Super Jobs for You

Twenty years ago I joined a company, reporting to one of the vice presidents. It didn’t take me too long to reach the conclusion that he was a terrific interviewer and represented the company well externally but at the same time he was also a lousy leader, manager and supervisor.

What was the most interesting aspect to me was his “Jekyll and Hyde” personality. Outside of work, he was funny, charming and friendly. Inside of work he was selfish, lazy and uncommunicative. He was the kind of individual that would make a great neighbor but you wouldn’t want to work for him or even with him.

Years later I came to the conclusion that there is almost always someone on the leadership or management team of a midsize company who is 100% committed to the status quo. This person is against change because change means they have to give something up. This person acts more like a lazy bureaucrat than a leader, manager or supervisor, simply interested in taking all they can from the company.

What are the warning signs, the symptoms that a bad apple exists on your leadership team?

The first is that this person has to have a staff reporting to them. That does not mean that they manager or supervise; it is almost as if having people reporting to them is like a security blanket, providing some sort of cloak of importance and status.

The second is that they do not supervise those that report to them. Their subordinates never hear praise and rarely get direction or feedback. Performance appraisals are never done on time–if they are done at all. Appraisals are done simply because the bad apple has been told to do them, “or else.” If there was no “or else,” they would not be done at all. If, as the owner, you suspect someone is a bad apple, ask subordinates to see the latest written performance appraisals they received. You will be hard pressed to see one in writing.

The third is that the bad apple is full of advice. It is always given verbally, never in writing. Putting something in writing commits them to a commitment of a thought, idea, concept or opinion; they avoid to extremes being held accountable for or to anything.

Fourth, follow-up and follow-through is non existent. While always talking a good game, the bad apple simply does not honor commitments. It is as if the words spoken by a bad apple went into the universe the second they were spoken, to be remembered by others but not by the bad apple. Deniability is always available when nothing is in writing.

Fifth, a bad apple never fires anyone. Yes, they grumble about the mistakes that some of their subordinates make. They do this only because the subordinate has done something that has made the bad apple look even worse; after all, the bad apple strives to stay out of the spotlight or limelight because attention is unhealthy.

Sixth, a bad apple doesn’t believe in training or educating subordinates; they believe in letting subordinates do their own thing. This is because it is too much work and too big of a hassle to actually spend more than the minimal amount of time interacting with subordinates.

The seventh is that amazingly enough, this individual is against growing the company. That might be too harsh; they don’t care if the company grows as long as they don’t have to work any harder or are imposed upon if it should happen. But, they are not going to go out of their way for it to occur.

What are they really against? They are against any additional burden, work, effort, paperwork, meetings, travel, loss of vacation, sick days, or imposition on anything that will prevent them from doing as little as possible for as much salary, bonus, benefits, vacation or sick days that they can get.

The bad apple sets a horrible example for others in the company. Some will quickly grasp the situation for what it is and simply ignore the bad apple. Others, unfortunately, will see this person as a member of the leadership team and emulate their behavior. This will cause a rift in the company and the one thing an owner doesn’t need is another issue to deal with.

Sometimes the people that “got you here” won’t “get you there.” Bad apples aren’t tolerated in the supermarket and they aren’t tolerated at home. If you have a bad apple, what are you going to do about it?

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People who own businesses make mistakes, perhaps more mistakes than their counterparts in Corporate America. This happens because in Corporate America, making mistakes is not only something to be avoided, making a big enough one means paying the ultimate price of losing your income. The tendency is to maintain the status quo.

In Entrepreneurial America, risk taking begins when the idea to launch a business surfaces. It grows with creating income for the owner and the employees that join the cause. Maintaining the status quo and failing to take calculated risks can harm, even doom any organization, but taking uncalculated risks can also be the ultimate cause of failure as well.

Through the years, considerable research has been done to document the reasons behind the failure rates of businesses. Here are several of the leading causes; none of them related to what most people believe is the real reason behind failure: the lack of revenue creation.

Partners not in sync

Most owners don’t have partners because they want total control over their businesses. Others have partners but both are clear on vision and short term objectives and have divided the work to achieve the goals set. But when two partners don’t agree on goals, timing, or process and cannot successfully divide the workload and responsibilities, fireworks of some sort usually occur.

Hating the numbers

An amazing percentage of owners dislike the financial aspects of business ownership because they are caught up in the operations on a day to day basis. Successful owners understand that understanding the components of cash flow, balance sheet and income statement is the only way to run a business in the long term.

Not listening

One of the most significant strengths of an owner is there stubbornness; their ability to see a vision and stay on course despite the difficulties they encounter. This spirit is one of the reasons why people succeed as owners. The flip side of this is that often, owners hear what they want to hear, not what they need to hear. Sadly, there are some owners who spend countless hours shopping for the perfect professional advisor who will only listen to someone who tells them exactly what the owner wants to hear.

Avoiding conversations

Most owners do not schedule or hold performance evaluations with their direct reports in an organized and systematic way. Because the leader sets a poor example, those managers do not take the time to schedule appraisals either. The result is an organization filled with people that assume that unless someone says something to them, they are doing a terrific job and wonder when their next raise is coming even when they are not meeting the qualifications of the job.

Old marketing materials

When a company does not invest in the external packaging most visible to current and prospective clients, it risks falling behind. When a logo looks old, so does the company. When letterhead, business cards, brochures and the company website aren’t current, it becomes a competitive disadvantage.

Hiring just anyone

“You’re not the person I hired!” is a common thought many owners have once a person starts work and the true colors of the employee emerges. An interview is when an applicant is on his or her very best behavior. Owners should invest time in learning how to interview to surface potential issues related to performance, values and attitudes, many hiring decisions could be avoided.

No plan

Running a business by the “seat of your pants” is risky and one of the principle reasons organizations fail. The lack of a plan also plays havoc with employees, who feel whiplash with the sudden changes in strategy and tactics. Those employees, who seek challenge and security, often burnout because keeping up with the whims of an unfocused owner is exhausting.

Not the right bank

As organizations grow, so do their financial requirements. The financial institution that the owner selects as the business is started may not be the one needed as the company grows. Larger banks provide convenience with multiple locations but often lack the ability to have a personal relationship with someone who understands the specific needs of the business. A smaller institution may not offer the same level of convenience because they do not have as many locations, but the relationships will likely be at a higher level, run deeper and longer.

Making mistakes goes with the territory, but if recognized early on, they can be avoided along with the costs that accrue.

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Early July signals an opportunity to review, refocus and renew. Every owner is typically overwhelmed but conducting periodic review and planning sessions is an essential part of success. Here is a guide for conducting a mid year evaluation.

What were my priorities at the start of the year? Did I make satisfactory progress? If not, why not? If so, what were the results? What are my priorities for the second half of the year?

Have I personally performed formal performance evaluations for every person who reports directly to me? Have I made certain that all of my direct reports have actually had one-on-one meetings to discuss performance with those that work for them? Have I seen those written evaluations, reviewed them and made appropriate comments?

Am I calendaring and conducting one-on-one meetings with those who report directly to me? Am I monitoring the one-on-one meetings my direct reports should be having with those that report to them? Am I enforcing this policy?

Since considerable time is spent in meetings, how effective are they? Are we improving the process of how we conduct meetings, or are they less effective than at the beginning of the year? What are five things we could do to make our meetings more effective?

When it comes to leadership, am I truly leading by example? Does my entire management team understand the standard that I set for myself is the standard I expect for them to set?

Have I met in person with significant clients in the first half of the year? Am I regularly in contact with other clients to see what kind of opportunities and challenges they are having? Do I ask about problems that clients are having with my company and am I working to eliminate or reduce those challenges?

Have I spent enough time with those in sales and marketing to insure that they have enough quality leads? Have I reviewed the process to make sure that leads that come to us are not forgotten or set aside, but are responded to professionally and timely?

Does my sales team have specific objectives for specific periods of time? Has anyone reviewed how each salesperson is doing compared to the objectives that have been set? What, if any, corrective action has been taken in the first half of the year to close the gap between plan and results? What will we do about the second half of the year?

Are my sales people improving their sales skills or are they declining? What is the company doing to make them better sales people and what are they doing as individuals to improve? Can we start an in-house sales training program? Should we bring in someone from the outside to conduct training?

Have I reviewed the organizational chart in the first six months of the year? Am I satisfied that the current lines of reporting are the most efficient way to run this business? Does anyone have too many direct reports working for them so as to hinder communication and execution of responsibilities?

Are we training every employee? How much and what kind of formal training has taken place in the first six months of the year? What additional areas, topics and responsibilities do people need more education in? Are we ‘throwing” people into jobs and giving them responsibilities before they are ready? Does every employee have the authority to do the job they hold?

Have we been able to reduce operating costs and expenses in the first half of the year? Has the management team been leading by example to demonstrate how to operate more efficiently and by operating with what we have as opposed to purchasing things that would be nice to have? Where else in the company could we reduce expenses?

How much time do I spend reviewing the financial and operational business plan for the year? Am I having a monthly financial review with my finance team to see where we are ahead and where we are behind? Am I getting specific recommendations from the team that the company can take action on?

Have I searched for financial leaks in the first six months of the year? Have I met with my insurance advisor to review coverage? Have I met with my business attorney for a review?

Have I met with my labor attorney to discuss changes in the law that might affect my company?

Have I met with my tax advisor? Have I met with my estate planning attorney? Is there any other external support I need that I do not have at present?

This review consists of fifty questions created to challenge and provoke. A full six months remain in the year with plenty of time remaining to achieve goals and end the year on a positive note. There is no time like the present to review where you’ve been and where you are going.

Super Jobs Information gives information on how to get a job and how to hire good people. If you are looking for Aluminum Castings Jobs look at this website. This SEO Information will give you more information you can use for Search Engine Optimization.

Several years ago at his monthly Executive Forum meeting, a Member shared with his peers that a long time client returned to do business with him after having left for a competitor. He was delighted by the news and called the client to find out why he got the business back. “You guys screw up less,” was the reply from the client.

While that is certainly not a slogan to base any advertising campaign on and it did not cause any rejoicing or celebration within his company, it serves a purpose to surface the means to set a company apart from others. ATT Wireless promotes itself as the company “with the fewest dropped calls,” after all; something hardly worth bragging about, yet that organization does.

Keith McFarland, author of the best selling book “The Breakthrough Company,” was asked in an interview to describe the one thing that caused the companies he researched to excel in spite of difficult competition, challenging economies and growing pains. He said, “They simply did it better.”

“Doing it better” sounds extremely nebulous. Most businesses are filled with many procedures and processes created to standardize how things are done to eliminate errors, yet mistakes are made every day.

Too many business owners believe that to do it better means an outlay of cash for equipment, people and materials. That is not what McFarland said and that is not what he means.

Despite spending massive amounts of money on advertising, most of find sources for products and services by word of mouth. That means that every time someone from an organization comes into a contact with a prospect or a client, that experience influences the base of referrals.

What do your prospects and clients experience when they come into contact with your business? Do they have a positive one that will propel them into doing more business with you and will cause them to mention and refer you to others?

Is there a way to simply improve the process of doing business with you that costs little or nothing?

The answer is yes, but three things must take place. The first is that you have to be open to changing how things are done in your company. The second is that you are committed to implementing the change even when facing resistance from employees who see it as “more work” or “another crazy idea” from the boss. The third is that you have to enforce it the change once it is made.

It is essential to explain the “why” behind the change. Taking the position of “I’m the boss and do what I tell you to” doesn’t work with today’s employees; no one blindly follows leaders today.

If you assume that people understand that the challenging economy requires changes in how things are done simply to help the firm stay in business, think again. People go with their own self-interest. This requires the owner to sell the idea to his or her employees. And like many buyers, acceptance won’t be immediate.

What can you do better in your company for your clients? Probably just about everything. What can those departments and people do better that serve internal clients? The answer is the same; just about everything.

How does an owner communicate the message? It can happen through the creation and communication of a simple yet powerful message that everyone understands.

Decades ago, as part of the ambitious programs (Mercury, Gemini and Apollo) that put man on the moon and returned him safely to the earth, Lockheed Missiles and Space Company rallied thousands of employees to the Main Thing of “Zero Defects.” This encouraged people to do their jobs better.

This year, on the way to the World Series, the Los Angeles Dodgers play Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ as they come to bat at home games in the bottom of the 8^th inning. As this is written, the team has the best record in baseball. The game on Monday night was won when the Dodgers scored two runs in the bottom of the 13^th inning; the game lasted four hours and ten minutes. The players believe and so do the fans.

Can your business simply do it better? The answer is yes, how is for you to determine.

Super Jobs For You gives information on how to get a job and how to hire good people. If you are looking for a Die Casting Job look at this website. This Die Casting Blog will give you more information you can use for manufacturing.