When you started your business, you probably did every task needed to produce and deliver your product or service, or near to it. And as your business has grown, do you still carry much of the day to day—if not the actual execution, the oversight of the work? Do you find yourself unable to let go of work you shoul...
When you start every day staring down a growing to-do list and playing Tetris with your calendar, three words probably pass through your mind: I need help. But acknowledging that you need help in your business is one thing. Actually getting it is another.
Retaining your employees takes creativity and problem-solving in the best of times. This is even truer for small businesses who may not have the financial position to offer higher pay. When your employees are weighing their options, watching job boards or responding to eager recruiters, the promise of making more ...
If you own a business and have employees, it’s easy to understand why systematizing your business puts you at a great advantage. You know how you want things done. You know how things should work. You know the way you want your prospects and customers to be treated. But your ideal is just a series of pictures in y...
Does it feel impossible to find and hire your people? Are the candidates you interview impressing or disappointing you? A strong team can take your small business from good to great. But you have to get the right people through the door first—and then give them the resources they need to perform well and stay happ...
As an enlightened business owner, you understand the importance of doing market research on your prospective customers. For example, you want to know where they're located, any common characteristics they may have and, ultimately, as much as possible about how they think - their needs, wishes, and motivations. The...
If your business is big enough to have managers and possibly even “departments” then you are probably familiar with the phenomenon of a silo structure. When you have reached the point in your business growth that you have hired managers and the reporting structure has become identifiably vertical in each area, or ...
“How do I get my employees to do things the right way?” This is one of the most common questions we get from business owners. And the simplest answer is this: You need to show them what the right way—your way—is. With strong management, you design the systems your business needs to grow a high-performance team, on...
Imagine what kind of workplace your business would be if your employees thought to themselves: "I’m excited about my work.” “This is a place where I can achieve my goals.” “I feel safe. It’s okay to make a mistake, and I will learn from it.” “I have some great ideas on how to improve things. I can’t wait to share ...
Most companies organize around personalities rather than around functions. That is, around people rather than accountabilities or responsibilities. The result is almost always chaos.
The E-Myth Revisited proposes that owners of businesses that are not working should start again. This time they need to translate their vision into a management system, and to control their unpredictable employees through this system. I agree completely with this philosophy. My question is concerned with the pract...
Managing a business partnership may be the only thing more difficult than managing a business. Partnerships are hard for the same reasons that any relationship is hard. It takes diligence and work to bring together personalities, communication styles, and ideals. And if you want your partnership to serve your busi...
Discover the five steps to improving team performance in this free guide.