Management is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively. Management functions include: planning, organizing, staffing, leading or directing, and controlling an organization or effort for the purpose of accomplishing a goal.
After the Exit; "Nothing Will Change" “Nothing will change.” It is almost de rigueur for an acquirer to include that in his or her opening comments to the incumbent staff of a just-purchased business. Sometimes it is the seller’s attempt at making folks feel better. “Don’t … Read More » Business isn't Zero Sum In any negotiation, you can assume a win-win solution or a zero sum outcome. “Win-win” is defined as when both parties come out ahead or achieve what they seek. “Zero sum” is when the premise behind negotiation is that whatever one … Read More » Stop Managing Why would anyone advise business owners to stop managing? Management is a proven science. From the time and motion studies of Frederick Winslow Taylor in the late 1800s, to Matthew Kelly and Patrick Lencione’s Dream Manager, we are constantly in … Read More » Branch Mentality and Sanctuary Cities Every multi-unit company suffers from branch mentality. I’ve worked with many, and no matter how much they promote a corporate culture and team spirit, branch mentality creeps in sometimes. It comes in two versions; the outposts’ attitude and the headquarter’s … Read More » Bah Humbug! Remembering Mr. Fezziwig To celebrate the holiday, I’m reprinting a post from 2012 about the underappreciated boss of A Christmas Carol, Mr. Fezziwig. I hope that you enjoy it. Merry Christmas! Last week was the 170th anniversary of the publication of Charles Dickens’ … Read More » The Entrepreneurship Meritocracy For those of us who compete in the entrepreneurship meritocracy, listening to the complaints of those who are employed can sometimes be irksome. I recently sat at an open table for an event. One of the other guests there was … Read More » Millennial Employees: Why Their Opinion Counts A couple of months ago I followed Jabez Le Bret‘s presentation about Millennial Employees on a national meeting agenda. He is an entertaining speaker and an excellent story teller. As every speaker hopes, one of his stories stuck with me. When Jabez (a Millennial … Read More » Time Bankruptcy and Communications Technology A friend says that she hasn’t been able to tackle any new projects because she is in “time bankruptcy.” It expresses very well how she feels about her ability to control her schedule, but she has been claiming bankruptcy for … Read More » Ownership Transfer and Employee Security When we start planning for the sale of a company, many owners ask me about sharing information with employees. They are naturally concerned that an ownership transfer will cause their workers to seek more secure positions elsewhere. This is true whether … Read More » Generational Differences and Identity Politics Generational differences are a hot topic for organizational behaviorists. Is this a real issue, or is it just the current management fad? “Never in history have we seen four generations together in the workplace.” That line starts thousands of articles … Read More » Employee Gratitude isn't Loyalty Most of us have heard something like this expression of employee gratitude. “I’ve enjoyed working here. You taught me so much, and you’ve always treated me well. But the company down the road is paying a lot more for people with my … Read More » Is Your Business Built on Individual Heroics? Great employees are a wonderful gift, but individual heroics aren’t healthy for your business. Someday, you will start thinking about leaving the business. Perhaps you already do. When you begin planning for your transition, what will your company systems sound like … Read More » Maximize Resources - Use What You Have Every owner wants to maximize resources. The whole concept of profitability is based on doing the most with the least, but we often are trapped in the prevailing thought pattern about how things “should” be done. When taking a car … Read More » What is Your CEO Job Description? On occasion, a business owner client will ask me if I have a CEO job description. I’m sure such exist in large corporations, but for an owner-managed company it’s a bit vague. The simple (and usual) answer is that the … Read More » Employee Peer Review: The Internal Market There are various approaches to employee peer review. Comprehensive multi-level feedback, top-down and bottom-up comparisons, and even the lightening fast Stoplight 360 I wrote about here a few years ago. In many instances, however, the most powerful rating system is … Read More » |