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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
Police Deadly Force and Management
The outcry over the use of deadly force by police officers has dominated headlines. Ferguson Missouri, New York City, Virginia, Texas, Florida. Although incidents involving unarmed black men have dominated the headlines, the total number of deaths by law enforcement … Continue reading
5 Responses to Police Deadly Force and Management
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Don’t Train with Customer Pain
I have lot of favorite books. In business, they range from cutting edge theory to some of the little “quick reads” that build a single management or behavioral point around an allegory. One of the best in the latter category … Continue reading
2 Responses to Don’t Train with Customer Pain
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John,
You can usually recover from your pain, but not always from your customer’s discomfort – and especially if you do not know about it.
With my firm, I would call every client every month just to say “How are we doing”? 99% of the time, I was met with appreciation. The other 1% sometimes involved yelling and occasional unpleasant suggestions. My response was always, “Thank you – now that I know about it, I can fix it.” And we always did.
In 15 years our collection period was always less that an month and I never had a claim for any cause. I attribute it to good will and the ability to solve a problem before it resulted in slow payments, or worse, lost business relationships. -
I think they used to call it customer relationship management
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Do You Have a Director of GSD?
One of the biggest challenges for a small company in dealing with a giant customer is navigating bureaucracy. When two smaller businesses are working together, there is discussion, negotiation and decision. In a big organization, that is just the beginning … Continue reading
One Response to Do You Have a Director of GSD?
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These characteristics of dealing with large businesses can be wonderful barriers to competitors once you get in, and they are very similar one to the other. They are used to paying considerably more because of the few small businesses who go after them.
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Boomers and the Lost Generation
Those who read this column regularly are well aware of the huge shifts underway as a result of the Baby Boomers’ coming exodus from the workplace. Those who aren’t familiar with the issue are invited to download my free, 45-page … Continue reading
One Response to Boomers and the Lost Generation
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Growing up, technology was touted as a way to make life easier for the next generation. We have arrived!
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Measurement is Not Management
“The employees respect what the boss inspects.” Since Frederick Winslow Taylor published The Principles of Scientific Management in 1911, breaking down tasks into measurable pieces had been the cornerstone for employee training and tracking performance. Why then, do many large organizations with … Continue reading
4 Responses to Measurement is Not Management
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Could not agree more!
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In French the word is Saboteur for throwing you wooden shoe into the mill to stop the work. before Mr. Taylor or you friend experienced in in the bottle factory. That is the real issue. why do we keep reinventing the wheel? people don’t change – the environment in which they work and are surrounded does. They are not guinea pigs to experiment on. The real issue is what knd of employee do you reruit and grow within your organization.
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I’m impressed by your awesome insight as usual. I’ll keep your article in mind as we manage by statistics.
So what are some examples of “nightsticks”?
Sorry, I guess even the term is antiquated. A piece of hickory, cured and hardened, round (about 1.5 to 1.75 inches in diameter) and about 30 inches long. Longer than a Billy club, harder than a truncheon. Grooved handle for a good grip, with a strong leather thong for wrapping around your wrist. Formerly standard issue for every police officer in the country. Later “improved” with a second handle that came out 90 degrees from the side about 1/4 of the way up, but my dad never cared for those.
I don’t want to put words in Kyle’s mouth but I think he might have been referring to a “nightstick” in the context of what examples of a “corrective action” to mete out to an employee instead of the big threat of “deadly force” that results in termination.
Oh. Duh! Thanks Russ. A structured system of progressive discipline gives supervisors the ability to assign penalties without being accused of arbitrariness. Docked pay, deferred raises, forfeiting PTO (which in most states is only controlled by company policy), exclusion from an incentive pool and suspension are all options, but the supervisor needs to understand what is available and when it is appropriate.
Perhaps some commercial examples might illustrate the point?
1. Most serious examples short of termination might include probationary status, docking pay, demotion.
2. Less serious examples might include a letter in the personnel file, attendance at a seminar on the topic causing the problem, loss of privileges such as parking space, etc.
3. Least serious might just be a verbal reprimand without the “or else” attached to it.