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Small
Business
Senior Manager Training
Your Key
to Success
A
New Article Series: The Wheel of Management!
We have just launched a
new series of articles in "The Wheel of Management" We think you will
like them!
Mark-up
or Margin, are you confused?
I am sure
most
of my readers check the search words used by visitors to their website.
I do almost every day, and there are some very revealing and frankly
shocking facts which emerge. Perhaps the most shocking is the fact that
the commonest type of search which finds my site goes
something
like "What markup do I need for a 25% margin?"
To Read More go to the
full article.
A Budget is so much more than just a financial plan!
Every time I tell a client that he needs to prepare a
budget, I know the reaction will be a groan. "All that work and what
good does it do?" My response is equally predictable, "If you think
that you are neither doing it right or using it right"
Read
More
New Year Resolutions for Small Business Owners.
As we enter the new year, we all make resolutions about
change we intend to make in our lives. So why not give some thought to
those resolutions we need to make for change we need to make in our
business. Here are some I think many small business owners will benefit
from.
Read
More
What
is Break-Even?
The
Break-even point is defined as
the point where total gross
revenue from sales equals total fixed
expenses plus total variable
expenses.
Read
More
Managing
cash in your small business.
The
recession seems to be nearing it's end and good times are on the way.
Sales will begin to grow and we will be busy again. End of problem? Not
really: - beware of the cash crunch.
Read
More
Accountability
is a two way street!
I
was reading in the newspaper today that the new CEO of General Motors
had called upon his senior staff to be "accountable". That is a good
call, but in my experience the problem is often the reverse. By that I
mean most senior personnel would like nothing better than
being treated as accountable for their results, but feel that they are
being micro-managed at every step of the way.
Read
More
Why
Do Small Business Owners Struggle with Accountability?
When I speak with small business owners, the
conversation
almost always comes round to the question, "How do I make my people
accountable? The immediate response I make is "Tell them, measure them,
then trust them."
Read
More
Would
you employ an un-trained Plumber?
Many entrepreneurs are trades people who
decided they could
do a better job at running a company than their then boss and break out
to do their own thing. Being trades people they know the importance of
training, and yet they plunge in willy- nilly to being the CEO
Read
More
Some
General Rules to Help You Sell in the Post Recession
Economy
The 90's and early 2000's were a time of
great expansion and
sales growth was expected and assumed. However, as we come out of this
recession, this kind of sales growth cannot continue to be expected.
With the future not being as rosy and with more uncertainty, the sales
effort has to become more focused and the company has to spend a lot
more time and effort on selling.
Read
More
Your
AR is Your Cash in Someone Else's Bank Account
As a management consultant I see many
different businesses
but in most cases the problems are the same. In the over 50 clients I
worked with over the past three years, not one did not have a problem
with accounts receivable (AR). The common response to the
question was "They are such a good customer, we don't want to upset
them."
Read
More
What
is Accountability?
One of the most elusive concepts in
management is
accountability. In leadership roles, accountability is the
acknowledgment and assumption of responsibility for actions within the
scope of a role or position, encompassing the obligation to report, and
be answerable for resulting consequences. Once accountability becomes a
part of your management style, you will see improved results and more
satisfied employees.
Read
More
You
Only Get One Chance to Create a First Impression
Why do some salespeople make
it look so easy? Most likely their secret is that they have developed
an effective sales message. Remember your product or service is just a
means to an end in the eyes of the customer. You have to address the
customers' "end" in order to get the order.
Read
More
How
to use Delegation in
your Small Business.
One of the most important
skills a small business CEO or other senior manager must master is
delegation. The reason is very simple. He cannot do it all himself.
Unfortunately delegation is not that simple, and mastering it takes
commitment and practice. If one is to be a successful manager,
delegation is a necessity.
Read
More
Mark-up
or Margin, what is the
difference.
"I need 25% margin to be profitable" you
say. "So why don't
you price to achieve that margin?" I ask. "Your 25% mark-up is actually
a 20% margin!" It usually takes half an hour plus a calculator and
several scraps of paper before you agree that they are pricing their
product/service 5% lower than they intended.
Read
More
Delegation
and Accountability: Two Strings of the Same Bow.
Delegation and accountability have
several similarities
in concept. These two building blocks of management are two strings of
the same bow. Yes, to have effective delegation, you need to hold your
designees accountable, and to be successful in holding your
subordinates accountable you must have effectively delegated the
required authority.
Read
More
Is
there a discipline problem in your small business?
I
ask this question at most of my clients, and there is a very
interesting result. When the question is posed to the senior managers,
most often the answer is "no". On the other hand, when the responder is
in the field or on the shop floor, the answer very often is "yes". Why
the difference. Simply put, most supervisors avoid applying
discipline. They are scared of losing the guys support. On the other
hand, the workers see one or two of the group getting away with
transgressions, and they get really upset.
Read
More
How
to properly organize your small business
An alternative description
of a company is an organization, but experience shows that very few
small businesses are properly organized. Well defined organizational
structure is the framework upon which a business depends for its form
and efficiency.
Read
More
Return
to Article Index
If
you want to start getting your life back, call Mike Anderson
at
(941)
855-0235
and say
"Train
me to be a CEO"
Email
| The
Author
After 25 years consulting to small and medium sized companies,
Mike
Anderson, principal of Train
Me To Be a CEO
realized that the most important part of his work was training the CEO,
and the reason he was such a good consultant was that he did that very
well.
Trained as an engineer,
he became a CEO of
a midsize corporation at the age of 35. After a spell at Harvard
Business School he entered the world of consulting.
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Programs
Three
main programs are offered to small
business owners.
1.
In house "one on one" CEO training. Minimum 2
days, usually one to two weeks. (Great!)
2.
Regional seminars. Restricted to 8-10 people,
an intensive 2 day training. (most economical). Click here for upcoming
seminar schedule.
3.
Ongoing mentorship. Begins with a minimum two
day one on one, but continues with monthly or quarterly follow up
sessions. (Smart and probably Best!) .
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References
A New England Contractor
"Mike Anderson has been
working diligently
with the upper management team at (our firm). Mike is extremely
knowledgeable and has an exceptional way of dealing with many different
personalities. He has worked very closely with the Sales Team to
impress upon them the importance of using a consistent method of
estimating. He was instrumental in restructuring our accounting
procedures."
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