Category Archives: Small Business

Employees

How Important Are Your Employees

employeesMost businesses invest in marketing and advertising each month but overlook another vital investment that they are already making–that investment is their employees. Your employees can make or break your company, and recently I ran into a very poignant example of that fact.… Read the rest

Part Time Employees

Part Time Employees

The Face of Your Organization

employeesCompanies and organizations often use part time employees to serve in a limited role. They are not paid as well as full-timers, sometimes do lower level work, and may have a limited career track. They may be moms who have priorities at home, seniors who no longer want a 40 hour work week, or college students looking to earn some money to supplement expenses. They are hired to reduce operating costs, fill leftover hours from full time employees, deal with an economic downturn, or seasonal requirements. Between 2000 and 2010 the number of employees working part time increased by 300 % or 9 million people.… Read the rest

Creating Success in 2016

Start Your Year Off Right / Goals for a Successful 2016

successfulRLS Focused Solutions, in conjunction with the Brunswick County Chamber of Commerce, is offering an opportunity to help you achieve a more successful 2016. The workshop will be offered on  Friday January 15th.  They will be held at the Chamber Conference. Room It will begin at 8:00 AM and conclude no later than 2:00 PM. A working lunch from the Purple Onion will be included.… Read the rest

Creating a Business Plan

How to Create a Successful Business Plan

business planI am often asked the same two questions. Do I need a business plan? What should I include in my business plan? I am going to answer these questions when writing this article. Do I require a business plan? For most businesses the answer to this question would be yes. For the majority of new businesses and ones which require investment by way of a loan or a business partner, a business plan is a must.… Read the rest

Plans That Work

Making Business Plans Work

plansMany of us have spent countless hours thinking about and documenting plans for either our business or non-profit organization. There is a sense of satisfaction with the completion of the final draft that is shared by all involved. Far too often that document is filed or left in a desk drawer to be revised in a year’s time. Many have even reported that they gave up on the planning process because it just didn’t work. I often remember the president of a very well-managed company once stating that the team had become expert on writing business plans, but not real good on making them a reality.

In their book Execution, The Discipline of Getting Things Done Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan discusses this very subject.… Read the rest

Small Business

Leadership in Small Business

business

If you are a small business owner, your role as a leader may be the least of your priorities. Most of your time is consumed by finding customers, supervising employees, watching your cash flow and delivering you services or products. You don’t want to consider leadership because that is what corporate executives and government leaders need to learn about. Not you. We would argue that you are a leader and understanding your leadership role is an important key to success. What are some of the lesson we can learn about leadership in business?… Read the rest

Coaching

Five Tips to Becoming A Coach In Everyday Life

coachingBe the change you want to see occur in the world around you. We can’t make other people be more considerate, helpful, honest, etc., but if everyone were to work on him or herself and develop these attributes, our world would be a better place. In this article, we will examine five attributes to becoming a coach in everyday life.

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Boys In The Boat

Organizational Alignment

organizationalI recently read the book, Boys in the Boat. It was a true story of a sculling team from the University of Washington, who through hard work and discipline became national champs and went on to win the 1936 Olympics in Germany. It’s a great story, set against the dramatic background of the Berlin Olympics hosted by Adolf Hitler. It describes how a rowing team developed into the fastest in the world. Of course, the members of the team need to be strong and fit, but there comes a point when all come together in harmony to maximize their performance. It is said that the team is only as fast as its slowest rower, but once they reach that synchronized harmony, they outpace the rest of the competitors.… Read the rest

The Importance of Good Feedback

Enterprise Feedback Managementfeedback

Getting good feedback from customers and employees is vital for any business that expects to grow. Without knowledge, business leaders can not make educated decisions. Uneducated decisions lead to a higher rate of failure, which can have detrimental impacts on a business. Without high quality information, a business owner is flying blind.… Read the rest

Business Plan

Developing a Business Plan

There are many important steps to consider when developing a business plan for your iStock_000009265701_Fullcompany, but the first step is to fully understand the main uses of a business-plan. The four main uses of a business-plan are as follows:

  • A Business Plan is a written document that you can use in your search for external financing.
  • A Business Plan is a tactical planning and management tool for your business.
  • A Business Plan is a document showing the capacity of your team to control and manage all the aspects of the company.
  •  A Business Plan brings you new ideas to refine your project by checking and estimating the induced hypothesis.
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Success

Success Is

“Success is … the continual achievement of your own predetermined goals, stabilized by balance, and purified by belief.” – Resource successAssociates Corporation

In real life many people get stuck in a professional or personal position where goals are defined for them. The result is frustration where no one feels fulfilled and the goals often are never reached.… Read the rest

Motivating The Staff

Several  Mistakes in Staff Motivation

motivationOur clients are often asking us to find better ways to motivate their staff. They are trying to get them more involved in a new challenge or are considering a financial incentive to spur productivity. They may be trying to encourage new ideas or overcome seemly insurmountable obstacles. Carolyn Dewar and Scott Keller provide us with several ideas in their Harvard Business Review Article, Four Motivation Mistakes Most Managers Make.

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Change

changeMaking Change Happen

Realizing a compelling vision often means change, accepting new perspectives, and abandoning old habits and techniques. Many times the necessary changes require doing things differently. Lofty aspirations may involve outsourcing, merging, building strategic alliances, partnering, or acquiring other resources or organizations. It could mean selling off pieces of existing business that no longer fit strategically. It could involve restructuring your organization. What does it mean to you? There are tremendous risks in maintaining the status quo and doing it because “we have always done it that way.” It means that there is no longer validity in the expression, “If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.” The operative phrase today is, “How can we make it better?”… Read the rest

Change is Good

Change is Good

changeYou may be a member of a civic club or company which has operated in the same way over a long period of time. You may have observed that your club membership is not growing and maybe even shrinking. In the case of a business, sales are not what they once were. You may feel as though you are trapped and need to make some changes but you sense some resistance. To quote Mac Anderson and Tom Feltenstein, Change is Good… You Go First.

Creating change in any organization is difficult. As that organization grows and becomes more successful, the leadership which made it successful is replaced by management, who intend to maintain that success. That maintenance is the management of the status quo.… Read the rest

A Good Comunicator

Be Curious—And Be a Successful Communicator

There are many ways to improve the way you communicate. For example, you will always start communicationthings off on the right foot by opening the conversation in a way that creates mutual respect. Using phrases such as, “If you have a minute, I’d like to talk with you about something that I think will improve the way we work together,” helps set your conversation partner at ease. It tells him or her that you have positive intentions.

Know Your Purpose

It is also important to know your purpose for the conversation. Some purposes are more useful than others. A useful purpose is one you have power over. For instance, you can control your own reaction; you can share your view; learn about your partner’s view; work toward a sustainable solution.… Read the rest

Effective Communication

Six Steps to Effective Communication

communicationEffective leaders are known for being excellent communicators. Here’s what to do.

1) Avoid “Not.” Negative talk encourages arguments, counter attacks, and attempts to solve your problems. It also creates a negative impression. For example, when you say, “I can’t,” you appear helpless and ineffective. Instead, talk about what you can do and what you want.… Read the rest

Praise Matters

Praise Matters

praiseIn working with businesses and organizations of all kinds, I hear the same concerns everyday:

  • How do we increase productivity?
  • How do we improve Customer service?
  • How do we keep people actively engaged in their work and with others on their team?
  • How do we reduce turnover?
  • How do we improve safety?

Even if you aren’t thinking about or concerned with every one of those questions, I’m sure at least one of them has kept you up at night in the past.… Read the rest

Motivation of Employees and Volunteers

motivationKilling Motivation

Whether your organization is composed of employees or volunteers, their motivation is your responsibility. An Air Force General once told me that whenever he found a base where there was a lack of morale, his first action was to replace the base commander. An old German saying is, “the fish smells from the head” and this must be true in the military. Lolly Daskal recently suggested 8 Deadly Ways to kill Employee Morale. These provide a good starting point from which to consider this subject.

Toxic People

Every so often a group become infiltrated by someone with a toxic personality. Their negativity interferes with progress and team building. A skillful leader will quickly determine whether the personality can be managed or if it is worth the effort.… Read the rest

Leading Volunteers

Leadership of Volunteers

leadershipSeveral weeks ago we participated in a weekend retreat sponsored by our local Rotary District. The session is entitled RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) and was attended by over ninety high school juniors from across southeastern North Carolina. These students were selected by their high school counselors not only as outstanding students, but leaders in their schools. During several sessions on leadership, we explained the processes that we had implied in the business and military environment, but these presentations seem to fall short of their expectations. These students were the leaders of student organizations and Clubs and were trying to understand why their members were not following their wishes.

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Great Teams

Why Team Building in Vital to Your Success

teamGreat teamwork is one of the most important keys to your company’s success. The more harmoniously people work together, the better it is for your company. Teamwork is the way that things get done these days and if you don’t have a cohesive team, you’re seriously handicapping your company out in the marketplace. Team building is necessary for success because it’s unnatural for people to come together in a new group and immediately begin to get along. Throughout history, building a team has been the function of shared experiences and history. When that experience and history is lacking, it’s difficult for a group to share a common vision and goal, or to function together in a way that promotes the best qualities of each team participant.… Read the rest