Small Business Management Skills

The Importance of Effective Management Teams

Small business owners know employing an effective workforce is important in eventually satisfying the needs of the customer. But, attracting, interviewing and hiring great employees is only a part of the formula for success. Great workers can quickly become inefficient and unproductive if managed poorly.

The Manager's Role

A manager's fundamental goal is to ensure the long term health of a company. By managing people effectively, a manager can act like the lubricant between the gears to motivate employee efficiency and keep the company running smoothly.

One of the most important skills a manager can have is the ability identify and develop individual core competencies and work habits and to place the right employees in the right jobs based on those stregnths. A hockey coach would not place a natural offense man in the goal. The same is true for the office. Each employee has different experiences, traits and skills that will benefit different objectives. 

Qualities of a Great Manager

Managers must lead by example and rely on their reputation to be fair, make sound judgments and decisions, and to assert their power only when necessary. The way employees view their manager determines the quality of their work and performance and commitment to company objectives.

Managers must be able to put their faith in their subordinates. In order to build trust in employee's work, start with smaller tasks and give more responsibility after each success.

Small successes can build employee confidence in their work. After each acheivement employees will be more comfortable completing subsequent tasks while managers will become more comfortable handing off important projects and will assign tasks the employee has proved they can complete.

When an employee makes an error,it is important to work with them in private to identify the misunderstanding that led to the error without making personal judgments.

The manager's goal is to build confidence, not destroy it in order to make employees feel enabled to complete their work.

 

What do you think are the most important qualities of effective mangers?

 

Plan... Before You Start Your Business Plan

Preparation is the Key to a Successful Venture

The National Federation of Independent Business' has found that over their lifetime only 39% of businesses are profitable. Great opportunities take time, energy and money from executives and entrepreneurs. With all the expertise and resources that go into creating a successful business, why do such large percentages of start-ups fail?

John W. Mullins, author of "The New Business Road Test", claims entrepreneurial failure is a result of overlooking the 'fatal flaw' at the first stages of business development.

Mullins says, " Most business plans should have been abandoned before they were written...The good news in all this is that opportunities are not static. They can be shaped in many ways. Potentially fatal flaws are there to be fixed." (The New Business Road Test, p. 21)

A fatal flaw is a fundamental flaw in the opportunity which is easily overlooked if a thorough examination of the business idea is not completed. Identifying the fatal flaw is important in helping entrepreneurs make 'mid-course corrections to reshape the opportunity so that it becomes worth pursuing- before writing a business plan.' (pg.22)

The process of examining all aspects of the opportunity before writing a business plan will help identify and fix issues. 

Mullins recommends stopping at certain points in the development of your business idea to choose to opt out or to continue with the opportunity. He suggests four possible solutions for moving forward once the critical flaw has been identified:

• Test a different market

• Offer a different product or service than originally planned

• Work at a different level in the value chain, as a wholesaler or distributor

• Change the entrepreneurial team to add new skills 

Or, if no fatal flaw exists your research may help:

• You improve your product or service, or help you offer a solution that is faster and cheaper than the original.
• You may be able to identify a sustainable competitive advantage
• You may gain greater confidence in the team you have chosen.

If you have an opportunity that is worthy of your time and energy you owe it to yourself, your partners and your investors to make sure you can offer a sustainable product or service that attracts customers and capital.

Finding and fixing your fatal flaw before you write your business plan will give your idea a stronger foundation, your investors greater confidence and you the best chance at starting a successful business right out of the gate.

Click here for more information on John W. Mullins' book, " The New Business Road Test."

 

Small Business and Hiring Interns

The Positive effect of interns and where you can find one

If you own a small business you know how much work needs to be done on a daily basis. You may need to address manufacturing, production, marketing, sales, distribution, customer relations, employee relations and pay roll issues all within the same day.

The good news is that with all those topics on your mind, there are students and recent graduates who would love the opportunity to work as an intern to help you out in exchange for a reference and the chance to learn about your business.

There are many benefits to hiring an intern:

• Interns are less expensive to pay per hour than full time employees
• Interns are looking for experience to enhance their resume, make networking connections and receive a good recommendation. Most interns will work hard to receive a positive reference.
• Interns have access to the most cutting edge trend information through their classes, peers and broad range of interests.
  
• Hiring an intern in the future as a full time employee can save you the money, time and resources of finding, interviewing and training a new employee.

The Process of Hiring an Intern

Determine Expectations:

Before you think about hiring an intern, create an outline of the day to day duties, projects and meetings the student would be responsible for. Be sure to include your expectations of work hours, qualifications, attitude and commitment.

In exchange, be sure to outline which benefits the intern will receive from working for you. Experience? Class credit? Pay? Contacts?

The more clear you are the better chances you have of hiring the right person for the job and managing expectations.

Hire an Intern:

  One of the best places to look when hiring an intern is at the closest College or University. Most higher education institutions have a Career Services department which is in charge of placing students in jobs during school and after graduation. Career Services will also be able to help you navigate the process of offering credit as compensation.

When hiring a student it is important to be flexible with hours and to work with their class and exam schedule. Also, about 30% of students simply cannot afford an unpaid internship.

Duration:

  Most internships last for more than a month and less than a year. Some internships last for one-semester or for one summer, others may be extended or cut short depending on the relationship between the company and the intern.

Managing your intern:

 Once you hire an intern the next step is effectively managing your new employee. This may be their first job experience so it is important to clarify the four following topics on the first day:

Orientate:  Introduce the intern to the work environment, the staff, the clients and the culture.

Instruct:  Train your intern and state how the student can best complete the tasks you have assigned.

Supervise: Who does the intern report to or ask for help?

Evaluate: Giving feedback during and after the internship is vital to the success of the relationship. 

Offering Internships can be mutually beneficial to you as a small business owner and to students looking to gain experience.

 

Changing the Story: Corporate and Franchisee Relations

Positively Great Company Culture

Many times corporate employees and franchisees become frustrated with each other due to disagreements about the way individual locations are run. But, both must feel that they are mutually beneficial to each other to ensure the longevity of a franchised company. Corporate employees and franchisees must communicate effectivly in order to remain in business.

The satisfaction of a franchise owner with the corporate headquarters will determine they way the franchisee interacts with its customers. Any disatisfaction that trickles down will quickly hurt the national brand.

Corporate employees often become frustrated with the management practices of franchise owners while franchisees tend to feel unsatisfied with the quality of assistance they receive.

In a recent Harvard Business Review article, Peter Bregman writes about changing corporate culture by changing the stories that are told. This idea is applicable to corporate employees as well as to franchisees.

Bregman writes, "To start a culture change all we need to do is two simple things:

1. Do dramatic story-worthy things that represent the culture we want to create. Then let other people tell stories about it.

2. Find other people who do story-worthy things that represent the culture we want to create. Then tell stories about them"

Currently, many corporations tell stories of the difficult franchisees they work with or how the owners do not know how to run their business. But, what if the vocalized stories were ones of the most pleasant owners or the most creative marketing tactics? The positive stories would encourage similar behavior and employees would look for similar examples to share.

Conversely, if corporate employees act in the most positive and helpful way to assist franchise owners then the owners will begin to speak about the quality of the advice and attention they received.

For example: As an employee at the corporate office your job is to assist franchise owners with a variety of questions they may have. One franchisee is particularly upset. Instead of getting off the phone and saying, "Ugh, that woman is so difficult!" loud enough to get a response from the employees around you, say "Marsha from Ohio just called and was looking for some help with X, does anyone have any ideas on how to help her?" The follow up call will help Marsha feel like her needs are being considered and the corporate employees will see a constructive relationship develop.

As Bregman says, "We live by stories. We tell them, repeat them, listen to them carefully, and act in accordance with them"

And besides, everyone likes a good story.

 Find Peter Bregman's article here http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/bregman/2009/06/the-best-way-to-change-a-corpo.html?cm_re=homepage-061609-_-secondary-1-_-headline

How to Ask a Better Question

Dynamic Asking

The Problem

It is easy to ask superficial questions that require little thought and encourage equally hasty responses. Asking the right questions is the precusor to interesting and productive conversations. Since effective conversations are based around articulation and understanding, it is important to think through a situation and develop critical responses.

The ability to ask the right questions demonstrates that the speaker is thoughtfully considering the situation and is carefully looking for ways to solve a problem.

Room for Improvement:

Managers, employees and customers alike must learn to frame questions which elicit the most productive responses.

Additionally, asking a question instead of replying with an immediate response allows for the opportunity to think through a situation.

Questions allow a conversation to naturally diverge while offered solutions guide the conversation to an anticipated result which stifles creativity and the exploration of new solutions.

Once you have started to think about asking better questions let the recipient know that you value their answers and follow up questions. Make sure that others feel comfortable asking questions in return and knowing their answers will be given the proper consideration.

Effective communication in the workplace is an essential art which can strengthen relationships and increase employee morale.

The Harvard Business Review recently published an article by Judith Ross titled, "How to Ask Better Questions" which outlines seven ways in which asking the right questions creates value.

The Harvard Business Review states that "the most effective and empowering questions create value in one or more of the following ways:

1. They create clarity: ‘ Can you explain more about this situation'
2. They construct better working relations: Instead of ‘Did you make your sales goal?' ask, "How have sales been going?'
3. They help people think analytically and critically: ‘What are the consequences of going this route?'
4. They inspire people to reflect and see things in fresh, unpredictable ways: ‘Why did this work?'
5. They encourage breakthrough thinking: ‘Can that be done in any other way?'
6. They challenge assumptions: ‘What do you think you will lose if you start sharing responsibility for the implementation process?'
7. They create ownership of solutions: ‘Based on your experience, what do you suggest we do here?'"

Asking more thoughtful questions enhances a person's ability to become a better thinker. Figuring out what and how to ask questions is no easy task. It takes forming the question in your mind before verbalizing it.

The key is to figure out what problem needs to be solved, how to concisely frame the topic and finally ask a question that will elicit a thoughtful response.

Then listen.

 

Find the article here : http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/hmu/2009/05/real-leaders-ask.php?cm_re=homepage-061609-_-body-left-r1-_-