if we take a survey of how our organizations spend our energy, often that objective is lost in a web of internal politics and positioning. Of course competition is normally good ? regardless of whether it is internal or external ? to the point we do not lose focus on company objectives as the ultimate outcome of our competition.
We often use the phrase "winning battles and losing wars." That phrase really hits home when we record all the things we do, every day of our business lives, that result in a situation where we are struggling with more fervor for internal positioning then committing energy in activities to beat our competition. What does "winning battles and losing wars really mean?
Perhaps the sales and operations groups are having difficulty with product and contract provisioning. Sales of course wants to sign contracts, get acceptance, and quickly start customer billing ? their commission depends on shortening the book to bank process. Operations is unhappy because the contracts tend to stray from the letter of a product or service. Thus, operations may dig their heels in and not expedite provisioning while the "bring the sales guys into line."
Management - Mary Poppins Style!
August 12, 2010
Mary Poppins describes a style of management which has for too long been hidden in many businesses and organisations.Think about it.She’s “Practically perfect in every way” - is that not what we want from a boss? Someone who is almost brilliant at everything - yet with a hint of not being absolutely perfect? Someone we can trust and depend on - yet who is truly human with is and falls down occasionally too?And then there’s the cut to the chase with, “Bert, what utter nonsense. Why do you always complicate things that are really quite simple.” How often do we, often inadvertently (especially the more senior an executive we are), make things so, so complex. Recently working with a client who already had over 125 books on systems, when all they were doing was selling things to people…And then there’s all the fun, like…“Of course, you can say it backwards, which is dociousaliexpilisticfragicalirupus, but that’s going a bit too far, don’t you think?”…a satisfying ability to have fun and, I think perhaps just a hint of a smile at yourself, Mary, in that…, as Bert says “Indubitably.!” Not forgetting either, that if we look hard enough, with the right viewpoint…“In every job that must be done, there is an element of fun. You find the fun and - SNAP - the job’s a game!”
Future Business Success - What Does Good Look Like?
August 6, 2010
When you know you need to shift up a gear, in any area of your business (or your life for that matter), it’s really important to have a vivid representation of what you are seeking.Some call these “Goals”, others “Visions” and yet more describe it as a “Mission”. But there is one focused way to ensure that your path is perfectly directed to where you want to get to.By asking the question:-“What does good look like?”…and applying that to where you are right now, you will easily see a path unfold.That path is about the steps you will take along the way to achieve your Good - your focal point.Struggling how to do this?Take a sheet of paper and describe the situation where you want it to be at a defined point in the future (be very specific with this). Answer the question, “What does good looks like?” using as many of your senses as you can muster.Writing it down:-
- Unleashes your creativity.
- Embeds it in your brain.and
- Creates a ‘commitment’ for the future.
If you pin it up somewhere visible, you have every chance of making it happen.And once you have these great descriptions, you will find the first step, the second and onwards to make it come true.
Prioritise Your Day - Keep Focus - Win!
July 30, 2010
Whether you run your own business or manage a team, there are times when things don’t go to plan. Like:-
- Your key people don’t show up.
- A deadline shifts.
- Your boss turns up unexpectedly.
- You get really busy beyond expectations.
- …and more.
How do you get clear on the priority of the day?Value it - that’s how!So, if you run any sort of business, consider what the most important thing would be to your business, if you were down to the barest of bones in personnel numbers, for just one day, what would you do?Here are some thoughts…
Resolving Needs - What Your Employees Wish For!
July 24, 2010
For your people, they want to do a great job - no, really, despite your experiences, they do. And what might seem to ‘the management’ the important things, just don’t stack in the day-to-day reality of the workplace. Here’s why.
Your people want to focus on looking after their customers, yet there are many things, often just little things, that get in their way. Removing these little things they are having to tolerate, allows them to deliver the very best service to their customers. Yet they are reluctant to get this clear. For some reason. You need to find out. So. Ask them!Yet why is this so difficult for some managers? Partly to do with not wishing to open challenging dialogue; not even thinking there might be issues or to dismissing needs of their people as irrelevant, amongst others. These issues, so vital to the well-being of their people and therefore their relationships with their customers, get missed.So, how do managers get around this.EasyThey just ASK. They ask in ways that work, but basically, they just ASK.There are a many ways to do this. Ongoing dialogue; focus groups; feedback; 360’s. But a really simple way to get to the bottom of what is bothering your people is, one-on-one to simply ask them this simple question:-“If you had three wishes in your job, what would they be?”So why do we ask for three wishes? Because often there are one or two issues that are ‘givens’. Like more staff, more pay etc. Three wishes gives a bit of scope in the replies. If you can, allow your people to personalise the returns, but only if they want to. Once you’ve got your people being constructive around changes - and you let them tell you, you can respond, often very quickly and make things a lot better.Understanding the little things, makes a big difference to the people who are vital to your success - who create the business for you. Don’t miss the chance.
Top Ten Tips for Outstanding Customer Service
July 13, 2010
Remember the 80:20 rule? You may not get everything perfectly right, but getting most right will be much, much better than the majority of your competition. These Top Ten Tips for Customer Service will get you well on the way.
Ten Tips to success, in an easy to use framework. Will you take up the challenge?
Agendas Make Meetings Productive
July 7, 2010
Having an agenda template that works well for you, week in, week out, creates a consistency which gets your people bought into the process. Delivering an efficiency and effectiveness which makes the most of the valuable time you have together. Key points to note are:-
Solve Problems Permanently - Ask WHY
July 1, 2010
As Albert Einstein said:-
“The significant problems we face today, cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.”
Problems don’t go away unless you get to the cause - the source of them. Repeatedly ‘fixing’ issues that arise takes a physical and mental toll on you and your team. The key is to solve problems once and for all and move on.
Picture this scenario:-
Luke runs a small engineering factory, making electronic tagging systems for retailers. His business has really taken off in the last two years and his people are really stretched now to keep up with demand. Recently his people have been complaining more; there have been a number of unpleasant incidents where tempers have become frayed. Two large customers have taken Luke to task personally because of late fulfillment of orders.
In the past Luke would have worked harder, fought his fires and got home late, but right at the moment his wife and family have started to complain that he is putting work before them more than ever.Then he heard about ‘Solving Problems with Whys’.
