Along the lines of helpful articles and tips, this comes from Jim Paterson and the September 2008 issue of “Counseling Today.” While I’m a coach and not a counselor, I found this shadowbox article (on page 54) valuable to any business owner.
In his article, Jim identifies “six key points to consider before choosing a specialty”:
"The most successful executives carefully select understudies. They don't strive to do everything themselves. They train and trust others. This leaves them foot-free, mind-free, with time to think. They have time to receive important callers, to pay worthwhile visits. They have time for their families. No matter how able, any employer or executive who insists on running a one-man enterprise courts unhappy circumstances when his power dwindles." ~ B. C. Forbes, financial journalist and founder of Forbes magazine
"All growth, including political growth, is the result of risk-taking." ~ Jude Wanniski
"Wisdom ofttimes consists of knowing what to do next." ~ Herbert Hoover, President of the United States
While cleaning my office for year-end planning, I came across a batch of articles I had saved over the years while managing various departments (sales, service, training, admin).
One such article (from a Priority Management* newsletter) is called “Eight Ways to Make Teams Work.” Here are their eight tips (in bold) with my thoughts (in italics):
Managing people can pose a variety of challenges, but there are simple building blocks you can use to identify performance issues, address them, and create the results you want.
So my gift to you this holiday season is a variety of tips to help you improve your management skills and increase your impact.
For me, it starts before you hire anyone. You see, there are only a few reasons people don’t perform (and we can only influence a few of them):
"The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say, 'Thank you.' In between the two, the leader must become a servant and a debtor. That sums up the progress of an artful leader." ~Max Depree
"You can buy people's time; you can buy their physical presence at a given place; you can even buy a measured number of their skilled muscular motions per hour. But you cannot buy enthusiasm…you cannot buy loyalty…you cannot buy the devotion of hearts, minds, or souls. You must earn these." ~Clarence Francis
"Only God is in a position to look down on anyone." ~Sarah Brown
"No great genius ever existed without some touch of madness." ~Seneca
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paul@response-ableconsulting.com