Archive for the 'Management Fundamentals' Category

Small Business Advocate Poll: Are generation gaps in the workplace creating communication barriers?

Published
by
Jim Blasingame
on April 25, 2012
in Communication and Management Fundamentals
. 0 Comments

The Question:
There has never been a time when so many age groups are in the workplace. Are you seeing any communication challenges between the generations?

31% - Very much - it’s like we’re from different planets

57% - Somewhat - it’s noticeable but we’re handling it

11% - Not at all - what problem?

My Commentary:
“What we have hee-yah, is a fail-ya to communicate.” This was the lament of Captain, the road crew boss in the movie “Cool Hand Luke,” played by the great character actor, Strother Martin. Apparently, there is a lot of this going around in the workplace today.

As you can see, 89% of our respondents reported some level of communication issues between the generations in the workplace, with almost one-third expressing extreme frustration. There are a number of reasons for this, especially in two areas: the increasing influence of technology in our lives and we’re living in a time where people are staying in the workplace longer than in the past 100 years.

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Small Business Advocate Poll: What is your experience in finding qualified applicants for job openings?

Published
by
Jim Blasingame
on April 13, 2012
in Business planning, Hiring, Human Resources and Management Fundamentals
. 0 Comments

The Question:
What is your experience in finding qualified applicants for your job openings?

38% - We have job openings but it’s difficult finding qualified applicants

32% - We are able to find qualified employees when we have an opening.

29% - We are not hiring and don’t expect to this year.

My Comments:
Over the past several decades, the challenge most often identified by small business owners as their greatest has varied between inflation, taxes and the cost of health care insurance. But for the past few years, another concern has risen to the top of the list: finding qualified employee candidates.

Consequently, in last week’s poll we asked, “What is your experience in finding qualified applicants for your job openings?

The greatest number, almost four of ten, said, “We have job openings but it’s difficult finding qualified applicants.” one-third of our respondents reported, “We are able to find qualified employees when we have an opening,” while a little less than one-third said, “We are not hiring and don’t expect to this year.”

The American economy - and society - has serious problems when only 40% of small businesses are growing employment, but even those can’t find qualified applicants among 22 million unemployed.

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On The Small Business Advocate Show, I’ve talked with Bob Prosen, President/CEO of the Prosen Center for Business Advancement and author of Kiss Theory Good Bye about improving your hiring practices to find employees for 21st century jobs. Take a few minutes to click on one of the links below to listen or download our conversations.

Improving your 21st century hiring practices

Hire new employees who have done their homework

Hire salespeople who understand customer relationships

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Take this week’s poll HERE!

A Small Business Minute: Build your small business on trust

Published
by
Jim Blasingame
on March 1, 2012
in Management Fundamentals and Trust
. 2 Comments

Trust in a small business is not a means to an end, it must be an organizational way of life. Watch this one minute video on how to build trust in your organization.

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Small business success fundamentals for 2012

Published
by
Jim Blasingame
on January 16, 2012
in Entrepreneurship and Management Fundamentals
. 0 Comments

Don’t worry – this column isn’t about resolutions; resolutions are optional.

This is about fundamentals that have served businesses since humans decided to trade with each other instead of taking what we wanted by force.

Focusing on these ten fundamentals will help you have the maximum opportunity to find success in 2012.

  1. Cash is still King. Managing the relationship between accounts payable and accounts receivable is as essential to survival for your business as breathing is to you.
  2. Declare war on excess inventory. Don’t let one piece of inventory spend a night under your roof unless it’s turning or paid for.
  3. Convert non-performing assets to cash. What things were worth last year has no bearing on what they’re worth today, and they will be worth less tomorrow. If it’s not being used, cut it loose.
  4. Employees spend most of your cash. Ask them to identify ways to find efficiencies and maximize margins. Install these into the new year’s budget and operation.
  5. Review all operational steps and eliminate, or fix, inefficiencies. My friend, Michael Stallard, recommends the four “Ws,” “What works, what doesn’t, what do we stop and what do we continue.”
  6. Outsourcing is a best practice. Call a planning meeting and ask this question about every task in your operation: “Must this be done in-house?” Everything that does not directly “touch” a customer is a non-core competency and a candidate for outsourcing.
  7. Keep your banker informed about business opportunities AND challenges. The title of the shortest book ever written is “Loan Officer Courage.” An uninformed banker is a scared banker and you’ll never get help from a scared banker.
  8. Success burns cash. Prepare a financial projection that anticipates at least 10% growth in sales this year. See how that impacts your cash requirements due to increases in inventory, A/R, etc., and start thinking about how you will fund this growth (see #7, above).
  9. If you don’t have a banking relationship with an independent community bank, start one this week This is not a banking alternative – it’s a small business financial fundamental.
  10. Every customer and prospect has expectations that are changing faster than ever before. Keep asking what they want and deliver what they say. Remember, you get to decide what you do; customers decide how you do it.

Focus on the fundamentals, plan for success and grow your small business in 2012.

I talked more about these 10 business fundamentals today on my radio show. Take a few minutes to download or listen now.

Six success fundamentals for 2012 with Jim Blasingame

Four more 2012 success fundamentals with Jim Blasingame

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Replace your quality service with a quality process

Published
by
Jim Blasingame
on January 10, 2012
in Future thinking and Management Fundamentals
. 0 Comments

Successful customer service is the process of delivering value to a customer in exchange for payment.

Surely this is the prime directive of any business.

But this process isn’t truly successful unless the relationship can be sustained; and only quality produces sustainability.

“Quality service” is a 20th century term businesses use to declare a commitment to diligent customer support. But customers typically associate it with, and businesses too often tolerate it as, promptly addressing a problem. Here’s what quality service might sounds like:

“We’re sorry that part was the wrong size. But we’re committed to quality service, so one of our trucks will be there in an hour with a new part.”

In most cases, quality service impresses the customer. But while prompt attention is admirable, it’s not optimal because it has a negative impact on sustainability in at least two ways: 1) The customer was inconvenienced by inaccurate service; 2) fixing an avoidable problem is the worst kind of profit-eating inefficiency.

In the 21st century, successful small business customer service requires converting “quality service” to the quality process.

Executing a quality process, put simply, is serving customers right the first time. Accomplishing a quality process ranges from the very basic – accurate order filling, to the more complex plan of integrating into your operation only those vendors that share your quality process commitment.

The optimal goal of your quality process is sustainability through profitable customer relationships. This is accomplished when customers return to find your profitable business is still there, ready to serve them successfully – again.

Cash is king because the impact of negative cash on a business will take your breath away. And profit is queen only because the manifestation of negative profit takes longer than negative cash, which is the reason why quality service is even tolerated as a business practice.

When you’re ready to stop tolerating profit-eating quality service and convert to the profit-making quality process, here’s a good a place to start: Leslie Kossoff’s book, Managing for Quality, just out now in the new 21st century edition, in hard-copy and e-formats.

Remember, the quality service you’re so proud of may be admirable, but when delivered in response to something that was avoidable, it assaults profitability, threatens sustainability and, therefore, ultimately could put you out of business.

Convert quality service into the more profitable – and sustainable – quality process.

I talk regularly with Leslie Kossoff about the quality process. You can listen or download our conversations here. I also talked more about converting quality service into a quality process today on The Small Business Advocate Show. Listen or download what I had to say.

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Spring clean your business in December

Published
by
Jim Blasingame
on November 30, 2011
in Future thinking and Management Fundamentals
. 0 Comments

One of the best ways to give your future the maximum opportunity to be successful is to make sure each new year begins with as little baggage from the past as possible. So, what grandmother used to do after a long winter, businesses need to do in December. Instead of spring cleaning, let’s do some December baggage elimination. Here are a few places to start.

Eliminate stuff: Even if you’re not a pack rat like me, you’ve accumulated stuff you don’t use anymore. If you’re not using it, sell it, give it away, or throw it away.

Digital graveyard: Don’t say you don’t have one. Whether it’s an old PC, monitor or printer – even if it isn’t broken – if it hasn’t been used recently it’s occupying valuable space. Sell it or call a computer recycling company.

Retool the team: The only thing worse than firing someone is letting an unproductive employee hold your team back for another year. The timing may seem insensitive, but it’s just an unfortunate coincidence that the holiday season coincides with December cleaning. You owe your productive people the most effective organization possible, which often means you have to let the unproductive ones do that elsewhere.

ABCDs of customers: Segregate customers into four groups, from the most profitable As to the least profitable Ds. Worship the As, cater to the Bs, encourage the Cs and teach the Ds about self-service. Customers who demand more commitment from you than they’re willing to reciprocate should be allowed to join your unproductive employees elsewhere.

ABCDs of inventory: As with customers, categorize inventory from the most profitable As to the least profitable Ds. Stock lots of As, some of the Bs, maybe a couple of the Cs, but never let a D spend one night under your roof unless it’s paid for. Remember, profitable inventory management means just-in-time, not just-in-case.

Scrub accounts receivable: Take the hit, and write off uncollectable A/R this year so you can start January with a clean list. A/R write-offs that are later collected become gravy for the new year, otherwise they’re tax deductions this year.

Each new year deserves to have the maximum opportunity to be successful, which means it shouldn’t be saddled with the baggage of last year’s obsolescence and bad decisions. By taking these steps you’ll be proving to yourself – and your banker – that you have the discipline to make critical decisions for which successful managers are known.

Don’t wait for spring. Start December cleaning today.

Recently on The Small Business Advocate Show, I talked with Patricia Sigmon, founder of LPS Consulting and author of Six Steps to Creating Profit, about how to wrap up this year and give the new year the maximum opportunity to be successful. Click here to download or listen.

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