Management Information
What to do When You receive a Bad Check
As a small business operator, personal checks may be one method to receive payment for your goods or services. As a way to receive payment, a personal check is actually better than credit cards because the fees are less and there can be no charge back.
What 80% of Businesses Don't Know: Tips for Improving Your Working Capital Management
What is the number one way to prevent failure in business? Take a minute to really think about your answer. What comes to mind? Increasing patients or customers served? ? Effective marketing? ? Location, location, location? ? Improving patient or customer care? ? Being the best in your industry?Although these are all essential aspects of business, the answer isn't any of the above.
Are Your Meetings Smart?
Soon after I finished a brief seminar on how to accomplish more in less time every day, Roger shook my hand and said, "I can use what you said. But there is one thing you didn't talk about.
The Retailers Calendar
The Julian calendar we use to pass the time every day, every week, every month and every year is the one most commonly used by businesses. Its general availability and familiarity make it a natural selection.
Shrinkage Control
What has been your store's shrinkage experience for the last two years? What will it be this year? If it has not been as good as it should have been, now is the time to analyze the possible causes and take steps to keep shrinkage in line this year.WHAT IS SHRINKAGE?The difference between the perpetual book inventory and the physical inventory count is called shrinkage.
Policy & Procedure Manuals - Tools For Greater Productivity and Efficiency
In today's tough retail environment the retailer needs all the tools he can get to help improve efficiency, productivity, and the bottom line. Two of these tools are the company's Policy Manual and Procedure Manual.
Internal Control - The Why and How
Many retailers do not have good internal controls in place and place little importance on them. They are concerned with the buying and selling of merchandise and do not place enough emphasis on making certain that the sales get recorded, the money gets in the bank, the invoices are paid only once and the inventory reports are correct.
Motivating For Higher Performance
Employee motivation is probably the most important single manageable factor for success and profitability of all the facets of specialty store retailing. It is too vital to be handled on a hit or miss basis, depending on the whim or spirit that stirs the store owner or manager from time to time.
5 Interviewing Mistakes That Can Lead To Hiring The Wrong Person
Mistake #1: Going with the flowInexperienced interviewers sometimes fall into the trap of letting the interview become "free form", spending different amounts of time on different questions, basing follow-up questions on on how the candidates answer. This can result in a candidate taking control of the interview and leading you where he or she wants to go, rather than where you can get the information you need.
The Seven Cs: Partnership Danger Signs - Communication Breakdown
An ongoing series of articles exploring the seven critical areas that can indicate a partnership is in trouble.COMMUNICATION BREAKDOWNThe "Seven Cs" are the danger signs that indicate your business partnership, or any partnership for that matter, is in trouble.
The Seven Cs: Partnership Danger Signs - Competitive, Not Complementary Action
A series of articles exploring the seven critical areas that can indicate a partnership is in trouble.Competitive, Not Complementary ActionJames Carville and Mary Matlin are public relations spokespeople for the Democratic and Republican parties, respectively.
The Seven Cs: Partnership Danger Signs - Conflict Becoming the Norm - Part 1
A series of articles exploring the seven critical areas that can indicate a partnership is in trouble.Conflict Becoming the Norm - Part 1Dr.
The Seven Cs: Partnership Danger Signs - Conflict Becoming the Norm - Part 2
A series of articles exploring the seven critical areas that can indicate a partnership is in trouble.Conflict Becoming the Norm - Part 2In a previous article, I wrote about how unresolved conflict can create havoc in your business and can often end in a failed partnership.
The Seven Cs: Partnership Danger Signs - The 4th C: Cumulative Money Problems
A series of articles exploring the seven critical areas that can indicate a partnership is in trouble.The 4th C: CUMULATIVE MONEY PROBLEMSConflicts over money are very high on the list of reasons that 70% of business partnerships fail.
The Seven Cs: Partnership Danger Signs - The 5th C: Control Issues
A series of articles exploring the seven critical areas that can indicate a partnership is in trouble.The 5th C: Control IssuesWhen control is in the picture it is a lose/lose proposition.
The Seven Cs: Partnership Danger Signs - The 6th C: Changing Vision
A series of articles exploring the seven critical areas that can indicate a partnership is in trouble.The 6th C: Changing VisionIn order for a business to be a success the vision and mission must be reflected in all aspects of the structure, the culture and the strategy by which business is conducted.
Office Politics
Office politics! It's just another way of saying: "The employees are not getting along!"When so much of a company's success depends on the employees' ability to work together as a cohesive team, it is critical that people understand and appreciate the differences in each other.Symptoms of Office Politics:ConflictStressJob DissatisfactionPoor communication skillsThe Results:High employee turnoverReduced productivity and profitabilityThe Solution:Improve employee communication and understandingThe Disc Classic behavioral assessment is widely used by the nation's largest companies to improve the working relationship amongst its employees.
Strategies for Planning and Conducting Effective Meetings
Did you know that business executives spend about half their time sitting in meetings? In fact, 40 to 50 percent of their working hours are consumed by meetings, according to a study by the Annenberg School of Communications at UCLA and the University of Minnesota's Training & Development Research Center.Meetings are inevitable - whether you're a business executive or member of a volunteer, social, or civic organization.
Why Good Enough... Isnt
About a year ago, I had an opportunity to have dinner with the CEO of an engineering startup company in Pennsylvania. As we discussed engineering design matters over Chinese food, he took a few moments to talk about his business philosophy.
Five Strategies To Strengthen Your Company's Financial Management
Too many businesses wait until a crisis occurs before they start to focus on improving their financial management. Often, by that time, it can be too late.
Humor in Business
With the advancement of computer simulators, anybody can repeat all the business routines before he goes to the field, and have the opportunity of relaxing from the tedious work with numbers. The businessman can concentrate more on the human factors: The Customer Service, the relationships among fellow workers, and self care.
Seven Cs to Avoid Procedure Writing Errors
You do your best to make sure your organization is operating as effectively as possible. But if your policies and procedures are incomplete, outdated, or inconsistent, then they are not driving the performance improvement they should.
Change and Performance - Training May Not Be The Answer
Introducing new products or services, bringing new people on board, developing a new process or procedure, installing new equipment, change seems to be the one constant in business today and change always seems to drive a need for training.In conducting training needs analysis at any level, we need to understand that training may not be the solution, at least not the whole solution.
Build Your Business (On A Shoestring): Hire a College Intern
Starting up a new venture or business can be one of the most exciting times of your life. It can also be one of the most stressful.
Solving the Problem Solving Problem
The meeting started like a hundred others before. There were five people sitting around the conference table, like they always did, trying to solve a problem that had popped up in the last few weeks.
PR Still a Mystery to Some
Unfortunately, there are managers who define public relations by its applications. Which explains neither its underlying strengths nor what PR is all about.
Stop Waste, Fraud and Abuse
Each year, businesses write-off six percent of revenue to waste, fraud and abuse. But why would managers throw all that hard-earned money away when there is a reliable way to eliminate waste, fraud and abuse using accounting policies & procedures to create internal controls.
Why and How to Work with a Consultant
A good consultant provides specialist abilities and experience, innovative ideas, second opinions (reality checks), unbiased appraisals, and new approaches.A good consultant will leave you with tools, plans, and materials, and will transfer knowledge and resources to help you use them.
How to Get Your Procedures Project Done
Wouldn't it be nice for business owners and executives to be finished with their policies and procedures project already? They know they need to get it done, but maybe it's taking too long. Or perhaps their people are staring at a blank piece of paper, and they don't know where to begin.
4 Tips on How to Avoid Communication Lines Breakdown
For example, in a small, two-person company, there is often the greatest opportunity for direct conversation and discussion throughout the day. There are only two possibilities for verbal communication and it's usually quick, easy and descriptive.
Overcoming Perfectionism
Perfectionism can get in the way of building or marketing a successful business. It can prevent us from moving ahead quickly or from taking advantage of business opportunities.
Where Businesses Fall Short
1. No vision.
CEO: The Key To Fix ingThe Marketing/Sales Collaboration Problem
We all know that achieving better alignment, synergy and cooperation between company marketing and sales departments is vital, but oh so elusive. Despite all the talk and more talk in the media and at national business gatherings, nothing significant ever seems to happen.
Biometrics and "Return On Investment"
At this time of tight budgets, the mantra of business is "Return On Investment!" With few exceptions, expenditures are measured against the bottom line. Outlays for capital expenses are strictly evaluated in terms of profitability and the total cost of ownership.
New Leadership For A New War
Military analysts call this "asymmetrical" war (as if war has a terrible symmetry); and we know that it will be as different from conventional war as three-dimensional, blindfolded chess is from conventional chess. But one thing is certain, leadership lies at the heart of achieving victory.
How to Beat the Turf Mentality
Want to hear a fascinating story? Let's sit in at a meeting of the human resources department of a large corporation.
A number of human resources specialists are gathered in the board room.
1000 Managers Turned Their Plans Into Energy!
I bet you can't tell me how leadership training andstrategic planning work together to boost business resultsand energize performance improvements.A recent survey of 1000 managers conducted by the UK-basedChartered Management Institute, revealed that organizationsexperienced, "improved business performance when [theirleadership] development [programs were] linked to [their]business [strategic planning process].
Paretos Law- Your Formula For Success
A 'dirt-world' retail business I used to manage had a large turnover, a very high profit, and less than 100 lines. Early in 2001, I was contracted to manage another business.
Diversity in the Workplace: Benefits, Challenges and Solutions
Workplace diversity refers to the variety of differences between people in an organization. That sounds simple, but diversity encompasses race, gender, ethnic group, age, personality, cognitive style, tenure, organizational function, education, background and more.
Lone Rangers Suffer without Tonto
A lone ranger is someone who prefers working in solitude or isolation. Sometimes life circumstances can call for us to adopt this attitude.
Dont Get Caught With Your PR Down
Why risk the embarassment when with a little basic PR training, you as a business, non-profit or association manager can always be ready for battle?Never again will you fail to do something positive aboutthe behaviors of those important outside audiences ofyours that MOST affect your operation.Never again will you fail to create external stakeholder behavior change leading directly to achieving your managerial objectives.
What Makes a Crisis a Crisis?
If you're old enough and were living in America about 30 years ago, you may remember the scandal in the motion picture industry known as "the Begelman affair" or "Hollywoodgate."A skillful analysis of the crisis that rocked Columbia Pictures, a leading company in its field, is presented by Steven Fink in his book, "Crisis Management: Planning for theInevitable.
How to Get the Best from Outsourcing
There's a great little article ('Business Lifeforms') on the back pages of the UK's leading management magazine, Management Today each month. It's a spoof (at least I think it is!) about some fictitious key player in a fictitious organisation.
10 Steps When You Need Help in Your Business
If you think ahead and plan, many nightmare panic and chaos situations can be overcome. By ensuring that you have a great group of people around you, there will be more to fall back on when the going gets tough - because that, as they say, when the tough really do get going.
A Winning Way to Handle New Ideas
Janet DiClaudio, who was charge of medical records at two large American hospitals, had an unusual problem. But, the past master in finding creative solutions to work related problems that she was, she found an equally unusual solution.
Why Management Kills Creativity
Ten or so years ago, an international consultant, specializing in employee involvement and team development, published a story relating to workplace communication that is heartwarming and damning at the same time.
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.Unfortunately, the vast majority of firms have experienced two consecutive years of fee erosion, commoditization, client defection, and company identity crises.
Three Professional Services Resolutions for 2005
With client expectations higher than ever before, and the gradual industry recovery ahead, consulting firms will need to focus more than ever on carefully identifying and serving the right clients.Based on a recent interview with Brad Smith, VP of Research at Kennedy Information Inc.
Can You Sleep While The Wind Blows?
Let me repeat a story I heard many years ago that has stuck with me throughout my life. The lessons from this fable are many and have been applied to a variety of areas of my life.
3 Innovation Keys - Do Your Innovative Efforts Need More Power?
Recently, I attended a webinar with nearly 400 other Chief Learning Officers - during one polling period, we were asked what primary driving force pushes organization-wide or individual innovation - the majority agreed that leadership is that force.Indeed, those CLOs agreed innovation was the most important quality their organizations desire in teams, individuals and leaders.
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.
Increasing Employee Retention Through Employee Engagement
You've seen it happen many times. An organization that provides top wages and benefits loses a great employee to a competitor for no apparent reason.
Managing Workplace Conflicts
Kinds of Workplace ConflictsLet's start by identifying where conflicts happen. Think about the kinds of conflicts that happen around your workplace.
Effective Ways to Give Performance Feedback
Consequences of Not Giving Effective FeedbackLet's take a look at some typical examples of what goes on in work environments when managers don't give good feedback.Example #1: John has been working at his new job for one month.
How to Create a Positive Work Atmosphere
Positive versus Negative WorkplacesWe have all worked in places where we grew to dread getting up in the morning, and a few of us have had the pleasure of working for a boss who makes us feel like we can do anything. Let's take a look at the differences between a positive and a negative work environment.
Is Your Company in Need of Family Therapy?
How Companies Are Like FamiliesLike a family, a company is a group of people who have an ongoing relationship with one another. Companies have several things in common with families:1.
6 Simple Steps to Dealing with Difficult Managers
The challenge of managing difficult managers can be rather daunting, especially when you inherit them! If they are your own born and bred, then hopefully they would have evolved into great managers!Experience shows that difficult managers are difficult because they are angry and frustrated about something or somebody (even themselves - especially where they are, or have become, a square peg in a round hole of a job), so the steps to take are these:-Always a first is to build great relationships with your people. This involves protected one-to-one time, where they feel valued.
Forget The Sandwich Technique
Do you remember being told to use the "sandwich" techniquewhen you needed to reprimand someone? Let me give you anexample:"Fred, I'm really pleased with how you've been progressingsince you joined us and you're doing a great job. Howeveryou're not getting your reports in on time and we're missingdeadlines.
Finding the Right Way to Motivate Your Employees
Fear, Incentives and Growth - Zig Ziglar says that there are three main ways to motivate people in general and employees specifically. They are fear, incentives and growth.
The Power in Praising People
One of the keys to success is to have successful relationships. We are not islands and we don't get to the top by ourselves.