Category Archives: Small Business

Review the Strategic Plan

Is It Time to Audit Your Strategic Plan?

Last year our board and executive committee met for two hours, once a week, for five straight weeks with a consultant and developed this new strategic plan. Everyone seems to love it and auditwas very excited by the outcome. Now a year later, nothing has seemed to change. We seem to have the same issues and problems that existed a year ago and spend our time at board meetings in the details of finding solutions. Sound familiar? This month’s issue of the Quill contains an article, The Strategic Plan That Never Happened which begins to discuss this very situation. Maybe it is time for an audit.

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Performance Management

A Performance Management Approach to Retaining Key People

employeeSimplistically, most people will feel motivated and will want to stay in their job if their manager:

  • pays attention to their work
  • provides them with a job to match their skills, knowledge and experience gives them opportunities to grow and develop
  • judges their performance objectively

Most Performance Management processes contain critical opportunities for recognition.

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Employee Motivation

Does the KITA Method of Employee Motivation Work?

 The most difficult dilemma business and organizational leaders face is that of motivating motivationemployees and staff. Sure there are marketing issues and financial issues that are difficult, but motivation seems to be the most difficult one to address. In a January 2003 Harvard Business Review article, One More Time: How Do You Motivate Employees?  , Frederick Herzberg presents conclusions on this subject. So what is the KITA method of motivation? Does it work? What does work?

 KITA Method of Motivation

 KITA is short for Kick in the A__. This method may be employed either in a negative manner or a positive manner. It can be employed either physically or psychologically. A negative physical KITA can result in retaliation, physical or otherwise, and in today’s society, be looked upon harshly.… Read the rest

Employee Performance

Managing Employee Performance

 

team

Many managers fail to realize how their actions, attitudes, and communications affect the performance of a team or group of employees. They place the responsibility for performance on others and not themselves. Management success only comes when they learn to practice some basic principles of leadership and become someone who the employees wish to follow. Here are seven of these principles.… Read the rest

Thoughts on Hiring

Some Thoughts on Hiring from Richard Branson

In exploring the subject of hiring a new employee, we discovered a recent article by Richard Branson. You may know Branson as an extremely successful entrepreneur, the head of the Virgin Group which includes companies such as Virgin Airlines and Virgin Records.

He starts by emphasizing the importance of the having the right people in a company. “There is nothing more important for a business than hiring the right team. If you get the perfect mix of people working for your company, you have a far greater chance of success.” He also stresses the importance of finding someone whose personality fits with the company culture. Judging a personality during an interview can be difficult and he observes, “Personality is the key.… Read the rest

Some Tips on Interviewing Potential Employees

Business Success Comes From Finding the Right People 

Hiring, Business Success

Jim Collins, in his book Good to Great, explains that one of the first priorities in transforming an organization to greatness is, “first get the right people on the bus and then get the wrong people off the bus.” The bus, of course, is a company or organization wanting transition from being good to being great. Who to hire and who no longer belongs are difficult decisions subject to much uncertainty. They are made by business owners and managers, especially during the hiring process, based on extremely subjective criteria.  It always seems to be a gamble, so let’s see if we can consider some ways to improve the odds.

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Everyone’s Role in Overall Team Performance

Everyone in an Organization Plays an Important Role in its Overall Performance

It’s no longer enough to be good, you must be exceptional. It is no longer enough to have satisfied customers, you must seek to develop a loyal and delighted customer base. It’s no longer enough toperformance maintain. You must be aggressive, responsive, and quick. Your challenge is getting everyone on your team or in your department committed and focused on achieving organizational success. As an effective team leader, your role is to build the best, strongest, most productive team possible. Your team or department’s results, or lack thereof, will be in direct proportion to the cohesiveness of your team.… Read the rest

Developing Loyal Customers

Some Points on Developing Customer Loyalty

The August issue of the Quill has several articles on the need and reason for developing customer loyalty. Now let’s begin to look at some of the concepts involved in the customer loyalty development process.

A point of connection is every time a customer or potential comes in contact with you, your employees or your firm. It may be personal, as is the case with employees; or it may be physical, like the appearance of your building. To develop loyal customers, every point of connection must provide a positive emotional experience.  Let’s look at two examples of these emotional experiences… Read the rest

Bosses We have Loved

Lessons in Leadership 

The difference between bosses we love and bosses we hate is leadership. Think back over your leadershipcareer and remember those managers who you most admired. What can be learned from them and how can it make us better leaders? What were the traits or attributes we can identify? Let’s consider the five attributes listed below as a starting point. Are there others?

 The Starting Five Attributes of  Good Leadership 

1. Leadship By Permission, Not Authority

2. Trustworthy

3. Empathetic

4. Openly Human

5. Encourage Risk Taking… Read the rest

Building Loyal Customers

Customer Loyalty

A Key to Business Success

success Business owners and managers must be focused on building a successful organization. Let’s define success as a business which is profitable and sustainable. All businesses must be profitable in order to cover their costs and provide the owner with an appropriate income. Sustainability refers to the ability for a business to survive tomorrow, next week, next month and far into the future. Having loyal customers is key to both profitability and sustainability. The questions are, therefore, why are loyal customers important to success and how do you create loyal customers?

Why are loyal customers important to business success?

Loyal customers are those who appreciate doing business with you and return over and over again.

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