Posted by Michael Gunther on Thu, Jul 23, 2009 @ 12:53 PM
By Christine Sommer, Collaboration Certified Consultant
Structure, processes and accountability. Fun? Not always, but they are a necessary evil for the survival of a business. Unfortunately, we often see the artistic and creative entrepreneur struggle with this skill set.
Creative entrepreneurs have such a passion for the masterpieces they create, but the business structure is often lacking. All too often the creative-preneurs come to us with big visions of business concepts with hundreds of possibilities but just can't seem to implement the actions to make it happen. The key ingredients that are usually missing include: structure, processes and accountability. Entrepreneurs who do develop these skills can take their company to a whole new level. So how can you make these happen?
Structure:
Treat yourself like a client. Set up a time to meet with your staff or just yourself each week to plan out what needs to get accomplished. Set up yearly, monthly and weekly goals. Get the ideas out of your head and put them down on paper. You now have a place to go to start prioritizing the ideas you want to implement.
Sign up for a Free Hour Business Consultation that can be done in person or over the phone and let one of our Collaboration Certified Consultants help you determine the right path and structure for your business.
Processes:
Create processes for the work that you do on a repeated basis. Utilize technology to streamline your work. Managing your time is critical in building a business, and when the process gets created, time spent in certain areas can often be cut in half. Not only that, but when you hire and employee to do that job they will thank you for having the system in place.
Our Business Assesment Consulting here at Collaboration-LLCis geared for established organizations that need to fine-tune current business practices. This interactive assessment will evaluate your business in 4 key areas using our proven business model, benchmark your business within your industry and then, provide you with a Game Plan to grow your business and sustain profitability.
Accountability:
How do you hold someone accountable to make sure things get done? Set out an action plan with the task that needs completion. Assign a date it was created, write out the task at hand, who it was assigned to and, most important, the due date. If you are having a hard time holding yourself accountable, join a mentoring group. There are several groups in the business community designed to hold business owners accountable to the goals they create for themselves. Get support from outside of your company and let them help you stay on track.
Here is more information on our Management Training Program that will help you strengthen your management team and increase productivity in your business.
The Bottom Line:
Developing these skills when they are not your natural talent will enhance your leadership skills and help you become a profitable and sustainable business.
If you have any questions or would like to receive more information please feel free to Contact Us!
Posted by Michael Gunther on Tue, Jun 09, 2009 @ 05:11 PM
By Michael Gunther, President of Collaboration, Business Growth
Specialists
Over the last 14 years of consulting small businesses, I have had the privilege of working with many partnerships. In fact, over 60% of our consulting clients have been partnerships - whether they were family partnerships, married partners or friends. Almost 100% of the time the company has come to us because the partnership was now hindering the growth and the success of the business.
These partnerships could have prevented the pain, lost opportunity and profit if they would have defined some clear partnership parameters at the beginning of their working relationship. Often these partners who were once good friends or had strong family bonds, are now operating their business without speaking to one another, or working with a veil of suspicion and with no clear direction or purpose other than to protect themselves.
Here are some key areas that typically are missing from these organizations:
No Clear Communication Structures
What is required for partners in terms of meetings and types of communications that need to be shared with partners?
What are the steps to resolve conflicts?
No Methodology for Business Decisions
How compensation is determined for each partner's role verses their level of ownership?
How are financial decisions made within the organization?
Are roles & responsibilities clearly defined for partners? What are the consequences for non-performance?
No Clear Legal/Financial Documents
What legal documents exist to support the partnership?
What is the financial commitment of each partner?
What happens if one partner does not want to participant in a financial outlay?
No Exit Strategies Clearly Identified
How can the termination of the partnership happen?
What behaviors or actions constitute a mandatory leave or termination?
What does each partner want from this business besides a financial gain?
Partnerships can be highly successful. They can also be a huge impediment to the success of the company if the partners have different agendas and are headed in different directions.
By sitting down with your potential partner or current partner and answering the questions above, you will begin the necessary communication process and structures to build a solid partnership and thus, a solid business. To download an expanded version of these tips, please click here.
Posted by Michael Gunther on Thu, Jun 04, 2009 @ 02:36 PM
By Michael Gunther
As originally published in The Tolosa Press
Let's face it: some days it's hard for employees to be productive. This is true even in the best of times. Their coworker just got engaged, they had a fight with their significant other, someone in their family lost their job, maybe they just can't find the motivation to start (or finish) a project.
Add the stress of wondering whether the company they work for is financially stable, if they are next on the chopping block, or if their benefits and payroll will be decreased, and it's not hard to see why this Great Recession is taking a toll on workplace productivity.
So, how can businesses maintain productivity? The best place to start is with manager and employee relationships followed by a little inspiration and a lot of communication. Next thing you know, you'll see productivity on the rise.
BUILD POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS
As stated by Marcus Buckingham in First, Break all the Rules, one of the key factors behind productive work environments is the manager/employee relationship. Managers who recognize and praise employees for their good work, every seven days at a minimum, create much more productive work environments. Now, think back to the last time you recognized each of your employees. If it's been more than seven days (and statistics show that it probably has), put down this article and go praise them for their good work.
INSPIRE
The other role you have as a business leader is to inspire, and with inspiration comes innovation.
While it's common knowledge that more millionaires were made during The Great Depression than at any other time in history, it's not so common to reflect on the reason behind those gains: innovation. The Great Depression Millionaires weren't focusing on their own woes or the negative possibilities - they were focusing on innovation and creating positive solutions.
One way to create inspiration in the workplace is to bring in guest speakers: a money manager, a creative facilitator, a finance manager, an expert on health and wellness. You'll not only be addressing your employees' concerns that are distracting them from working productively, you'll be helping promote other professionals in your community. Now that is innovation!
COMMUNICATE
Communication is a skill that has faded in some of our organizations. But as we know, people tend to assume the worst, and that includes our employees. As business owners and managers, it is up to us to step out of our comfort zone and communicate the happenings of our business: the good, the bad, and the ugly, and then focus on what the company is doing to get out of the bad and the ugly. Focus on innovation and inspiration to transition from stress mode to productivity mode.
In the early 1990's, the business model shifted from "don't tell them about the bad news" to one that created support groups for employees. And that's because people return to productive levels more quickly if they can talk about what's going on.
One way to communicate to employees is to provide ongoing, consistently scheduled updates that inform employees on the status of business and its initiatives. Another option is to determine key measures such as sales goals or target clients and report consistently on the achievement of these measurements.
Bottom line: Have the employees become part of the solution. The more employees understand the business and their role in making business happen, the more likely you will see increased productivity. And remember to celebrate the successes, even the small ones!