Archive for category The Board Room

What are you Addicted to?

May 16

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Human Resource Management, Leadership, People! | No Comments

Why should addiction matter in business? It helps to appreciate what people are ‘excited’ by so you can understand and therefore work with them more effectively.

Let’s take a look,

Mostly addiction is about chemicals – Illicit drugs are the obvious ones, but the brain is ‘excited’ by all sorts of chemicals, Serotonin, Dopamine, Caffeine, Alcohol and Adrenaline to name a few. Some seem to last just a short time, while others may be longer lasting.

The power of these chemicals is often VERY strong (some more than others) and while in most instances these lead to positive outcomes, the opposite may also true. The upshot of the chemical addiction is the physical acts which come as part of that process.

Years back I worked with unemployed people on Job Search programs, occasionally I could get them ‘excited’ and in a ‘buzz’ about jobs and life in general and see their eyes light up. I would then joke about me giving them ‘free drugs’ (Serotonin, Dopamine etc.) just from having a chat, that generally gave them a chuckle. Some came in the next day with stories of telling their partner and or families that I had given them free drugs, we got a good laugh at the shocked responses they got. After that, all I had to do was say “more free drugs!”

With workers (and yourself) it would pay to know about the administration of these drugs to enable your team to be the best they can be.

So how do you cause these ‘chemicals’ to be released, the right ones at the right time to get the right result? Read more free business tips that’s how. Then implement a bunch of initiatives to get the ball rolling. Before long you could become the drug dealer of choice! If it worked really well, customers will arrive in droves and you will have more resumes from willing workers than you can ‘shake a stick at.’

Fixing People Problems

May 14

Posted by Steve Gray in Human Resource Management, Leadership, People!, Personal Development, Planning | No Comments

Ever noticed that things seem to go from good to bad, and then wondered if there is anything you could have done about it? Probably not something you can stop every time but perhaps limit its impact.

Let’s look at this in terms of staffing issues and how you might minimise ‘bad things’ happening.

So what sorts of ‘things’ am I talking about here?

Negative changes to:

Attitudes
Interest in the work
Interest in work mates
Interest in solving challenges (policies, procedures, politics, creative thinking to solve challenges).
Interest in themselves (self-esteem)
Enthusiasm to work
Quality of work
Interest in the company
Interest in the industry
Interest in customer services
Interest in their work space, facilities, equipment etc.

With this many things on this list (and probably a HEAP more) you can appreciate there are many variables which people can be affected by, some of these can be long term things The big question some of you will now be asking is what causes some of these things to happen, followed by what do I do about it?

Some Possible Causes:

Communication issues – Interpersonal – Intra-personal – Clarity of and or interpretation of the information
Leadership – Too much, too little, wrong sort (power and control)
Management – Too much, too little, wrong sort (micro managing – power and control)
Management fads – Things changing again, policies, procedures, values, beliefs… oh look we reinvented the wheel, lets go back to how things ere it was better… frustrating!
Too many chiefs – Who would you follow?
Wants to fly like an Eagle, but is hanging out with Turkeys
Frustrated by lack of – Progress – Systems – Planning – Politics – Idiots – Resources – Facilities
Work changes – Things got more techo but little or poor training was put in place – more things added to the list of things you are meant to be doing
You (the supervisor/leader) became a freak, time freak, detail freak, communication freak etc… all this simply FREAKS people out, stop doing that
Self-image – team image – High – low
Changes to personal tastes (e.g. once liked the industry and now not so much – liked the work environment and is now tired of it.)
Bullying etc…
No releif from constant work pressures
Made suggestions but nothing happens… or little if any recognition for suggestions or just being good at what they do
Politics in the business, got bad and never really recovered!
Departmental rivalry (more politics)
Travel too far to get to work
Personal situation has altered (break ups, divorces, family hassles) yours or theirs, yours can impact on them, their own is probably more direct
Drug issues (not enough – too much) you, them, others
Health issues

Clearly there are personal issues you as a boss or supervisor may not have much influence over, but the work issues should be able to be dealt with. Make a list of the items and check out to see if any of them can be tweaked to make things better. Over time you might find the range of things which would normally go from good to bad will reduce, a little prevention is better than a lot of fix ups.

Meditation in Business

May 1

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Human Resource Management, People!, Personal Development, Risk Management | 1 Comment

I recently saw some information on Mediation being used in schools. Where it’s been trialled they suggest the outcomes are very favourable, lower anxiety, less stress and calmer students. They go on to say the students have become more respectful, communicate better and have ‘less issues’ in the playground. I then took a look on heh web, it seems there are a bunch of businesses doing it “in the boardroom”.

Anyone who has done some meditation and have experienced the benefits will soon tell you this is nothing new. For me what could be new is using its benefits to enhance your business, less stress, less anxiety, less hassles, that can only mean less staff absenteeism, and therefore greater productivity. Couple that with “less issues in the play ground” and you could be on to a big winner!

The challenges would be to cause your business culture to alter enough to accept it, followed by which method to use, when it would be used and if the whole team started the day with a meditative session or not.

Once the initial questions have been pondered you might start out by offering an in house learning session with a mediation teacher who would give some simple short sharp options people could practice readily. Add a few links to articles on the web and perhaps a handout as a reminder they can pin up at their desk could be useful.

For those who think there could be issues with certain religious types not taking to a ‘new form of prayer’, set them straight by letting them know that very little meditation is related to religion and more to do with the science of holistic relaxation and better health.

Do a quick search on the net and find some simple strategies on how to do this, then follow up with your team every few weeks and discuss the benefits, issues etc to see how it works for your business. You might just get a pleasant surprise!

I get a picture of whole office spaces filled with cubicles of staff starting the day with 10 mins of chill time, following some basic steps to ‘Breathe in, breathe out and repeat…” all to aid the health and well being of all concerned. Perhaps all of this might add to the teams sense of belonging, connectedness, sense of achievement, a feeling of having a unified purpose and a sense of organisational integrity, all due to one simple process repeated daily… nice.

Do Your People Put In?

Apr 30

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Human Resource Management, Leadership, People!, Planning | No Comments

Do your people go the ‘extra mile’ and add greater value to your organisation? Well why not? Here are some clues to work from.

People will do more, if certain things happen, often these ‘things’ are not too much to consider in the scheme of things. Let’s take a look.

People put in when…

They can see the business is well led – People respect good leadership, clear decision making and planning is taking place and they know about it.
The business is secure – They know they have a solid income base and can see the products and services they provide are of value to the consumers. They also sense the future is rosy because of good planning, use of innovation and the profits not being squandered somehow.
They are respected – People who sense they are respected often go the extra mile, “You respect me – I respect you”. This happens from the leaders in the organisation and is infectious across all in the team.
Communication is clear, open and honest – Keep people in the dark for too long they may not see the light at the end of the tunnel. Therefore keep them in the light, let them know what’s happening.
They know the business cares by… – They provide quality resources, tools, technology, good work environment, good systems, policies and procedures. This of course includes OHS as a given, not a ‘have to have’ add on.
Their work environment is stimulating – Comfortable, well maintained, safe, secure and interesting enough to keep them engaged in what they do.
The cultural values and beliefs provide a solid foundation – At the core of the business, the culture is driven by the values and beliefs, if your team know these have suitable guidelines to live by they will fit to and often exceed expectations, especially if these values and beliefs are spelled out and details provided of scenarios of the values and beliefs in action to serve as positive examples.
Sense they are part of the solution – Customers have wants and needs and if these can be met and the team feel as though they were a positive contributor to the solutions then the results can be the team feels they have a sense of purpose.

Now set to work and focus on each point as a matter of urgency so your people can be all they can be and set stunning examples for new team members. Your customers will love the people who go the extra mile and return with more cash more readily in the future. That can only spell one thing, more business success.

Wanted!

Apr 24

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, People!, Planning, Risk Management | No Comments

A great business to work for…

A great person to work in our business…

I find it rather strange that businesses will say “You can’t get good people these days” and people will say “You can’t find a good business to work for”

Both statements have an element of realism about them, yet both are unrealistic views all at the same time. I know for a fact that great businesses exist, and they can find great people to work for them, and the same for those looking for work, what’s different is the approach.

I guess it’s the ‘self talk’ taking place in people’s heads (your business does not think…) the sort of talk that causes self fulfilling prophecies to happen. Yes you ended up with another team member who won’t work how you want, and the worker ends up with another business full of poor work practices and low pay.

Let’s turn that around… “I keep finding great people to work with me to make this business great” or “I love looking for companies with great credentials who provide a great environment to be a part of.”

The more you look the more you find, if you search for great things then that is probably what you will find, and remember the opposite is also quite feasible.

People who have the ability to ‘land on their feet’ seem to be the ones who make it their business to know where to look for good outcomes, others amongst the population may be so used to less favourable outcomes they land on their feet, but up to their knees in mud…

The answer, develop a set of outcome ideas and focus on that. e.g. a worker looking for a great company to be part of, make a list of the qualities they have, where they would most likely be and then do research to find out about them and what they do.

The same in a search for a worker, list the qualities, abilities and skills sets you want and search from there.

In part it’s creative visualisation, followed with great guidelines for finding more ideal environments and situations which suit our needs.

These simple tactics enable you to be focused on your outcome, rather than leaving things open to interpretation by ‘the powers that be’, so you stand a much better chance of finding what you want. Remember the more you look, the more you will see.

The Stuck State Business

Apr 17

Posted by Steve Gray in Growth, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, Planning, Risk Management | 1 Comment

Stuck state business, a business where they are “stuck in the same state” this allows for little if any growth and comes from the idea called Homeo Stasis – Where things are held as they are – “Don’t make waves things are okay as they are” The challenge with this is that other factors change while your business is standing still and before long challenges occur and your business can face various threats to it’s survival.

Based in biology terminology, this ‘stasis’ relates to organisms and the way the ‘whole’ can be maintained, the right amount of light, nutrients, etc to ensure the organism can survive. The organism dies when things get too far out of balance and things go astray. With limited ability to improvise – adapt – or overcome a simple organism has little chance of survival.

In business the ‘organism’ becomes more complex, there are more variables, in many cases it is a range of little ‘things’ which can make or break it’s ability to thrive let alone survive.

Lets look at a few variables

Staff – motivated – skilled – communicating well?
Systems – complex – simple – effective?
Strategies – Marketing – Management – Operations – in place or not?
Values – minimal – developing – fully developed – where are things at?
Resources – tools – materials – workspaces – finances – training – well utilised?

Now you can see your business as a complex organism and one where the balance of all the factors to make it successful, have to be juggled carefully to keep things in harmony. In this case harmony can equal a static situation which does not allow for growth.

For the sake of your business, figuring out what is keeping the status quo where it’s at could be important in the logical approach to evaluating the situation. OR you could take a ‘quantum leap’ and step over that, avoid the analysis and look at a range of things that can be done that might not already be done, to head things in a healthier direction. A bit like doing a range of exercises to build core strength in a body when you thought you could get away with just one or two exercises, often the result is better in the long run.

What you can do

Communication – Discuss – projects – people – resources – aim to connect – synergise – empower – inspire – what works – what doesn’t – distil lessons learnt & distribute – reduce barriers – reduce hassles
Create a learning cycle – Assess a project before it starts – assess it inn progress – evaluate the aftermath, what went well, what didn’t and what can you learn from it
Aim for excellence – “If it could be done better do it!” look at all aspects to what makes things tick- Systems – strategies – skills – structure – service – quality (to name a few)
Provide a sense of belonging – achievement – contribution
Goal set – share the info – share the wins – explore the challenges and shortcomings.
Love your people – they make the hard resources move – they do the ‘stuff’ that pays the bills and builds the profits if you love them they will love the customers
Love your customers – connect – discuss – focus – ask – explore them – know them – let them know you and your team

All of these things can keep your team nimble and exploring a wider range of actions and thinking processes than their usual comfort zone allows. All of this should allow your business to explore the idea of thriving, not just standing still in a warm spot where things are comfortable but pushing at least some of the boundaries to make things work better.

Did You ‘Value’ Your Business?

Apr 11

Posted by Steve Gray in Growth, Human Resource Management, Leadership, People!, Planning, Risk Management | No Comments

In the past set of nine articles I have outlined some ways to look at the values your business operates with. Now it’s up to you to take each and develop some guidelines around each for how you want your team to operate. May I suggest you hand the list to your top people, give them a head start, tell them to develop some ideas and options and email them to you (compile the details in a group meeting). Then develop an organisation wide set of values, possible scenarios and situations around them.

Compile the guidelines into your master operating procedural documents, begin to live it, refer to it and explore all it has to offer.

Any future steps the organisation takes should be done in light of these core values, then over time these can be ‘tweaked’ to suit.

Now you are fired up to tackle this as a project (even you small business operator…) then here is a link you can email to your team to work with.

And another article on values to tie it all together

Now look at how you bring the various aspects of this together to create great results for your business by taking positive action.

Oh and while you are at it, get your team to explore any other values they think would be useful for your business, drop me a line to let me know via the comments for this post and I will take a look and consider adding them in.

Tags: accountability, adaptable, business, business mechanics, business success, communication, growth, HR, hr leadership, Leadership, passion, People!, Planning, respect, service, steve gray, tolerance, training, values

Adaptable

Apr 9

Posted by Steve Gray in Growth, Human Resource Management, People! | No Comments

Have you ever felt like you should have zigged when you should have zagged? More than likely! In business adaptability means the ability to alter direction in a heartbeat to be able to take on fresh challenges with ease and solve big problems hopefully before they arise.

Adaptable: We are able to take initiative and embrace projects and challenges with the guideline of “Improvise – Adapt – Overcome”

I like the ideas of ‘improvise – adapt – overcome’ I think it makes a neat mantra your teams could follow, and if you are brave enough you will provide a working environment where you trust your people to go the extra mile because they are following the mantra and have ‘nutted out a way forward’.

You know you have set up your team to value the idea of being adaptable, perhaps they might have to work varying hours while a team member is on holidays, or having to be part of a brainstorming team to come up with some fresh ideas. Perhaps it’s having to find solutions using creative approaches in a ‘blink’ and doing it with confidence and poise.

You know you can be adaptable too and value the word so highly you often find yourself having to be more adaptable than most, but then you treat that as a starting point to train others in how to be even more adaptable. Notice how you have to become more creative to be even more adaptable… How will you teach your people to value creativity and explore it with ease?

Quality

Apr 9

Posted by Steve Gray in Growth, Human Resource Management, People! | No Comments

Everyone wants to buy a quality product, they want a good quality of service, they want to see that you care about the quality you provide and value it yourself. After all it’s your business and quality should be a big hallmark right? So what do you do to ensure the quality controls are there and your team follow them, tweak them, create more of them?

Quality: What we do, we do well – We openly explore ways to improve at all levels – A commitment to personal and professional excellence – A commitment to great service at all levels – Aiming to be a highly professional team

It’s not just products, it’s so much more, the delivery, the service the sales presentation, the effectiveness of communication at all levels. It’s the way your business holds itself, it’s stance or posture, it says tot he market place ‘we are quality’.

If you have a quality system that relates to some standards of practice or certification you will have all manner of quality device in place to ensure every last check box is ticked and minimum standards are met. If you don’t have a quality system in place what can you do to create one? How will your people respond and use it, how will they help to develop it and how will you ensure it is being used at all times by those who count, everyone in your business!

Passion

Apr 9

Posted by Steve Gray in Growth, Human Resource Management, People! | No Comments

Perhaps you started out in business with a HUGE passion for what you do, for your industry, for your people, for your business and all the things that went with it. The bigger your business got the more your passion spread. You worked harder, faster, longer until… it started to fade.

Perhaps you were lucky and your passion is so infectious your team became mini clones of you and before you knew it the passion bug struck and they all got deeply passionate about the business and all it stands for. Wow! lucky you! Chances are though the passion may not last and preventing it from fading becomes an challenging task so ask lots of questions about it so you can impress upon your team the importance of it.

Passion: Committed in heart and mind to get great results we can all be proud of

How does passion show up in your business? How do your people respond to it when they see it? Is it different from your response? What can be done to keep a rising passion happen for the business to grow and be an exciting place to be for all?

Ask people about the passion they have for your business, from the customers to the staff, what gets them excited so much they are loyal followers and supporters of all the business does and is. Knowing more about the passion your business is built on probably should be your major quest, an illusive Holy Grail if you like. A secret notion, ‘potion’, concept, aspect, feature, benefit etc… it’s one or more of those which creates the passion.

Accountabilty

Apr 9

Posted by Steve Gray in Growth, Human Resource Management, People! | No Comments

Accountability fits well with other business values to help in building a virtuous organisation. An organisation which people tend to flock to and revere, an organisation they respect because of it’s positive values and they way they feel they are valued.

Accountability: If it is to be, it’s up to me – See something, Do something, take action to make things right – Think globally, act locally – Hold true to a high level duty of care.

Who is accountable in your business? Your immediate answer should be everyone… Each to their own degree of influence in their ‘part of the business’. Who is will ing to put their hand up and say ‘it’s my problem I caused it’… depending on the degree of the problem will probably depend on how much they put up their hand and take responsibility for the challenge.

It all comes down to a duty of care, to ourselves, our team, our customers, our business. To do that takes action, seeing things may not be right and taking action to set that thing right. What things are your people accountable for and what is your expectation of them when things go astray? Now ask how can we as a business explore what’s happening and how can we all be more accountable for what happens?

Integrity

Apr 9

Posted by Steve Gray in Growth, Human Resource Management, People! | No Comments

Integrity is a belief people have about your business, is it forthright, honest in it’s dealings, trustworthy or not.

How is it instilled in your business? how is it explored and developed? How do you do your part to ensure that from the top down integrity is a hallmark of all your business stands for?

Integrity: Consistency of honest working principles and beliefs – Build trust through our positive actions – Build our structural integrity to ensure sustained growth through a solid foundation – We build with a culture of mutual respect for all – Aim to be ecologically sustainable.

Honour, virtue, honesty, trust are all part of this one word and the values it represents. How does it show up in your organisation, what things communicate to people your business has integrity from the words and actions it uses to the physical aspects of the business (from signs, furniture and the actions of its team)?

Now take action to build the integrity by knowing all the small things in your organisation can be tweaked to increase the integrity people experience and believe in. What will you strengthen first?

Collaboration

Apr 9

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Growth, Human Resource Management, People! | No Comments

Across all levels of your business collaboration takes place. Sometimes it’s putting two people together to work on a project, working with customers to get a good outcome to a service issue. Perhaps it’s liaising with external suppliers to get products and or services how you want them (on time up to quality and at a good price).

How do your people collaborate, and are they aware they do it, almost constantly in your business? Are they aware of how well they do or don’t do it?

Collaboration: Leverage collective genius – work cooperatively with others – Comply with all legal and statutory authorities – Explore ways to develop profitable business relationships.

Collaboration is like some sort of guideline, knowing the boundaries and exploring the lines and levels of communication so people can do what they do well. The more your people communicate in a collaborative manner the more chance you have of the organisation really exploring it’s strengths and abilities. over time weaknesses and poor skills will be replaced by a more positive approach.

Collaboration as a value is important to recognise and find ways to make it prosper and grow.

Tolerance

Apr 9

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Growth, Human Resource Management, People! | No Comments

People tolerate each other, but to what degree? If you have customers who are ‘intolerable’ what are you doing to be able to handle them better, either as a goal to move away from them or ways to make their experience with your business better?

On the staffing side, how well do your people tolerate each other, perhaps they shouldn’t need to tolerate bad behaviour (bullying, harassment and such and should have ways to work positively with these kinds of issues.) But how do differing nationalities get on? and the difference in values people might have due to a range of personal beliefs and values.

Tolerance: Of others, their views, beliefs and values.

In business we have to deal with many things, handling differences is part and parcel of things and our ability to be flexible in our approach is probably key to making differences work.

Take a look at what people in your team tolerate from each other and customers. Do they handle the differences well or not. If not what can you do to show people there are differences and that they can simply be other peoples beliefs and values, they are not good or bad, just different. Then yo will have a great starting point to build from.

Respect

Apr 9

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Growth, Human Resource Management, Planning | No Comments

I see this as one of the biggest words in the dictionary, although only seven letters long. It can mean so much, be bandied about so frivolously and thrown at people when they least expect it. In business it can mean the difference between things happening or not, or people willingly following a great lead or not… you get the idea, it has an effect at all levels across all aspects of your business, the more you look the more you will see respect at work.

Respect: For each other, the people we serve and the environment – From the way we communicate to the way we act on all levels.

How then do you build respect? Explore it’s meaning to you and others in your organisation first, then look at ways of implementing high level respect. It could be better communication, from you as the business leader to to your team communicating with you. Then to the way everyone communicates with the customers.

How do your actions encourage respect, are you too laid back, not clear in your communication, not clear about your goals, the organisations goals, the way the team/s interact… and the list goes on.

If you value the notion of respect you will find more ways to make it happen for yourself and your team. May I suggest you make a BIG list of the ways respect shows up in an organisation and how these can be tweaked in your organisation to foster some growth. the bigger the respect gets the better chance you will have of creating a positively buoyant organisation, and that has got to be good for the longer term stability of the enterprise.

Offshore Merchant Accounts: Should Your Business Open One?

Apr 5

Posted by Bren Ryan in The Board Room | 2 Comments

Opening an offshore merchant account can be a fairly difficult process and finding an appropriate bank or third party offshore merchant account provider can be equally difficult. It is important for a merchant who wants to open an offshore account to find one that is based on the services or goods they offer and cater to the size and structure of their company. Owning this type of account is legitimate and legal, however the account holder must declare any interest made from the offshore account.

What is an Offshore Merchant Account?

To determine if your business needs to open an offshore merchant account it can be helpful to know what they are. An offshore merchant account is an account opened on behalf of the business or merchant in a country different from the physical address of the business. Offshore merchant accounts are commonly opened for a variety of reasons including tax benefits, taking advantage of competitive interest rates and privacy laws.

A merchant account is necessary for a business to accept credit cards, but if you sell antiques, tickets to the hottest concerts or adult pleasure products, your industry is considered high risk due to the frequent cases of fraud. American merchant account providers will not provide a merchant account to businesses that are deemed high risk.

Why Open an Offshore Merchant Account?

Although offshore merchant accounts are not as common as many other types of merchant services account, they are opened on a fairly consistent basis. High-risk industries such as gambling, pornography and pharmaceuticals have to open offshore merchant accounts as the risk liability is too high to open a merchant account in America. Entertainment ticket issuers, some retailers and travel companies are also frequent offshore merchant account holders.

Offshore merchant accounts are opened as a way to find relief from tax debt or to pay less in taxes as well. For companies that do not qualify for tax abatement in the US, they can often pay less in taxes than they would here.

Depending on which country you open an offshore merchant account in, the privacy laws will differ from place to place. Privacy and disclosure laws are quite stringent for American merchant accounts and some businesses prefer to be more discreet for the sake of their customers. An offshore merchant account provides the discretion needed.

Which Offshore Account Provider to Choose?

Finding a reputable offshore account provider can be challenging and it is a field ripe for scam artists just waiting to get their hands on your business’s funds and your customer’s sensitive information. It is much easier to get away with fraud when the company being scammed is thousands of miles away. A good offshore account provider will ensure acceptance of all major credit cards, technical support and processing of multiple currencies. They will also provide encrypted security for their client’s information and implement as advanced measures against fraud as possible.

A reputable provider will also offer regular account reports in order to track your deposits, any charges or fees incurred against the account and to watch for any irregular activity. It is essential, before signing any contract with an offshore account provider, to take the time to read all fine print and ascertain the exact charges that will be levied against the account and why it is charged. One of the biggest red flags when looking for a provider is their account cancellation policy. Many reputable companies will waive the termination fee while dishonest providers will have exorbitant termination fees. Researching all you can about a potential provider can prevent you from falling victim to a scam. Websites like offshoremerchantaccount.com can be a good place to start when beginning your search.

Offshore merchant accounts have a more complex approval process and requirements than a standard merchant account due to the high risk nature. Offshore accounts take longer to be approved and often require the business has been established for at least two years, makes more than ten thousand US dollars a month and has exhaustive requirements for any website attached to the account.

If you are ready to open an offshore merchant account or learn more about them, visit offshoremerchantaccount.com and feel confident you are making the best decision for your business.

Jangled Nerves and Your Team

Mar 28

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Leadership, People!, Risk Management | No Comments

Your people mean everything to your business, your customers and profitability, of course you look after them (you know better than to treat them badly) but sometimes things slip.

You have been plodding along nicely, watching things tick over and out of the blue you messed up, instead of chatting to an employee about an issue normally seen as small, you jump in and give them a written warning on a blue card. You figure you have chatted to them about other issues in the past and the person in question has been with the organisation for over 5 years so they should know better and you jumped in with the written warning. Perhaps you were feeling short tempered, lots of things providing pressure to your daily routine, perhaps other things were playing on your mind.

In hindsight you were busy and this seemed like an easy way to resolve the issue. For the employee however it hits hard, like a quick slap in the face.

The issue, normally resolved fast with a quick chat, where they soon admit they slipped up, now becomes something more. Perhaps the employee will say something like “Hey, how about a verbal warning first…?” But things turned out differently.

Perhaps the employee will say nothing and the issue will fade, or it might fester and become a thorn in their side, niggling at them. Trust once at a high level has now been downgraded, cynicism can kick in and things could start to slide. Let’s hope the issue fades fast.

A few issues here which need to be looked at. The procedure you would normally follow (a few verbal warnings before a written warning) has been ignored. Your usual stance of getting more information to fully evaluate the issue was also missed. You were under pressure to perform other tasks and to some degree have failed your own high standards.

It’s a pity this has happened, but interesting to note that a small issue can get out of hand fast.

For the Employee the situation can set off a small ripple of disgruntled communication to colleagues who can react in a variety of ways, hopefully it fades out (you hope) but if it multiplies the ongoing effect on productivity and morale can be devastating. The worst part is you may not even know about it until it’s too late.

Of course there is always the issue that you may have introduced a new procedure, policy etc and forgot to tell people “For major issues a written warning on a blue card is all about raising awareness of our Duty of Care… note it’s not for disciplinary action purposes, but simply serves as a reminder.” but you wouldn’t forget to tell the folks now would you. Of course you would also make sure that someone else reads the info first to see if it appears threatening, but no it has in BIG letters Written Warning across the top and it looks like a disciplinary action.

You can’t be perfect, but one way to resolve an issue like this is to get regular feedback on what’s being communicated, to you from them and from them to you. This way you can be on active alert for issues when they arise.

Your Business is Failing

Mar 27

Posted by Steve Gray in Planning, Risk Management | No Comments

Your business started out as a thrill ride, perhaps now it’s got the death rattles. You look in despair not really sure of what will happen next. Do you try to revive it or walk away…

You have learned the hard way that life is not full of successes, you now know that winter can last a long time, and being out in the cold requires more than a warm jacket and thick socks. You also know that summer can be a fizzer and spring and Autumn can feel like hell has frozen over as creditors come knocking at your door, they want and you probably don’t have to give.

To be sure you know what you are looking for, check for warning signs, so you can see the trend before things go too far.

Profits are dwindling – You started out making good margins and could ride out a tough business season, too many periods without profit and you start to feel the pinch.
Turnover has dropped – Items are sitting on the shelf longer than usual, packaging in the window is fading in the sunshine and customers know the dust on the shelf is not from a recent dust storm and the small amount of stock on the shelves is a sure fire indicator of things going sour.
Staff come and go – Mainly they go and you probably have a hard time getting new staff to replace them, word is out that your business is not doing so well.
Suppliers and the banks are saying no – You want more credit but no one wants to play your game anymore. They are tired of having to chase you for money.
Your partner is asking too many questions – You don’t want the hassles or pain, you just want things to move forward, you want to have a solid income and great prospects. The nagging is getting to you and you want to be free of it and no, divorce is not something you want to take on.

What do you want to do?

Fold up and walk away, get a ‘real job’ settle down to a life that says ‘ha ha you lost.’ Or do things to turn the situation around. If like many people you take failure hard and don’t bounce back well, you may need to take a look and say “What if the pain of losing is harder than the pain of not trying… “

There are no two ways about it, business can be tough for many people and it’s often not an easy thing to diagnose and prescribe a cure for its ailments.

If you have tried many things and the death rattles are loud and clear then you may well have seen the writing on the wall a long time ago and be about ready to bail out.

If you are ready to stand and fight back then you would do well to start with a solid pro active attitude, pull the business apart on paper and see what can be done to give it your best shot. If it is to be it’s up to thee…

Business Failure 101…

Mar 26

Posted by Steve Gray in Risk Management, Starting out in business | No Comments

It’s been a while since I looked at what makes a business fail but today I felt really inspired to explore the issue, some research gave me a few clues as to what I should focus on.

I hate seeing things fail, especially businesses, it’s a waste of time and money (except for the learning for the business person to be…)

Here are some key points to explore, especially if you have an idea and are looking at starting up, here are some fail points.

Business idea and research – You had an idea, but how much research did or didn’t you do before making a start? FAIL, not enough research into, who wants what you have to offer, what are their buying habits, demographics etc and can I supply to them in a way that suits them? Did you factor in a decent profit margin? Is the idea sustainable? Have other business of this type tried and failed before? You get the idea…
Marketing, yes you need it! – Do you have the time and expertise to do it? Do you have the cash to be able to pay someone to do it if you don’t have the time etc? Marketing can cover everything from signs to promotions to sales and LOTS of things in between. It needs to be looked into early and carefully to make sure you do enough of the right things to make your business idea a raging success.
What are you worth? – Strange question, especially in the start up phase… But what you pay you to do what you do is vital to you being able to carry on with confidence in the business, knowing you are being paid what you are worth.
Start up $$ – Do you have enough? Do you have investors? Do you have support from others willing to put in to your idea if things need propping up in the short term? Many start ups fail dismally because of a lack of capital to get the ball rolling. How will you pitch your idea to a prospective investor, what’s in it for them?
How long? – How long before you succeed or fail? Many businesses fail by not sticking with a great business idea long enough, giving up JUST before seeing success. Some just keep on going by the ‘skin of their teeth’ hoping things will improve. Set yourself some goals, perhaps starting with a time frame to meet your various other goals.
Who can help you? – Marketing advice and ideas, management ideas and advice, operational procedures, advice and ideas… the list goes on. Surround yourself with people you can trust to assist you with all this and more.
Look at the gap/s – What you know and what you want to do is different. Will you be able to minimise this or not? E.g. marketing, you might be great at technician in the business and be able to ‘fix things’ for example, but if people don’t know you exist then you have a gap that needs to be filled. Look solidly at all these things and make sure you are really confident you can fill these gaps.

Starting to wonder about the whole business start up phase? Thinking that business should not be this hard? Well at least you are thinking. Now get to work and make these thing happen so you can minimse the chances of failure. Otherwise you could just stand on a street corner and throw a few thousand $$ away, because that’s how it might feel if you fail with your business idea in a few months or so.

Your Brilliant Business

Mar 13

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Growth, Leadership, People!, Planning, Starting out in business | No Comments

Your brilliant business is caused by people doing more of the right things – Thinking – Adding value – Loving what they do – Taking initiative – Exploring options and Providing great service to name a few.

Well that’s my view.

We could spend ages debating the issue, what a brilliant business is, how it’s measured and the results it provides. But I want to focus on the ethereal things which caused it to be a brilliant business. The initial points I put up are a big part of that.

Let’s go back to the start, a business you set up started with an idea, you could see what you wanted, probably saw yourself running it how things would turn out. In your minds eye you saw a plan of action coming to reality and all the key pointers I started this article with are what bought the dream to reality.

It was you in the beginning who put in the effort, you did the thinking, the planning, took initiative, explored options and provided great service to ensure prospects and customers would come back for more.

The next step in your business was a big one, you took on staff, partners and or associates who could see what you saw, felt what you felt and heard the positive accolades for the products and service you provided for customers. You managed to encourage your ‘team’, they got motivated, excited and became driven to follow in your footsteps.

The results spoke for themselves, happy customers, great products and services and the bottom line reflects the top level positive work everyone puts in.

There it is, your brilliant business, brilliantly utilising your ‘soft resources’ to ensure the ‘hard resources’, products and services, are in the right place at the right time for your ideal prospects and customers.

Sadly all of this is not a common occurrence, in fact it’s a rare situation, one sadly lacking in a world where hope, excitement and the ‘thrill of the chase’ has been eclipsed by businesses which start up and fade, some fast, some slow.

All of the above points and so much more in formation is available to those who want to ensure their ‘business idea is given the best chance of survival in the ‘formative part of the business process’ and thriving in the maturing part of the process, yet too many fail fast.

What annoys me the most is that people who have great intentions in starting their business find the sense of loss palpable. All that was required was the right sort of research, a solid plan of action and the ability to cause people to follow your brilliant lead. Alas too many businesses do not have that and what could be a great start soon becomes millstone.

Let’s ask then, what sort of business do you want to have? One with brilliant prospects and outcomes or one doomed to failing fast? Now ask what will you do to make sure it’s not the latter!

Tags: branding expert, brilliant business, business, business mechanics, business success, communication, creativity, hr leadership, innovation, Leadership, People!, Planning, small business marketing, steve gray

What Do You Do It For?

Mar 4

Posted by Steve Gray in Growth, Innovation and Creativity, People!, Planning, Risk Management | 4 Comments

You’re in business, why, you run events, why, your start new projects, why…

In business you can have a range of reasons as to why you do things… To make a profit and get rich (yeah right…) to be my own boss, to feed my ego, to provide service and products to a niche market.

Lets go deeper. In business you might decide to do some things to make your business stand out from the crowd. Perhaps it’s a promotional event of some kind, you figure you can spend some $$ invite people over to your business and at some stage they will buy. Perhaps you figured the media will come and you will get wider kudos and therefore more publicity from the event.

For me there is some form of internal ‘buzz’ I get out of doing things, projects (in my case arty projects) to the point where I will produce a range of Artworks with an aim of exploring a theme of some kind with a bigger picture of exhibiting them (rarely happens) so I pursue a dream, and I get a ‘buzz’ from it. I then go onto the next project hoping things might go further… I continue to produce.

What about you, what’s your reason for doing what you do?

Ego -”I’m important look at me”. (What, you only lasted six months, but you were important and hey you gave it a go).
Profit – “I’m in business and I can make a greater return than any investment I know of” (You hope.)
You’re the boss – You get staff, they do the work, you sit back and watch (nice idea, doesn’t always work that way).
You have a great idea you think the world will want to buy – Maybe it is the best idea since ‘sliced bread’ but what if it’s not… done any research yet?
I want more promotional coverage for the business – You run an event to get people in, hopefully people who have not used your business before but hopefully will in the future. Perhaps the local radio station team up with you and run a sausage sizzle, it costs you a heap of $$ and you hope for the best. Was the effort really worth it? Note the key word here is ‘hope’

Perhaps I should apologise for my cynical ‘quips’ after each pointer here, but I see too much failure in business to push a positive line at times.

Let me go another step to see if I can redress the imbalance.

Ego – You have one and hopefully you can use it to give you a boost when the chips are down, see through the crap when people say it won’t work. Perhaps it will give you the confidence to present ideas to financiers, interested parties etc.
Profit – Know that business is like a bucket with a hole in it, people pour in water (in the form of $$) the hole represents the $$ going out (expenses, purchases etc) your aim is to keep the water line above the hole, this is called profit. Knowing how to do that and how much it will be should be very important. Note the more profit you make the more you can assist others in your community (family, friends, charities etc.)
You’re the boss – Will you be a dictator or a great person to work for that your staff and customers will follow you to the ends of the earth? be the latter, study hard on this point and make sure it happens.
Your great idea – Test it, ask questions about it, research it “Nothing like it in the world!” Go deeper on your research! Then figure out what you can do to better, what your competition is doing.
You want more promotional coverage for the the business – If you run an event, or some promotional ‘thingy’ what do you want to really have happen… more names on your database, more people to walk in your door, more sales there and then. The emotion of running an event however can take away from the real reason you want to do it, before long the real ideas fades and the good vibe of the event takes over.

Next time ask yourself why do I really want to do this, spell it out and put the reasons why on a banner printed out from your computer, now look at it every day, let it drive you, guide you motivate you. Then think about the team you have, what o “they do it for”? Now there’s a good question.

Your Customer Relationship Executive and Your Business

Feb 25

Posted by Steve Gray in Growth, Human Resource Management, Leadership, People!, Planning, Risk Management, The Board Room, The Customer Service Dept | No Comments

Following on from a previous article on Customer Relationship Executives I thought you might like a few more pointers to make the process of building this role easier, here goes.

Your business has become big enough to have a person in this role, other businesses of your type and stature have them and it seems to work for them. So how about your business? The decision has been made and someone has to implement it. What to do next?

You’re leading them so ask what you want them to do and how you will support them to do it. (make a list FAST!)
Get a budget sorted their wage and ancillary costs, the resources they will need on a basic level and then the resources needed for them to excel at what they do.
What sort of person would you IDEALLY like to select for the role. Think personality type, adaptability, flexibility, nimbility, stunning phone manner, highly courteous at all times to ALL other personality types and so much more (another list!)
Where will you position them so they can feel part of the team but have the privacy their role may require?
How will you support, coach, mentor and support them?
How will they be seen by other staff who might currently do a part of this role as part of their usual duties… How will they be seen by other staff in terms of importance within the business?
What access to the database will they have?
What I.T. support will they get?
What Admin support will they have?
How will you measure their performance?
What will your expectations be of them?
How often will you meet with them?
What other people will have to interact with them so they can get their job done?
What sort of position description have you put together, does it include enough detail? Does it leave scope for them to add to the role?
What training will they need – to start with and along the way?
Who will fill in while they are away? Will this fill in person be able to effectively fill the gap and continue in a ‘business as usual’ kind of way or will they need to work one on one with the existing person to make the transition seamless?

Notice how there are lots of questions, stop and ask yourself, how will I cope with all this as well as my existing workload… hmm hope you have your ‘skates on’!

How will you make sure they are not under too much pressure from ‘moaning customers’ and those who want to yell and scream?
What strategies will you use to keep them motivated and highly engaged in their job?
How will you include them in planning sessions, showing them the stats, having them measure the stats…
What control will they have over the various situations which may arise… Feeding back info to staff, dealing with difficult customers (what sorts of gifts can they send)?
What sort of ongoing ‘keep in touch program’ will you let them do, special occasion cards, reminder letters, promotional freebies and goodies.

Notice how what started out as ‘just another role in your business’ has become a major one, and the person has not started yet!

What limit will be set for their budget? Is it big enough or is it a bare minimum “we don’t know yet how big it should be, perhaps we should start out low and work up from there”?
What level of authority will they have? Can they go straight to HR to warn of another staff member who is causing service ‘issues’ or so they have to ‘go through you’?
Will you require them to work after hours at special customer events?
Will they require the ability to think outside the square or is that left for the Marketing Department only?
Do you want them to be loaded with ideas, or a person to ‘just do the job…’?

Okay you get the idea, this role is vital to your business, if you are not in a big enough position to have a person in this role perhaps there are a bunch of people who are in this ‘type of role’, if so how many of the above become applicable to them… Take a look at the organisations mission, vision, values, beliefs and ideals and see how highly customers are valued throughout that. Need to make changes?

So what is all this, a customer service initiative to cause customers to LOVE what your business does. Without this sort of thinking and action going on, your business just may as well fade into the sunset.

We Need a Customer Relationship Executive…

Feb 25

Posted by Steve Gray in Human Resource Management, People!, Planning, The Customer Service Dept | No Comments

“Well team” Said the CEO excitedly “We need a Customer Relationship Executive and we need them now…” The rest of the team looked on knowingly and some slowly nodded in agreement.

One brave soul raised their hand and dared to ask “Why?” The CEO smiled widely and said “Glad you asked, you see other businesses in our industry have them, they say the sales have gone up because of that and the customer feedback has been very positive! We should do the same.”

There was little disagreement that day, a few minor questions, most leading to “what will they do?” The CEO responded with “Build customer relationships, short and long term. They will be busy chatting with people, getting feedback, feeding leads to the sales team etc.”

Any thoughts of ‘why’ were soon quashed and so the HR department had a task, get one, and get them up and happening fast. The big thing that needed to be asked though was “What will they do specifically, how will we measure it and what will the budget be, what resources will they need…” Followed by “who will lead this role the sales manager, HR, Marketing or Service?”

Clarify the role, what exactly is expected of them
What will their limitations be (if they have to make a customer happy how far can they go? How much can they spend)
Did the other organisations who have an exec in this sort of role just have a natural sales high or was the measurement really objective
Who will coach, support and lead this person?
Where will they have their space, office etc…
Does the values of the organisation fit to having a person in this type of role, does the organisation REALLY love customers this much?
Is there a track record of customer complaints that this new role will ‘magically fix’?
Will someone take their place when they go on holidays?
Will they have a support admin person allocated to them to do the ‘hack work’
Will the marketing team work with this person to assist them to get STUNNING results
Will the I.T. department be able to offer suitable solutions for a database, email auto responders, web access or any other I.T. resources? Or will they throw their arms in the air and say… ERRGH! we are too busy already.

Now that those issues have been put on the table, it’s time to look deeper and make the role really work. After all adding a new staff member should add value to the organisation, right?

The Leviathan And The Fool.

Feb 25

Posted by Steve Gray in Human Resource Management, People!, Risk Management | No Comments

Your staff, the biggest asset in the business, but what if one of them goes astray, their attitude or their ego ‘gets in the way….’ (for some) or what if they just become blasé about things and their performance fades. Both viewpoints might be seen as troublesome, and for some the thought of ousting the employee looms large.

If your organisation has guidelines about these things then it should be fairly straight forward process, or if there are workplace laws, then you will have guidelines to follow.

Interestingly even though you may have suitable policies and procedures in place it does not mean happiness all round, in fact it can lead to bigger issues.

The simple answer is to follow the guidelines and be squeaky clean in how the ‘recalcitrant’ staff member is ousted. If push come to legal shove you will have done the right thing and the situation will blow over, however if you haven’t, watch out as it comes back to haunt you in ways you probably wish you hadn’t dreamt of.

To illustrate, may I provide a story? Thanks. Let’s go back to the start, a staff member works their way up through the ranks and gets to a position of ‘responsibility’. In the main rightly deserved, having garnered extra qualifications and skills along the way. They are lauded by some, lambasted by others who find their showiness to egotistical, their ability to “fall into the spotlight” too over the top. The organisation benefits but those who see the grandstanding as too much start to build a resentment.

Other staff find the spotlight this employee “positively shines on the organisation” too much, their performance against this ‘Leviathan’ is such they feel they can not compete. Perhaps they see the person in ‘Power” as a threat to their own ambitions and carefully retreat to plot a move… conniving politics in the workplace, not good, in fact the situation can quickly become untenable, but their own gains are what they see as paramount. They mount various challenges but are caught out by a more worthy opponent each time.

They plot a ‘fresh attack’when things change in the department. So far so smooth, now it’s hotting up. In a flurry of backstabbing, murmurs and innuendoes the once ‘relatively’ cohesive team becomes some form of fire breathing behemoth. In a nasty emotion filled flurry the good people in HR are dragged into the situation (kicking and screaming), the CEO or ‘other’ is also called in to the fray.

It turns out that the whole situation brewing over time has come to a head with the staff crying foul and calling for an end, but they have played the OHS trump card “We can’t work with ‘the Leviathan’ anymore”. With the weight of numbers and short term ‘at hand’ issues to be resolved the ‘political landscape’ has altered. Now the almighty Leviathan who has championed great causes is soon to become a slaughtered ‘sacred cow’. There is blood on the streets folks and it’s getting on too many hands, hands which at the start of the day were clean, manicured, personable, reasonable perhaps, are now becoming stained deeply.

The good team in HR along with the CEO or other, put their hands up to say stop, a quick exit for our ‘hero’ ensues. They stop the short term emotional ‘bun fight’ but have failed to use a fair and reasonable approach in implementing procedures and policies.

They stand with blood stained hands and gather their thoughts, thoughts like “what have we just done?” or “whoa, glad that’s over…” While our Leviathan leaves wounded and bleeding, he is smitten and vows revenge. Wo betide those who think they can cross the warrior, not fatally wound them and think that this is the end. In fact little do they realise this is probably just the beginning.

The stained hands do not wash clean, and the vague aroma of rotting blood soon becomes an infuriating stench, burning nostrils and causing bad memories to surface and tear at their emotions. Did they do the right thing? Did they fail in their ‘duty of care’. Did they act on emotion rather than logic…

In the harsh bright light of day, our Warrior will stand accused, the organisation will have a strong hand pointing at them with malice, revenge and intent. The organisation had better be in a clear factual position to defend their scurrilous actions or face a force so driven they will rue the day they slipped and went for a short term answer to what is clearly a long term situation.

This story should serve as a reminder, do not take the short term position on what could become a long term ‘thorn in their side’. Follow procedures good people and let a fair and reasonable approach ensue so those in positions of responsibility can stand with clear conscience on these matters, and not be watching their backs every step of the way.

The Open Plan Office Failure

Feb 16

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Health and Safety Dept, Innovation and Creativity, Risk Management | No Comments

Open plan offices offer a lot if your team communicates openly with each other share conversations with customers and offering information or advice between a small group of staff. The challenge comes when you expect the team to work without distractions (planning – on the phone with customers etc.)

Ok so what was the big deal with going for open plan in the first place? Cost? Having the chance to break down barriers? More open communication? Other…

Let’s go the other way, what’s the deal with a ‘closed’ office? Greater privacy – Easier to concentrate – Cut down on noise – More wall space (for planning charts and so on…) – Your computer can be oriented so only you see what’s on the screen (ok not the best reason but surely quiet important!)

Perhaps the best way is to go halfway (is that possible?) creating spaces which offer users the ability to have privacy, a sense of security, still have some degree of communication openness, not have the cost of a full office, and provide the user with that sense of ownership or personalisation without having everyone look at your personal items etc

Maybe we could go for the cocoon, or pod, I seem to recollect back in the 70’s the Illustrator Roger Dean (Did lots of futuristic and fantasy album covers) created a whole bunch of futuristic spacey spaces and one of them included a ‘Learning Pod’ and individual cocoon shaped like a giant seed pod. Is that a way to go…

I believe the answer probably lies in clearly looking at what the business, your business, is all about and exploring the ideal way to make what needs to happen, happen, in the most effective way possible.

If your team really work as a team, then maybe a team space is required with separate areas to compile info for the team.

If your team are working directly with customers, then perhaps they just need a space where they can do that with minimal fuss.

If your team are a bunch of slackers and serve no real purpose to your amazingly big conglomerate then perhaps a bunch of hotel rooms with Wi Fi connectivity might be the go…

I guess what I am really saying is to ‘go deep’ and look at the specific reasons your team need the space they need and how they will interact (or not). I guess I am also thinking make the space adaptable so things can be altered when the need arises.

Oh and let’s not forget the concept of status, where the ‘boss’ gets the ‘closed office and privacy’ and the others get ‘open space and prying eyes’ surely we can think beyond that and come up with spaces which cause people to believe they are highly valued contributors without any loss of status.

Perhaps open plan failure is just a starting point to creating office space success.

Tags: Burning Business Bridges, business, business success, ergonomics, innovation, office furniture, office planning, People!, Planning, space, steve gray, workplace safety

Helping staff to get what they want

Jan 24

Posted by Steve Gray in Leadership, People!, Planning, Risk Management | 1 Comment

When it comes to dealing with staffing issues it seems as though there are always going to be those who want to help themselves and then there’s the rest.

What to do when you are staring down the barrel of staffing challenges and this is just one of your starting points?

In a previous article I looked at What Staff Want. It gives some interesting insights, but how do you figure out how to deliver the things they want or need and get to that point effectively.

Let’s go for the easy option, Brainstorm…

If you already know what they want and or need to do their job effectively, then facilitating a session with them will assist them to at least understand you want to assist them, and give you an idea of if they want to be assisted.

The real aim is to use the “Collective Intelligence” to get information happening and ideas explored.

You could start out with the list of what people want, then jot down some ideas in advance of things you believe might match to the job, tasks, attitudes and beliefs. Then you have a chance of connecting with them when the discussion starts and they are scrambling to find ideas. You would probably use your information to enhance their thinking processes if they get stuck, you might add in a pointer relating to an obvious task to spur them on.

Brainstorming can be easy – Set some guidelines and go from there.

All ideas are good ideas – We can focus on the good ideas later
Feel free to share – Let people freely add in and occasionally encourage the stragglers to also put in. Invite them to help make things better
Our aim – To explore ideas on improving this business unit – “We have challenges what will improve things?”
Work to a time frame so they don’t just lounge about for ages, aim to get ideas on to paper fast.
Pose some questions to be answered – Perhaps this is the initial brainstorming, getting the issues out as THEY see them, then getting them to provide ideas to answer them
Write fast, and prod for more ideas – Actively explore concepts as they arise
Consider a mind map – Do an internet search on the basics of this, it can be a very visual way of getting the thought processes working.
Collate the main ideas and share them once they are typed up – This can then lead to a plan of action or an attitude shift to some degree.

A brainstorming session should be positive and free flowing. The team should not feel like they are working under duress to come up with ideas. Hopefully after doing this session you will be able to find some excellent starting points to work from. Chances are the team had all the ideas and answers and you were able to positively, openly and honestly listen to them work through the challenges.

Now notice how all of this leads to you being the coach… working with people to get the best from them, without having to hit them over the head and force them to do things. Trust me it’s better that way. Want to be a better workplace coach, try this…

Tags: business, business mechanics, business success, coaching, communication, People!, Planning, Risk Management, steve gray, training

What staff want

Jan 17

Posted by Steve Gray in Human Resource Management, Leadership, People!, Planning, Risk Management | No Comments

As a follow on from the series dealing with staffing issues this article explores what staff want, when you know that and provide it, then you will find it easier to keep them happy. Believe me it’s important.

Keeping people happy is one part of the whole business matrix… customers or staff, the common denominator is that they are all people.

To keep one person happy you might find their definition is built on getting a reasonable amount of work done in a standard working day, churning through mountains of meaningless paperwork. Meanwhile the next person is kept happy by having variety and not just being stuck in an office.

So what are the core things they want and how can you provide these for them?

Here’s my list.

A sense of belonging – Being valued by others, even in minor ways can help to build and maintain their workplace sense of esteem
A sense of achievement – Some will want to work their way up the corporate ladder, set goals and achieve them
Contributing and adding value – Beyond their basic agreement, work targets etc, they feel as though they have contributed to the whole business machine
A sense of purpose – It’s not a meaningless job, it has a role to play and they can clearly sense that
Organisational integrity – It’s about security, if they know the organisation has integrity they then have a foundation they can believe in and stand by. No integrity, the foundation can give way at anytime this leads to insecurity and can be a reason for staff turnover
Control – For some this can mean the security that comes from having some measure of control over their situation, it might be minor. For others they want the chance to take control of a department, or a division depending on their level of drive or motivation
They like be challenged – In ways which suit them, not you. For some it will be big challenges for others it will be meeting a small quota. It comes down to brain stimulus
They have a suitable work environment – Where it can be controlled, think about it you spend 8 or so hours a day in the business, do you want to spend 8 hours in a hovel or 8 hours in paradise… The choice is a no brainer right? So what’s your environment like? Sure paradise is a BIG step but making it better might only take a few tweaks and a small amount of cash. For those out on the road for instance in a company vehicle, is it clean neat and tidy, new, old, in good repair or a rust bucket. Oh and the Lunch room, a place to relax and unwind, or a stinking cesspool of yuck… (broken chairs etc.)
They have the right tools – Newish computer – Quiet keyboard – Suitable work chair – Effective other tools

Are there others? Probably, it’s up to you to find out. But armed with this as your starting point you can soon see the sorts of core things staff want. Go and chat with your staff and find out what their wants are.

Now you know what staff what, here’s an article on how you might explore this further.

Tags: business mechanics, business success, communication, employee recruitment, HR, hr leadership, Leadership, People!, Planning, Risk Management, steve gray

Dealing with challenging staff 1

Jan 16

Posted by Steve Gray in Human Resource Management, Leadership, People!, Risk Management | No Comments

This article is an extension of a previous one on staffing issues.

You started to see the clues that a staff member was not quite in line with your expected range of behaviours – their efforts are slow, below quality, they resist some tasks etc. In general they become a pain to deal with and you really hope they just vanish one day and the problem is over.

However the reality is somewhat different, they hang around and keep on plodding hoping to keep on getting away with doing what they do, It’s almost as if no one notices them doing what they don’t do.

Your task is to now figure out what to do about it and do it fast so they don’t start to infect others with their attitude.

Your first step is probably underway, that is rewarding the behaviours you want “Well done with the x project…” but if things have slipped out of your grasp a little then the following should be of value.

Here’s how things generally go

They get annoyed with something
They develop some form of resistance as a result of their annoyance (ignore commands, put things off etc)
Things escalate because they believe nothing is going to change back to how it was or get better (they were comfortable with how things were) now you have resentment starting to build
Finally things build retaliation stage, the issue that has resulted in things getting to this stage spills over into them taking negative action, in extreme cases this can get VERY nasty (read workplace shooting…) On the lesser scale they will do tasks slowly, to a poor standard or avoid tasks and probably blame others

The first step is to evaluate the situation – What specifically do they do that is causing difficulties? Make a list and make it evidence based but avoid implicating others (it can get VERY messy if you do!)

Secondly – You need to figure out what may be causing this, here are some possibilities, note all of these can lead a person to be annoyed with the job or the company and therefore their attitude and efforts have strayed.

Their job changed at some stage and they did not like the change but may not have said so, or if they did say something their plea fell on deaf ears
They have been told off for not doing a good job, in a way which has annoyed them. The upshot is they have resented it and have now become resistant and are starting to retaliate
They see the system as being so slack they figure they can get away with anything so they push the boundaries
They are being bullied or harassed in some way (I hope it’s not by you…)
They feel they are undervalued
They have some personal issues – physical – emotional – psychological, which is impacting on their work
The work has become too challenging for them
The work is no longer challenging for them
Things change too often for them, the computer system, they type of work, etc
The work may not have altered but now they have to travel further to complete works now they become annoyed
The list can go on.

Time to do something…

Let’s face it something needs to happen to “stop the rot setting in”. If you have built a great relationship with your team, you will be intervening early, perhaps at the annoyance or resistance stage. If not you may have a harder task to handle.

Let’s work on this in my next article on this issue.

Dealing with challenging staff 2

Jan 16

Posted by Steve Gray in Human Resource Management, Leadership, People!, Risk Management | No Comments

Leading on from the other post on this topic. You want to deal with the staff member who is causing some grief (or could be about to) how do you go about intervening to find out what you need to know. The big thing is to get them onside so they will want to chat to you about the issue with ease, the last thing you want is for them to later on suggest they were under some form of duress, caused by you in the questioning phase!

The aim is to have a staff member who is relaxed about you chatting with them, so you can keep them onside and willing to discuss issues rather than some adversarial situation they can get annoyed about.

Here are a few points to consider;

You are aiming to make an assessment not a judgement – There is a difference, assessing the situation means researching and working the facts, judging may well mean you could start off on an accusatory footing. Aim to get solid facts first.
Avoid cornering or accusing them – They may deny anything, then you will be in a harder place trying to get information as they withdraw and may start to lay blame or justify their position – Think about if you would like to be cornered and how you might respond
Keep things open and honest – You want them to feel as though they can readily and easily relate the information you want with no pressure, lies or any form of creative avoidance
Ask “Is it okay if we have a chat about work…” – This way you will have a good chance of getting their permission to chat about the issue/s. Avoid asking “So how’s work going” this can set them up to say “Ok… why” and then be on the defensive
Try the research method – “I’m chatting to a range of staff about things to do with the business, ideas for improvements, how people are going, that sort of thing. Can I do some research with you?” – This can give you permission to ask questions about the business and related info
Spend some time with them – This may not be suitable in every situation, but perhaps you can spend some time with them “on the road”, meet them on site, or perhaps sit with them for a while in their workspace (maybe chatting about a specific task to begin with.)
Make it happen fast – Once you have suggested you want to catch up, make sure you avoid dragging things on, this can cause unnecessary worry all round.
Take good notes – Leaving this part until later can be a trail fraught with danger, collect facts, not hearsay and allegations. Feel free to read back the details and see if they agree with what you jotted down. Consider asking them if they want a copy.

Now that you have set up the chance to have a chat, what will you say? Well it’s going to depend a bit on the angle you take I guess, personally I favour the research method.

Give them the chance to say nothing! – Somewhere in the opening questions if you can throw this in it can be very useful, “Feel free not to say anything if you wish, it’s up to you” this takes the pressure off straight away and allows them the option to avoid things, chances are they will actually switch on internally and answer practically any question you pose to them.
Begin with some easy things – “if they have a new vehicle, “So how’s the new vehicle going, one of the other guys is not sure about his…” or “This last six months has been really busy/quiet how has that been for you?”
Look for lead ins – They answer one question and it leads on to another that fits well to you finding out more, or causing them to open up more.
Stack questions – Putting together a bunch of questions in one hit can cause the person to start talking and not stop for a long while – basically you set their brain firing on a range of questions and they just start to respond. It could start like this…”We have been busy this past month don’t you think, It has been for me, and then the summer kicked in and we had those orders come from the retailers, do you think the upgrade to the computer helped with at or was it just me that thought it struggled, anyway… That’s not what I wanted to ask really… any how, what’s been happening in your area?” – With practice you can stack questions with ease and sit back for a while and get more than just yes’s or no’s to your key question/s
Work from their viewpoint – How do you see things… how do things feel for you… what do you believe is happening… Do things sound ok from your end? This works from an old American Indian saying of “Walk for a while in the other person’s Moccassions” this can then allow you to get their perspective and may lead you into more of the right questions and or give you some empathy for their viewpoint. It may also give you the real reason they are doing what they do, rather than some smoke screen cover up.
Small talk can be useful but… – For some people using small talk to lead in to a conversation is normal, easy and very useful, for others however it can be a slippery slide to disaster, with the other person smelling a rat very fast, putting them on the defensive. Know your people, so you can craft your approach to fit to their needs and situation, use small talk for those that do and avoid it for those that don’t use it.
What’s your biggest challenge and why? – Sit and listen carefully after you ask this one, and ask it only when you are sure you have a measure of trust with them. If they ask for clarification about the question “Personal or professional challenges?” then you are getting closer to the real question, it can get more specific after that as well and perhaps you can use that to your advantage to clarify more questions with details.
Feed it back to them – Sometimes you can read info back to people to clarify what was said, any points they disagree with you can modify to suit. This is the best time to clarify things while things are still fresh in both parties heads.
Ask them for answers – “Our chat has identified a bunch of things, if you could solve these challenges, what would you do?” Then sit and listen carefully, you may get some great answers to some big issues, but let them have the chance to respond. Often people will start out by saying “I don’t know…” Then launch into “Well what I would do is…” then take great notes as they unload.

Now you have some solid starting points for your intervention, hopefully you will get some great information to work with, their views, their reasons why or why not and the chance to provide some answers, hopefully all of which was done with minimal hassle and discomfort. Your next step will probably be to act on your findings, that could raise a whole bunch of other issues for us to explore another time.

Has all of this caught your interest? Well it should and to really get a handle on things consider this, what do your staff really want? find out in the next article, what staff want.

Tags: business, business mechanics, business success, communication, HR, hr leadership, Leadership, People!, Risk Management, steve gray

2012 Business, thriven or failing

Jan 13

Posted by Steve Gray in Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, Planning, Risk Management | No Comments

There’s plenty of talk out on the street that people are saving and not buying, therefore business may well take a battering.

There’s lots of other talk too, less Entrepreneurs entering the market place with big ideas. Then there’s people losing jobs left right and centre as businesses close up and walk away, or go offshore to chase cheaper ways to manufacture.

With all this I can sense bitterness in the air, people in business cursing those that don’t buy, (or by online…) cursing the idea of having to set up a business in a down economy, cursing the thought of having to think creatively to overcome challenges and create anew. The list goes on.

Things change, get used to that.

It’s up to you what you end up doing about it, in business there are options, generally the more cash you have the more options you have.

But wait the “bootstrap-ocracy” will tell us you don’t need money, you need ideas, followed by a great pitch to the right people and before you know it a business has emerged from nothing.

I heard a conversation the other day that suggested all business ideas are bootstrapped, even if you put a few Million into the start up phase you then have to pay that back at some stage so you are possibly worse off than if you started with zero $$ it just seems easier.

What will make a business thrive through 2012 and on into the future. Lots of things, the ability to handle change, be creative with their ideas and explore ways to make those ideas become reality so the zero start up can become a heroic organism which can stride forward with confidence. In a word nimble.

Go on get nimble, get creative and make hay before the weather changes and the hay goes sour. The wider community is waiting for the right people to do the right things and keep things moving. “Tag… you’re it!”

Smart Phone web stuff

Dec 9

Posted by Steve Gray in IT Dept, Planning, Risk Management, The Marketing Dept | 3 Comments

You have a web site for your business, and now people have heaps of smartphones and while they are out and about they are checking out your site from their phone.

Therefore make your site work on a mobile, as MILLIONS are now using their phones to browse, and the figure is building daily.

What you need is a way to test your site, the good people over at Google have come up with a fairly elegant solution… http://www.howtogomo.com/

A simple yet highly effective way to test your webpage/s to see if you can cut through when you need to! Now call your web people and make changes.

How team training can fail

Nov 28

Posted by Steve Gray in Human Resource Management, People! | No Comments

As much as I love training people, I have to say most team based training seems to be an out and out fail. Here’s why…

Team exercises – Most people hate the ‘team building’ exercises, then they get into it and like it and then realise there was low ongoing value, but they had a break from work, they just tell the boss it was ok.
We are a team already – if there are challenges, forcing us to do something about it might just annoy us further. Perhaps HR should have hired decent new team members in the first place! It’s their fault. – Sometimes the way to change things is easier than having people out on a team building exercise, perhaps a series of chats from their ‘coach’ or team leader (same thing) is enough to find an elegant solution or raise awareness of issues.
Take me away – Taking me away for the weekend to a conference, seminar might seem nice and a big commitment from the company to show it cares, but if it’s my family time, forget it, I will probably just resent it for the first part of the event if not all of the event – Doing it in work time may look like I am getting out of work, but Most will figure that the work does not go away and it might just create more stress.
Spend the training $$ – I put down we need to do some team building exercises, because usually they are fun, and hey you’re the one allocating the training $$ and if we don’t spend it we lose it. If they are going to do training they want to have a good time and hey, if push comes to shove they might be able to justify it.
What team issues? – What else in the organisation might be causing the supposed ‘team issue’? Could it be a lack of Leadership, direction, adherence to Co guidelines etc… – There is an old saying that says “Resistance builds first, followed by resentment and finally retaliation” when things start to go astray start asking what’s causing people to become resistant to things in the first place? Then work on that, well before resentment leads to retaliation!
As a team leader, someone from ‘above’ says we need to do this, why wasn’t I consulted… – see resistance, resentment, and retaliation!
Does it pay? - A program scheduled over a number of sessions takes people out of a productive work environment and the $$ invested better come back in increased productivity fast. Chances are the $$ return will take a while no matter what the program time frame, even then there are no guarantees, so any benefit may fade over time, just in time for the next team building exercise!
Programs that create tight knit teams seem to adversely effect the productivity, what gives with that! – Simply put if people get on really well together they start to care on a deep level, before long they are a closely connected group, they worry together, laugh together, share lots of things together, how on earth do they find time to work!

Please understand I see training as a vital part of successful business operations, just that it needs to be relevant, useful and valued in general. If it annoys people and they can’t appreciate the value readily, you might do better to direct the training $$ into other areas.

Tags: buisness training fail, business, business mechanics, business success, communication, HR, hr leadership, Leadership, People!, Risk Management, steve gray, team building, team fail, training

How to improve your credit score (infograph)

Nov 22

Posted by Bren Ryan in Finance, Risk Management | No Comments

According to today’s visual infograph, the majority of American citizens have their personal credit under control (but perhaps only just). I imagine that the rest of the world are in a similar boat.

Relevant to all of us though, there are some tips to help you tame the credit beast, and get your credit back on track and working for you, instead of the other way around.

Via: Credit Card Education

Beyond the value of values

Nov 19

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, People!, Risk Management, The Board Room | 2 Comments

I love values, we all have them, for most bigger organisations they write them up and muddle on from there. I seriously wonder sometimes if they know much about them.

For smaller organisations there is often a reluctance to write them out, fiddle with them etc, as they see it as an unnecessary thing to do. (basically a waste of time) until something happens and then they wish they had a list of them to fall back on as a support, to provide guidance.

Here is a bunch of values an organisation chasing the aims and ideals of excellence might list and utilise. I will expand on these and offer a few examples to give some ideas and options for their use.

Leadership: The courage to shape a better future by positive actions – The ability to motivate people to explore excellence – Lead by example “see something, do something”
Respect: For each other, the people we serve and the environment – From the way we communicate to the way we act on all levels
Tolerance: Of others, their views, beliefs and values
Collaboration: Leverage collective genius – work cooperatively with others – Comply with all legal and statutory authorities – Explore ways to develop profitable business relationships
Integrity: Consistency of honest working principles and beliefs – Build trust through our positive actions – Build our structural integrity to ensure sustained growth through a solid foundation – We build with a culture of mutual respect for all – Aim to be ecologically sustainable
Accountability: If it is to be, it’s up to me – See something, Do something, take action to make things right – Think globally, act locally – Hold true to a high level duty of care
Passion: Committed in heart and mind to get great results we can all be proud of
Quality: What we do, we do well – We openly explore ways to improve at all levels – A commitment to personal and professional excellence – A commitment to great service at all levels – Aiming to be a highly professional team
Adaptable: We are able to take initiative and embrace projects and challenges with the guideline of “Improvise – Adapt – Overcome”

These cover most areas of human interaction, and at any time an issue arises they can be called upon to offer guidance as to which direction things might go.

I figure these are vital to a contemporary organisation and offer a wide range of options for future development. Want to move forward, check there is a value or two you might want to follow and use it to your advantage. A wise guiding hand in times of need is one which offers flexibility and direction, Look no further folks, here is the start to being guided by wisdom.

Power $$ profit, where will it go…

Nov 2

Posted by Steve Gray in Growth, Innovation and Creativity, Planning | 3 Comments

In a recent news article the NSW government has made a tidy $1.23bn profit from the part privitisation of their power resources in that state. Well done, let me be the first to congratulate them.

I have a question however, what will they do with it?

Suggestion, for a whole bunch of people who can’t afford to buy the solar panels on their roofs use the $$ to give low income earners a way to reduce their utility costs, this will then mean less coal gets dug up as well. Makes sense to me. However I won’t be holding my breathe waiting for things to happen.

In your business are there similar opportunities? Are you missing out because of lack of thinking, risk taking etc… look closer you might find some powerful opportunities right under your noses.

Tags: solar power

Make it Work

Nov 1

Posted by Steve Gray in Growth, Planning, Risk Management, The Board Room | 3 Comments

How do you go about making a succession plan, and setting things up so you and your business can have a rosy future? Let’s try a few things and see what we can come up with.

Firstly a business that works.

Great products
Great service
Good profit margins
Great systems – policies – procedures – plans – vision
Great team
An entrepreneurial spirit – some risks – great rewards

Now say to yourself, “What do I want at the end of it all?”

A retirement income

An enjoyable, sustainable and profitable company to work in forever (some people don’t want to retire)

So how much is the retirement income going to be and when?

Will it maintain your current lifestyle needs?
Will it offer you the chance to live a greater lifestyle than you currently do?
Will it provide you with the chance to do more things in the wider community
Will I semi retire early…

All great questions but now what.

Think about your income levels, where they have been and where they are headed, when you reach a std retirement age of 65, what will the income be?
Then think about it being able to build further as time goes on, if you are retired for 30 years what would your final ‘wage’ be.

So how will you do it?

By now you may have realised the level of income you want, and now you have to ensure your business can create the level of turnover to pay for your ‘vision of the future’.

I think it’s time to get cracking on making your business more profitable and seeing how it will run without you, because some day in the future your asset will either fade or thrive. Take action now!

Tags: business, business mechanics, business success, People!, Planning, Risk Management, succession plan

You want what by when…

Nov 1

Posted by Steve Gray in People!, Planning, Risk Management, The Board Room | No Comments

This is not a chat about time management… not this time, more a chat about what do you want your future to be

You’re in business, not just a job but business. That means you work, take risks, plan, implement and reap rewards (yes rewards) if you get things right.

I have heard many people say many different things about what they want from business.

I’m the boss.
I call the shots
I can’t be sacked
I get paid more than the other guys

Follow that with…

I am creating an asset I can sell and retire on the proceeds
I have an asset my kids can take over
I have an asset where I will install a manager to do all the things I currently do and I will live off a % of the profits and occasionally consult back to the business when I want to.
I have multiple assets run by others and I get a part of the income from each and I seek out more ways to make $$ from each

The last one is the one I like the most, it’s the one that makes the most sense to me, it’s a risk to reward ratio. I get rewarded for the risks I take and can create more businesses so that if one is not doing well, another one is. (Good diversification can do that.)

Here’s the challenge however, most people don’t seem to think like that in fact they often only think in the terms of the first set of points. What that amounts to is Just Over Broke. Rarely getting ahead and when they do it seems to disappear FAST.

Sure there is the argument of live now, because you don’t know how long you will live. But being that it’s an unmeasurable ‘thing’ I would prefer see a longer term plan (or vision) than some short sighted live now and “oh no we’re broke honey, but we had a great time…”

All this is loosely called succession planning and making sure you set up your business to be all it can be so you can reap positive rewards now and in the future is vital.

Tags: business, business success, Planning, Risk Management, succession planning

Staff… When do you know?

Oct 18

Posted by Steve Gray in Human Resource Management, People!, Risk Management | 2 Comments

You have a fine team of people working for you with you. You know each other fairly well, they do the right thing by the organisation, and you hope the organisation does good things by them too. Then one day things aren’t what you think they are, but it took you a while to notice. Perhaps it’s all of a sudden, perhaps it has taken a while to creep in, but you now have a challenge to face.

Perhaps there were some clues, lets run through a possible range.

They start taking more days off, they pull the usual excuses
They communicate less
They might seem grumpy
Their work is shoddy but has gone under the radar
Perhaps they are a bit short tempered these days…
Others start telling you about these things but you have been a bit busy to notice
They don’t take on new tasks like they used to
They find creative ways to avoid doing tasks, or they just avoid some tasks.
Younger staff are able to show them up, with ease

Over a bit more time something happens, something you maybe didn’t see coming, maybe something tragic.

Perhaps they just say they have had enough and move on, perhaps they just decide to go part time and start to fade off the radar.

But what’s really happening? It could be lots of things…

They have grown to hate the job
The job has changed – Technology – People – Systems
Taking on more than they used to be able to cope with in the job and it leads to mistakes
They have a death in the family and it hits them hard but they don’t let on
They are challenged by new things but this pushes them over the threshold just that bit too much
They have personal challenges
Mental health issues (minor – major)
Becoming overwhelmed by too many things which build up and take their toll. (Personal and professional).

It could be a range of other things too, I’m sure you will soon think of your own list.

The outcomes can be very serious, and often people will say “We didn’t see that coming” Hopefully however it’s not serious and they just need a break. Long service leave is one of those things which I believe is there for a very good reason and people need more than their annual holidays and the ‘personal health day off’

The challenge however is figuring out what to do for people in these situations and although it would be great to be able to prevent the situation happening in the first place, it’s not always that easy.

I’m sure many in smaller businesses will say “I hope it doesn’t happen in my business, I wouldn’t know how to deal with any of that.”

Dealing with it if it comes as a shock is tricky, but if it comes up as a regular ‘minor’ thing you might become a bit ‘ho hum, here we go again’. Lets hope you get to see it coming and sit down and have the time to think things over to see how you might assist your work colleague to make it through a challenging time.

Focus on the positive – They might just see the negative (maybe you too), but perhaps they are missing the good things about the job, their skills and abilities perhaps explore these along the way
You work with them to make a list of the things which bother them in the workplace then develop a plan of action to assist them to overcome the challenges, one by one
You chat a bit more in depth with them about personal issues and discuss what they might see as possible solutions (start out by asking if they want a solution…. you could be surprised!)
Brainstorm with them or their team to come up with ideas
Cut them some slack – But ask RU okay? At some stage to monitor the situation
Give them a fresh challenge which has some fun in it, or you know they really enjoy that type of challenge
Refer them to someone professional who will willingly chat to them in a way they feel comfortable
Give them a ‘work break’ perhaps it’s a time off work at work, where they get pampered during work time at work’s expense, just because you can… It may be you send them to play golf that day. Pick something you know they love to do and let them do it (not as a reward, but as a break from usual duties, a chance to cool off perhaps).
Tell them to take their long service leave - They may well need it if they have been just working for work sake.
Do a training audit and send them to be better trained in an area they need help with

There’s a whole lot more I am sure you can add. One things for sure though, make sure you can identify when it’s going to happen, preferably before it happens so you can plan to deal with it in a way which keeps everyone happy. Here’s a lead on article to help you go the next step.

Tags: long service leave, mental health, steve gray, your staff and you

Rushing headlong to “who knows where”.

Oct 3

Posted by Steve Gray in Finance, Growth, People!, Planning, Risk Management, The Board Room | 3 Comments

Lately I have had a few reminders of what I am about to chat about. It’s a bit unnerving when people ask “When are you planning to retire?” and I answer with “I’ll never retire, I like work too much!” that covers the fact I probably won’t be able to retire financially. But I guess it makes light of a serious subject and one I have to try hard not to think about too much.

Like a lot of people I didn’t worry much about retirement, putting cash away and anyway I keep hearing stories of people losing money overnight on the stock market and their portfolio value plummets again…

The reminder for this post, listening to people in business chatter away about how things have gone, what they will do when the time comes to retire, how they might sell their asset and in one case a lady who had sold her business, watched it fade fast into obscurity so she bought it back and is building it up again.

So what will you do, sell the business, put a Manager in to run it, expand it, resize it etc? All with the aim of having a nest egg to retire on.

If you do sell, will what you have the cash ‘invested’ in provide for your needs in retirement? How much will you need?

If you build up the business and put in a Manager how will that work out? Will the amount you need to take out hurt the business? Will it be run as you set it up or better? Will things fall in a heap and you need to rescue it… will you want to rescue it!

Lots of great questions in need of great answers. Hopefully your Accountant can set you straight, or at worst your own figures will project a rosy future for you. Lets face it, in the current economic situation there is little to smile about when the notion of retirement looms large in our thoughts. Unless of course you have an asset which keeps on giving.

Tags: business mechanics, business success, creativity, Planning, retire, retirement, Risk Management, women in business, you money

Step in early or wait for the problem to arise.

Sep 14

Posted by Steve Gray in Leadership, People!, Risk Management | 1 Comment

It’s a dilemma many Supervisors, Managers and Leaders face. You have a team who waiver from the path occasionally, do you let it go until it becomes a problem, or do you step in early and keep things on track.

I figure if you take a Leaders view you provide the guidelines so the team can follow the lead, therefore you don’t wait for a challenge to arise, you provide a great set of guidelines to ensure things stay on track. If things stray from the path, you then get to put on your ‘coaching hat’ and provide support to ensure the team are aware of the guidelines and assist them to explore how they might have ‘strayed from the path’.

This is one of the reasons I often suggest a great set of Values – Mission and Vision be in place as a foundation to always work from. It allows the Leader to have back up, to allow the team to explore if they are holding true to the values of the organisation.

I guess it becomes a case of ‘see something, do something’ before things become an issue. In a decent situation it can be more of a chat which takes place asking questions about how things are going, and what sorts of examples the team may have about how things are going and if they match to the values etc.

This can be a more powerful position to work from as it works more on the teams internal motivation and thought processes rather than having things imposed or pushed on them when challenges arise. It’s as if they have come up with the solution or drive to solve the challenge, rather than being told the answer.

The real trick to all of this is getting things to fit to the way people communicate – If people are not used to being asked questions relating to ‘values and beliefs’ then they might find it hard to respond, let alone act on the information. However the Leader who is a more flexible communicator will find ways to weave these into normal conversation and start the ball rolling, perhaps using examples of how things might fit in certain situations.

Be flexible in your approach, get in early and lead the team then tweak the details to suit, I’m sure you will find leadership can become a whole lot easier if you try this out.

Tags: communication, Leadership, training

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