Our previous post talked about Continuous Improvement, but it’s an important topic that deserves to be thoroughly explored, so please consider this a continuation of the discussion we began with our last post. No matter how good we are, we can always be better. No matter how proficient we are, we can always be more
“When was the last time you did something for the first time?”
George Romney once said, “There is nothing more vulnerable than entrenched success.” In other words, we get a little success under our belt and there’s a risk that we become fat, dumb, and happy . . . in short, complacent. Hubris sets in and some rigor leaves. We take our foot off the gas a
“Success seems largely to be a matter of hanging on after the others let go.”
Let’s talk about Bill Gross, the serial entrepreneur. As it turns out, there’s also Bill Gross the billionaire investor, but that’s not who we want to talk about. We want to talk about the other guy. The entrepreneur. This Bill Gross has personally started over 100 companies, and more than 40 of those have either
Psssst. Hey buddy! Wanna sell your company?
If your company has successfully navigated the challenges of “startup” and “early stage development,” and if it has arrived at a place where it is relatively stable and has market recognition, you can expect would-be buyers to start sniffing around, trying to determine if you’re interested in selling. Some entrepreneurs will start and sell many
Turnover can be good or bad. When we’re talking about inventory, turnover is very good. But when we’re talking about employees, turnover is bad. Very, very bad.
Employee turnover is a serious matter. And it’s a very expensive matter. It affects everything -profitability, productivity, customer service, quality control, and more. Yet too many of us treat turnover as an unavoidable annoyance. It’s true that some turnover is a good thing. From time to time, we need to weed out the people who
“Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others. Unsuccessful people are always asking, ‘What’s in it for me?'”
We all talk about outstanding customer service, and many of us even claim to deliver it, but do we really? Too much of what we call customer service is really an attempt to mollify a customer after we’ve screwed up in some way . . . a restaurant may give a customer a free dessert
“It’s important to have a sound idea, but the really important thing is the implementation.”
Picture this. You’re in a meeting to discuss a particular operating problem you need to solve. The group discusses several possible solutions, and finally settles on the one that seems most likely to succeed. Then the leader of the group says, “Good work gang! I think we’re on the right track here,” and adjourns the
The first rule of management is delegation. Don’t try and do everything yourself because you can’t.
Entrepreneurs often have a tough time delegating effectively. After all, the company is their baby. They gave it life and steered it through its formative years. They know how to press all the important buttons and pull all the essential levers better than anyone else. But if they continue to refuse access to those buttons
“The majority of meetings should be discussions that lead to decisions.”
“People who enjoy meetings should not be in charge of anything.” ~ Thomas Sowell “Has anyone ever said, ‘I wish I could go to more meetings today?’” ~ Matt Mullenweg “Meetings are indispensable when you don’t want to do anything.” ~ John Kenneth Galbraith I was going to say that meetings get a bad rap,
“Compensation is an equity issue. People want to know that they are being compensated fairly . . . “
The Overture Group is an executive search firm with an additional specialty in compensation consulting. We recently heard a presentation by Bob Lindeman and Mark Reilly, both managing directors of that firm. They reminded us that compensation is (or should be) a strategic issue, not a simple, tactical, what-are-we-gonna-pay-this-person issue. And our strategy should consider
