Friday, November 21, 2008

Be twice as good every two years


How new is your business? It takes approximately two years for processing power to double. It makes sense to keep your company up to pace with new technology. Computers’ processing speed and capabilities double every two years. Every two years the rate at which information becomes available also doubles.
Is your business’s capability doubling every two years, or are you falling into a capability gap?

The capability gap is the difference between the amount of information you need to remain competitive and the amount of information you can actually generate.
It is therefore important to develop a plan to improve, and ultimately double the capability of your business. This will not only enable you to do more, but it will also enable you to make more happen and be twice as good as you were two years ago.

Use an annual budget for technological growth, and implement it into a two-year business plan to keep track of it and maintain enough continuity to successfully mange your business.

Survival isn’t optional. You have to close the capability gap. You can accomplish this by acquiring new technology, or investing in reliable technology, or both. Whichever one matters to you makes no difference, as long as it keeps you moving forward... double time.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Sometimes a manager stands alone


As manager of your management function you are held accountable for the attainment of set objectives. When big decisions come across your path you can follow the average path of consensus, or you can stick your head out and make fact based, 100% pure decisions.

When the big decisions break on your shore you will be standing alone. These are the times when conviction counts, and you will have to rely on the facts and the maths to make informed decisions.

The numbers, the facts, your experience and your integrity will be the best tools for making sound decisions. In order for a business to prosper in the current day and age, decisions have to be better than average. They have to perfectly match the circumstances that surround them.

Don’t be tempted to take average decisions. Don’t simply do what is expedient, politically correct, cheap or harmless. Do the right thing.
Let the facts and figures guide you. They are hardly ever wrong.
You might loose the popularity contest, but you will win the market, shareholders and employees favour for a job well done.

Consensus leads to a peaceful environment. Conviction leads to profit and success.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Don’t loose touch with your staff and co-workers


It won’t kill you to get into the front-line every once in a while. Answer some calls, work a few shifts, do the filing and make your own coffee.

Over the course of time many mangers tend to withdraw from the fiery furnace to the sterile, air conditioned comfort of their private offices. For some reason managers tend to get off the train in order to avoid communicating with the staff.

Stay in touch with your people. Don’t drift off into outer space and become a stranger to those around you. As a manager, CEO or director of an organisation it is important that I remind you that the people working with and underneath you actually appreciate seeing you once in a while.

This is especially true during times of change and economic uncertainty. Your people are looking at you for reassurance, peace of mind, inspiration and motivation.
How can you expect people to share your vision if they never see you around?

Being a stranger to your people will lead to a humble fall.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

End the casual relationships with your suppliers


During the course of the past twelve months I have read numerous newsletters, articles and blog entries that cover the topic of perfect partnerships. For those of us who do not have the time and money to buy every book that covers this topic and read it, I would like to share with you three things you need to measure to distinguish partners from suppliers.

Upon closer inspection you will notice that large corporations have partnerships, not suppliers as the case would be with most SME’s.
The reason for having partnerships instead of suppliers is simple. Suppliers end up being a pain in the behind.

So, how do you distinguish a suppliers from partnership?

  1. Partnerships exceed expectations, and they ultimately live up to the promises they make. Do they live up to the promises they made?

  2. Partnerships shows better return on investment. Are you getting your penny’s worth?

  3. Partnerships constitute organisational capability. Are you getting the support you deserve from head office?



Casual relationship suppliers tend to:

  1. Waste time with lots of meetings.

  2. Waste time because of substantial supervision requirements.

  3. Waste time on solving internal issues with processes, procedures and policy.

  4. Waste time and effort as casual relationships tend to be short-term.

  5. Waste time with low-value transactions.

  6. Waste time to low referral rates and high termination probability that disrupts your company.



If you want to waste time you should continue your casual relationships with your suppliers.
If you want to develop into a large business you should work at establishing partnerships:

  1. Less meetings and more work.

  2. Less issues and supervision.

  3. Long-term relationship stability. Something that is worth time investment.

  4. Big value, high incentive contracts.

  5. Automatic growth.

  6. No need to terminate the partnership, resulting in low risk.



If you are aiming at becoming big you won’t tolerate casual suppliers. It is either up or out. Put the same effort into selecting your suppliers as you would a life-partner.
In partnerships all parties look out for each other. In casual relationships you will feel like a Friday night one-night-stand.

Favourite books in my shelve

Favourite books in my shelve