Management Information |
Focus and Shoot
One of my earliest childhood memories is watching Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) win his third Most Outstanding Player award while leading UCLA to its third straight NCAA title in 1969. Of course, March Madness? is now ingrained in our sports psyche. From the unveiling of the brackets in mid-March, to the playing of "One Shining Moment" celebrating a new national champion, the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship captures our nation's attention. Each year, the Men's Basketball Committee ranks the tournament teams on an S-Curve. The top #1 seed sits at the upper right on the "S" and the 65th rests at the bottom left, with the remaining 63 teams listed in order between them. In your industry, it might be possible to rank businesses in a similar way, and, much like players shooting free throws in the NCAA tournament, everyone on the S-Curve would have the opportunity to achieve better results by focusing on the keys to their success. Success Handler Action: Spend a few moments thinking about your small business. In your industry, where do you rank on the S-Curve? Are you near the upper right with top performers, somewhere in the middle, or falling toward the bottom left? Now, think about the reasons you placed yourself in that position. Here are some questions to consider: ~ Do you have the personnel to make you a "top seed"? ~ Do you have the equipment to be among the best at what you do? ~ Are you coaching employees to ensure you get the most out of their talent? ~ How do your customers view your small business? Are you ranked among the elite? ~ What will it take for you to move higher up on the S-Curve? One of the small business leaders we coach has an outstanding team, a strong product in a growth industry and a solid marketing approach. Yet, like many business owners, he is not achieving the results he expects. Put in sports terms, they have a good game plan, but their execution is coming up short. We are currently helping them implement a strategy to reach outside their comfort level - to think beyond what worked before and to more closely focus on what is needed today. We are also working to focus their efforts beyond the walls of their location - to get out and spend more time with their customers and prospects. Success Handler Action: What is it that's keeping you from reaching your goals? Is it fear of change? Lack of resources? Fatigue? Here are six steps to give your team the mindset of a winner: 1. Call some business acquaintances and ask how they motivate their employees 2. Read (or re-read) Stephen Covey's "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" 3. Get your business plan out of the drawer and update it (think like a coach: X's and O's) 4. Candidly discuss your situation with your financial advisor 5. Take your employees out for a celebration; the best teams bond together off the field 6. Get to work one hour earlier the next two weeks and work on your business, not in it All teams begin their seasons with the same record and same goal. The one that cuts down the net at the end worked together better than everyone else. While big state schools tend to win the most championships, smaller ones celebrate success every year in the NCAA tournament. Whether you're the biggest in your industry or the smallest, the oldest or the newest, there is opportunity to renew focus on your business and shoot your way up the S-Curve. Begin thinking and preparing like a champion, and you will achieve surprising results, much like those Cinderella Stories. Copyright © 2004 by Success Handler, LLC. All rights reserved. The Coach, David Handler, is the founder of Success Handler, (http://www.successhandler.com), and specializes in helping small business leaders find clarity and take action. He understands the challenges of running a business, because he's been there - as a small business owner, franchisee, franchisor, corporate leader and trainer. Much like sports coaches, his coaching will show you how to compete on a level playing field in your industry.
MORE RESOURCES: Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting |
RELATED ARTICLES
Knowledge Management - Lessons Learned and How To Identify Them Many organisations use the term "lessons learned" to describe the way in which they avoid repeating mistakes, or ensure that they build on past successes, yet a lesson can only be applied if it has been successfully identified, and captured first. Even in "learning organisations" who profess to be good at knowledge management and knowledge sharing, the process for identifying lessons learned can lacks rigour or depth. Eliminate Performance Anxiety Forever You've had many years of training in your craft as a performer, singer, actor etc. but if you still feel haunted by the ravages of Performance Anxiety your career may be in serious jeopardy. Nine Vital Lessons For Avoiding Training Fads That Waste Time, Money and Enthusiasm Unfortunately, at least two thirds of much of the training and development effort undertaken by organisations to develop their people is wasted.This is such as shame isn't it? Waste of money is bad enough but even more serious is the waste of human energy and enthusiasm. Performance Appraisal Scenarios: Improve Your Communication IMPROVING COMMUNICATION DURING THE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL: If the employee has trouble getting started on the self-appraisal you might say: "Why don't you start by talking about the XYZ project?" (Pick a topic that the employee will feel comfortable with, a success rather than a failure.) "It seems to me that the PDQ project was harder than we expected. Solve Problems Permanently - Ask WHY As Albert Einstein said:-"The significant problems we face today, cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them."Problems don't go away unless you get to the cause - the source of them. Examining the Relationship Between Employee Satisfaction and Customer Satisfaction Researchers have undertaken numerous studies to look at the connection between customer and employee satisfaction. A majority of these studies were able to uncover a correlation between employee satisfaction, customer satisfaction and profitability. 5 Surefire Ways to Bring Your Business Objectives Full Circle with Technology All small to mid-sized company owners want to know where their dollar is being spent when it comes to computer technology in their organization. The challenge is for them to get the information they need to make the right purchasing decisions. Quality Standards with ISO 9001 Standardizing Quality SystemsThe ISO, or International Organization for Standardization, was established in 1947 to develop international standards for everything from electronics to management systems. Having over 13,000 standards currently in place, ISO has created the auditing and certification process known as ISO 9001. Communicating In Chaotic Environments How do you, or would you, communicate in a chaotic environment?That question was put to me by a reader who works in big, frantically-paced telecommunications company. Many projects operate at the same time, and many connections exist among the project teams. What to Do When Trust is Low Trust is essential. You can't run a business without it. Management Training: Are You Satisfied With The Results? If you're not satfied with the results of your management training programs, maybe it's because you handle training as a 'one shot' event rather than a process of developing your people to be better managers.One of the common misconceptions is that a manager can take a course and voila he is now skilled in communicating with others, or managing his time or delegating work. Make It Easy to Reply - Voice Mail That Works If you are like most business people, voice mail has both simplified and complicated your life. On the good side, it helps you exchange information. Work Priorities: Where Can You Spend Your Time Most Effectively? Understanding where you can spend time most effectively requires concentration in three areas:1. Doing what you enjoy2. Are You Cascading Your Strategy, or Fragmenting It? INTRODUCTIONThe typical approach executive teams use to cascade, or roll out, their strategic direction is to produce a clear set of goals, objectives, critical success factors or a scorecard and then get each departmental or functional manager to take this on board and customize it for their part of the organisation. The trouble then begins?A TYPICAL APPROACH: EACH DEPARTMENT ADOPTS OR ADAPTS A VERSION OF THE CORPORATE STRATEGYThe first phase of most organisational planning processes is that the organisation's executives design and express a strategic direction using a framework of some kind. What Consultants Want You to Know (But You Never Ask) I've been both a CEO and a consultant, so I've seen from both perspectives what goes right and what goes wrong when a consultant comes in to a company. Generally the CEO or the manager who hires the consultant tells the consultant what he or she wants. Leadership Skills Means Turnover is Not a Problem "Ha!" you say. "For someone to make a statement like that, they obviously haven't worked in the real world and certainly have never had to run a company. Setting a Pitiful Example: Twenty-six Warnings to Heed * TO: All Parents [and Employers and Managers]From: Your Child and/or EmployeeDate: The present timeRe: Don't Spoil me; Teach Me1. Don't spoil me. Being a Great Boss Are you one of those bosses that people just love to hate? Maybe successful, maybe very intelligent, maybe organized and moving forward but just can't get along with people. Communication and other people skills are as important to the success of your business as your talent, knowledge and entrepreneurial drive. How to Manage Your People Well: Tips for Managers of Training As a training manager, there are two important aspects to managing your people well: hiring, supervising, and motivating (managing with your people) and building up corporate support for your department (managing for your people). Unfortunately, training is not well understood by some executives, and its benefits can be hard to assess. New Job, New Culture: Do You Fit In? It seemed like a good decision at the time. A 10-percent raise, an easier commute and a chance to move up the corporate ladder. |
home | site map | contact us |