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As a business owner, you know what it’s like to lie awake at 2 a.m. Maybe it has happened when you are excited and full of new ideas for your business. More often, it’s because you are worried about issues you will face the next day. Sometimes, it’s because you just woke up with the solution to a problem. I’ve experienced all those emotions about my businesses over the years. Awake at 2 o’clock? is where I share them with you, and hopefully help with answers that will let you sleep.
John F. Dini, CExP, CEPA
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Small business owners are the Hunters of the 21st century. We are 3% of the US population, and yet we create over half of all American jobs. As Hunters, we may not be inclined to manage by the numbers or stick to systems. Are you a Hunter or a Farmer?
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How prepared are you to exit your company?
The Assessment breaks down the four major categories of exit readiness; Finance, Planning, Operations and Revenue/Profit.
Tag Archives: employee performance
Help Your Friends, Not Your Competitors’
I hear it all too often. “A customer just called us for a quote. They have always done business with our competitor. We’re going to give them our best deal, and see if we can take their business.” Before you … Continue reading
One Response to Help Your Friends, Not Your Competitors’
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Is Two Weeks Fair Notice?
I formerly employed an assistant who held a Masters Degree in Human Resources. On occasion she’d say “I love working here. I’ll never quit.” Of course, as a good employer I felt an urge to reply with equal commitment, but … Continue reading
7 Responses to Is Two Weeks Fair Notice?
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The article has a lot of prudent advice. However, if you added up the total number of times employees have lost jobs without fair notice or reason, and the number of times employers have had employees leave without fair notice or reason, it is not clear that employers would end up with the short end of that stick. The truth is that without mutual respect either party may treat the other poorly. It is because of mutual respect that you and your past employee parted on good terms. When employment is mutually beneficial and mutually satisfying, it will end appropriately even when the termination is inconvenient for one or the other.
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It is always important to outline in advance how a business relationship will end; Rather it is an employee, vendor or partner.
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Shouldn’t it be a two-way street?
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The laws today that protect employees in these situations are fair. Companies need to understand that employee loyalty (or lack of) is a product of their own making. When an employee puts their notice in, they’ve been ready to leave for awhile. You protect your investment in employees by making sure the investment continues to work for both parties. When it no longer does, you’re welcome to part ways if it’s for the right reasons.
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What if you have a holding company and employees work for separate incorporated companies under the umbrella and each individual company has less than 100 employees each?
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Extreme Democracy
Last week the British government announced that it was naming their new scientific research ship the RSS Sir David Attenborough, acting counter to the people’s selection of “Boaty McBoatface,” despite that name being an overwhelming 3:1 favorite over the next closest choice. … Continue reading
4 Responses to Extreme Democracy
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Great post. Furthering this conversation, I highly recommended Dan Kennedys book: No B.S. Ruthless Management of People & Profits…..a word of warning you will need some thick skin, some honest self evaluation, and Clarity to really appreciate the valuable lessons taught in this book.
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Here, here! (with respect to our British forebearers).
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Well said. True freedom comes when we are obedient and submit to something greater than ourselves. Human are funny animal in search of transcendental joy yet they typically look for it in “things” and fleeting pleasures.
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Very well said. Not all are qualified to lead and thus should be grateful to those that are!
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What Does HR Do?
What are the roles of a Human Resources professional in your organization? A common rule of thumb is that a company should have a dedicated HR function once it reaches 80 employees or so. This post comes from a recent meeting of … Continue reading
4 Responses to What Does HR Do?
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I think you have done a good job describing most aspects of the role of an HR professional, but you haven’t touched upon “discipline”. In our organization, 60 plus employees, we use an HR contractor. In addition to those areas mentioned, a large amount of their time is spent supporting supervisors and department heads on how to respond to issues ranging from harassment claims to customer service complaints, attendance and general behavior problems. You haven’t addressed activities such as tracking discipline, conducting investigations, coaching managers and employees with policy or behavior infractions. Would you assign such tasks to the HR role as described by your “peer group”.
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Hi John,
It is true, that, HR activities are very important if you grow, Choosing and Hiring qualified leads are crucial.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge unto us.
I really appreciate your work. Great job and Keep it up John! 🙂 -
Or, if you don’t want to worry about hiring a skill you have never hired before, and having a single role with nobody for that person to learn from, consider outsourcing those administrative, process and systems to experts you don’t want to “buy” in your small business. Also, outsourcing allows you to get the critical work done, by fully qualified professionals, without carrying non-revenue generating employees. Hence the birth of the PEO! We are growing like crazy because owners know they their time is better spen focused on profit and growth!
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Small Businesses Fantasies: Service
As an evangelist for small business, I am the consumer equivalent of the locally-grown food movement. I spend as much of my discretionary income as possible with the owned-and-operated businesses in my area. As a consultant and coach to owners, I also … Continue reading
3 Responses to Small Businesses Fantasies: Service
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Even if you work on it every day, if you do not do it well the effort is still wasted.
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people have stopped investing in training and expect their employees to intuitively “know” these things. not possible. Really caring is just not that common.
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Service is a nebulous term. It has a different definition whether it comes from the provider or the customer. What supersedes service is the experience from the customer’s standpoint. Today’s independent business owner has a great opportunity to differentiate itself from its competitors. Unfortunately, many do not know how to do this.
Brilliant. Great summary of the possible reasons and excellently explained reasons why you don’t jump at every chance to bid or propose.