No I have not suddenly become an American and refer to my Mum as Mom… In this case I refer to M.O.M., the basic building blocks of business, the M.O.M. stands for Marketing, Operations and Management. In the same way that Mum is often seen as the family manager, so to can MOM refer to a family, the business family.

Usually you can decipher how to solve any business problem by looking at any of these and seeing which one/s fit your situation.

For example, lower sales in a wholesaling business may mean that the marketing area needs work, (it could be a seasonal change too!)  Taking a look at the sales team and what they are currently doing could be important here, if they are not developing enough leads or following up on clients, they may need some marketing support material.

If it is an individual challenge, then that person may need training, so the Management side of the MOM kicks into action to assist in establishing needs and finding a solution.

It’s all in the ‘family’
The business ’family’ can be as close knit as any other with each ‘member’ of the team seen as a vital contributor. Perhaps the complex role of a Mother (exhaustively working in multiple roles to assist the family to operate effectively) is a good analogy here as each of our M.O.M. areas can not exist without the other.

Communication
Of vital importance here is the communication bettween each area so that each knows what the other is doing. In a household for example, communication between parents and children all wanting to do something independently at the same time requires careful planning (as in business). It may be that the challenge is a time management one.  If on the other hand the weekly budget does not take into account these future events other challenges can be formed (budgeting).

Planning
Communication is one thing, however a good Mum will tell you it’s all in the planning, get that right and you have it made. Ensure you get the best results by working with your team to ensure an effective outcome here, leave out the marketing team and you may well leave out the other areas of your business. Even if you are only able to create a one page plan of action, this is far better than none at all.

Be a good ‘Mother’
The list is endless. Consider carefully how you could maximise the potential of your ‘family’ and the results you require.  At the end of the day you can only really measure your ‘families profitability’ by how well things run. Being a smooth operator and effectively coordinating all the tasks that take place in your business, is really up to how good you are at being Mum, or in this case M.O.M.

Stumble it!