Posts Tagged ‘Managing Employees’
Tell-Tale Signs You Aren’t Ready to Manage Yet
Small businesses don’t grow by themselves. Of course, that’s why you’re expanding. But stepping up to a management role requires a new and unique set of abilities. Sheer determination will only take you so far. For this next phase of growth, exceptional communication and an intuitive ability to respond to difficult situations are needed. A…
Read MoreA Simple Test: Are We Managing Like Jerks?
Are we who issue orders to associates or employees ever acting as jerks? We’d never like to think so, or we wouldn’t do it in the first place. If someone is saying “This is confusing to me,” when you’ve given an instruction or order, there are a number of ways to respond. Of course it…
Read MoreIs Management by Walking Around an Outmoded Fad?
One of the CEOs I coach starts his day by walking the floor of his extended facility and checking in with managers and employees of the various departments, especially the call center. He tries to feel the pulse of the company by the intensity of motion, the metrics of backlog, and the stated problems brought…
Read More3 Ways to Become Better at Managing People
Managing people is no easy task. But no matter what business you’re in, you’re going to be working with people, and effectively managing them is critical to the success of your business. In over 10 years of being in business, I have had to do my own hiring, coaching and firing. In the process, I…
Read MoreThe Lion and the Ant: A Managerial Lesson
This story has been making the rounds lately, and I confess that our research cannot find the source. So, with thanks to whomever created this great little parable, here it is: “Every day, a small Ant arrived at work early and started work immediately, she produced a lot and she was happy. The boss, a…
Read MoreAre You the Manager You Think You Are?
“When you’re in the muck you can only see muck. If you somehow manage to float above it, you still see the muck but you see it from a different perspective. And you see other things too. That’s the consolation of philosophy.” ~David Cronenberg The ability to manage employees well is critical in every type…
Read MoreDo You See What I See?
Some time ago, I wrote a post generating a lot of interest titled “Have You Called Your Office Lately?” The post centered on the fact that we must experience what our customer does when calling our business in order to determine if any changes are needed. Another critical activity is walking around our own business…
Read MoreThe Line Between Being Nice and Being Fair
If you cannot be grateful for what you have received, then be thankful for what you have been spared. ~Yiddish Proverb So many managers I work with confuse being nice with being fair. Being nice means getting others to like you by focusing on their needs and wants. Being fair, on the other hand, is…
Read More7 Critical Keys to Small Business Employee Loyalty and Retention
There’s a great scene in “Casablanca” where Sam, the piano player, gets the opportunity to move to a rival nightclub and perform for a lot more money: Rick (Humphrey Bogart): Sam, Ferrari wants you to work for him at the Blue Parrot. Sam (Dooley Wilson): I like it fine here. Rick: He’ll double what I pay you. Sam: Yeah,…
Read MoreDoes Your Business Need a Task Management System?
If you own a business that has experienced growth then you’re probably familiar with the difficulty of keeping track of all the important tasks that need to be carried out daily. As you grow, the number of tasks, along with their complexity, will evolve. This creates a need to manage who is doing what, how…
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