5 Questions Great Managers Ask (and they arent hard!)
However hard we try, we seem to make life more difficult for ourselves; more challenging; more complex. Yet it needn't be so. try out these five questions with a regularity; a discipline and you will reap rewards. You will certainly reap rewards.
What do my customers want?
Getting inside the head of your customers is a recipe for success. Taking the
role on of one of your customers or clients and seeing from their perspective
helps structure a sound and growing business. Better still, ask them what they
want, need, what irritates them and thank them for their insights. Take
complaints as a real positive - for knowing what went wrong, gives you information
you can correct and grow stronger on.How do I get the best from my people?
Enjoying the benefits of truly 'turned on' people in your business, makes a huge
difference. Finding out what they need to be successful for you can be more
challenging. But wait! Have you asked them what they need to do their best for
you? Be sensitive and responsive to their needs. This simple step will provide
you with all the people strategies that work. Many solutions will be very easy
to do and can build belief and trust in you as a manager. The bigger challenges
can be solved by using your people to have a positive and constructive input.
It will be worthwhile - for everyone.How can we make best use of our resources?
What resources? People, goodwill, reputation, location. USP, and more... Well,
make sure first of all that you understand what they are. Ask your customers
and people what you represent to them - and then do more, much more of it. Then
review those things that you can do less of, save resource costs on. Focusing
on what you are best at and dropping things that don't create value for you can
be very value-creating.What wastes our time?
It's a simple question, but with an easy answer. What value is created when I
spend time on this activity? If your challenge is to make £100 an hour profit
for your organisation, is what you are spending your time on doing just that?
What things do you and your people do, which does not? Try stopping doing things,
some of which you may have done for months and years, when little or no value is
created and switch to more things that do. Stop some things and start others -
simple as that.What do we need to change?
Constantly reviewing where you are in your business and making small course a
djustments, like the autopilot of a jumbo jet, will maximise your performance.
But whilst leading the cultural shift can develop autopilot-mode, the first
steps are for managers to spot-check all they do manually. Doing this will
encourage your people to start to do it themselves. Remember, the best time to
review, review, review, is when you are successful. And then be very challenging
and honest about yourselves. Build it in, make small but significant changes
regularly, once you have evidence of drifting off course. That makes for a
consistently healthy & growing organisation and reduces the need for cataclysmic
change.Are you up for this refreshing challenge? What better way to start your new
focus on your business, organisation or team? Martin Haworth is a Business and Management Coach. He works worldwide,
mainly by phone, with small business owners, managers and corporate leaders. He
has hundreds of hints, tips and ideas at his website,
http://www.coaching-businesses-to-success.com.
...helping you, to help your people, to help your business grow...
Related News
|
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Planning For Growth
If you are like many high-performing business people, you have an annual ritual to set your plans for the coming twelve months. Some people do it in December, others at weird, miscellaneous times of the year, but most -- me included -- tend to do it the beginning part of the New Year.
Problem Solving the Problem Solving Meeting
We go to meetings to share information, to report on project status, to make decisions, to get the free lunch, and because we were invited. (Sorry that I digressed). This is only a partial list ? there are many other valid reasons for holding meetings.
Performance Appraisal - Ten Stupid Things Managers Do To Screw It Up
Performance appraisals aren't fun. But a lot of the time they are agonizing because managers do really dumb things, ending up destroying a process that is important to everyone (or should be). Appraisals are always going to be a little bit stressful for everyone, but these errors guarantee that the point of appraisals -- improving performance, is lost in the shuffle.
Five Strategies for Profitable Services Growth
In today's era of Professional and IT Services competition and consolidation, some small to medium-sized companies are proudly delivering 20%-50% annual growth.
Training and ROI (Return On Investment)
Statistics consistently reinforce that the biggest challenge in today's contact center environment is agent training. Turnover continues to be high; new hire costs are on the rise--$6500 per agent! At the same time, losing customers because of bad call experiences negatively impacts your bottom line. What can you do? How do you justify the training expenditure?
Employee Turnover: Is It Eating Up Your Profits?
Keeping the cost of doing business down, yet providing a quality product or service, is one of the most critical components of success for today's leader. What many fail to realize is that employee turnover can represent a very substantial price tag to a company's productivity and its bottom line.
Creativity Management - The Value of Being Prolific
When asked his secret to success, the author Graham Green said that it was down to his always writing 500 words a day. There are real reasons why this philosophy rings true:
Pitching to Employees
The senior flight attendant on the WestJet flight was starting the routine safety talk: the bit about flotation vests and emergency exits that we ignore at the beginning of every flight.
The Challenges of Human Resource Management
Introduction
Change Behaviors, Change Performance
Every organization is looking for the holy grail of performance enhancement, that one thing that, if it were changed even slightly, would push the productivity of a company way beyond the current level.
New UK Laws on Staff Dispute Resolution and Disciplinary Procedures
October 2004 saw the introduction of the Employment Act 2002, which has brought a new approach to staff dispute resolution.
How To Decrease Downtime and Increase Productivity
All maintenance activities of the workforce must be documented, this includes breakdown repairs, callouts, preventive maintenance, replacement maintenance, overhauls, and Testing & Inspection work. Maintenance work by production line employees must be included, whether or not the employee is listed as in maintenance. These activities can then be mined for maintenance information "gold".
Why People Resist Us
There's a one-word reason most ideas never see the light of day: Resistance.
Implementing Change
There are different reactions that individuals experience during time of change. Understanding the emotions of an individual may better help them get through the period of unexpected change. A possible reaction is anger towards person(s) responsible for or involved in the change. One may return to old habits, the familiar comfortable way of doing things, avoiding reality and denying the change. Thinking becomes rigid and new ideas, methods, structures, etc., are perceived as threatening so one withdraws from the situation.
Virtual Assistance: A Money Saving Opportunity For Employers
What is a Virtual Assistant? A Virtual Assistant is a highly skilled, independent entrepreneur who provides business services in a remote or virtual environment. Some have used terms like telecommuter or working from home.
A Leadership Screw Driver: The 90 Day Improvement Plan
I was talking with first-line supervisors in a utility company about how to deal with poor performing employees.
Personnel Access Poses a Continued Risk
The Security Consultant's Perspective...
Credibility - A Golden Key to Becoming More Influential
You have been named a new leader in your organization, or you are a long time leader with some new people in your organization. Or maybe you aren't a formal leader but are working on an important new project. Or perhaps you are staff person with expertise that can benefit the business? but only if you can get others to see your perspective.
Outsourcing Quiz: Cheap Vs. Good
Someone can say, 'Why do you oppose this?' So I'd like to prevent such attacks and tell that this article is dedicated mainly to the issue if it's worth to look for the cheapest solution.
Your Blueprint For Business Success
Before you start your own business one of the first things you need to do is draw up your business plan. This is your blueprint for success. Your business plan states the purpose of your business. It never ceases to amaze me that so few businesses have any type of written business plan. Because without one, you have very little, if any, chance of success.
|
