Business Management

I just love the book "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" by Robert M. Pirsig, in part because I love philosophy, in part because I love trail bikes and in part because I am keenly interested in the issues of Quality versus Quantity (a major theme of this book). I'm just about to start reading it for the third time, because each of the last two times I drew new and different meaning from it. Anything philosophical awakens in me the almost overwhelming awareness that we are each part of something bigger than just ourselves, bigger than our day to day activities, our beliefs, our intentions and dreams and fears and penchants. Everything we "know" is relative - relative to the experiences we have had, relative to what we believe about the world, relative to our assumptions about the intentions of others, relative to what we have noticed and learned through our lives (and relative to much more too). Our "knowledge" is a mud map, not a satellite image from Google Earth and most certainly not the territory itself.
It's not hard to see then, why different people behave differently in response to the same performance measurement activity. And that's one of the big reasons why buy-in is such an elusive state to attain.
how people can react to performance measurement
Someone's map of reality influences the way they feel and act around performance measurement. Someone who is used to being blamed for things will feel defensive and fearful around performance measurement. They may throw up unlimited objections as to why performance measurement isn't needed or how they haven't got time to collect all the data. Someone who has put a lot of time (perhaps even blood, sweat and tears) into collecting performance data and never seen anything come from it will feel cynical and frustrated by performance measurement. They will at best bring their body to any new performance measurement initiative, leaving behind their heart and mind. Someone who has been frequently rewarded for outstanding performance would feel very comfortable and engaged around their existing performance measures, but may feel very nervous at the prospect of changing those performance measures.
These are just simple examples. And I'm sure you can imagine a selection of the these people in your own organisation. I've seen a selection of these people in just about every team I have ever facilitated through performance measurement activities. But getting these team members to a state of buy-in is something I seem to consistently achieve. How do I do this?
the art of performance measurement and buy-in
Performance measurement certainly does have (and need) a substantial technical base. Our performance measures would be a waste of time if they weren't linked to strategy, clearly defined, calculated consistently and using good quality data, or presented in a way that encouraged valid interpretation. However, our performance measures are also a waste of time if people involved in the measurement process (selecting measures, bringing them to life, or using them) don't buy-in to their measures, don't have a strong sense of owning those measures. This is the non-technical or human base to performance measurement, and without it, the technical base isn't enough.
Getting buy-in is, to me, more an art than a science. It's not about following a set of steps that will lead you to a state of buy-in. It's about creating and holding the space for people to safely explore what performance measurement can mean for them, personally. And creating and holding the space for this can mean adopting attitudes and behaviours like:
* don't educate people in performance measurement - facilitate them through an action learning cycle that combines a little theory (such as techniques) and a lot of implementation (or even pilot testing)
* don't tell people what they should measure - do show people a process to follow that can help them decide what is worth measuring themselves
* don't be the judge, jury and executioner of people's measures - do suggest that people invite open feedback from all stakeholders about their chosen measures
* don't micro-manage performance - do give people the time to use their measures to understand their performance and take the initiative to improve it themselves
* don't blame people for poor performance results - do encourage people to analyse the causes, take corrective action and learn from this
* don't assume that performance measurement is about control - do believe that performance measurement is about connecting people to something meaningful for themselves as well as the organisation (better control is a by-product of this)
How people respond to performance measures has a huge amount to do with how they connect themselves to a bigger picture.
Stacey Barr is the Performance Measure Specialist, helping people to measure their business strategy, goals and objectives so they actually achieve them.

How often have you heard a manager complain that communication is not effective because no one seems to be taking any notice of the memos or directives? Well, we are always tempted to believe that there is ineffective communication within some organisations but replace one of the usual memos with one saying that each person has won a million dollars and then sit back and look at just how effective that communication is!
The usual manner of communicating is not as effective as it could be because many managers have the wrong priorities to make their communication effective so staff gradually become selective in what they react to. The highest priorities for a leader of others should be the following, and in the order stated:
* To give a sense of purpose and vision to their team. * To set high standards. * To plan strategy and future action. * To set goals and objectives. * To communicate clearly
You cannot communicate clearly if you have no standards for your team to adhere to, they have little purpose, and there is no strategy, no goals or objectives. Everything will be confusing and, worst of all, the communication won't match up with the intention of the department or wider organisation.
Lack of Confidence If all those key roles have been initiated, and in the right order, they will automatically lead to the manager being able to do the following:
a. Define individual responsibilities clearly, so that each team member knows exactly how he/she links into the chain of activities; b. Delegate appropriate and challenging tasks; c. Monitor the targets set; d. Provide praise, encouragement and support in the form of regular feedback and, above all, e. Take full responsibility for staff actions and future outcomes.
Many managers tend to fall foul of the last requirement because of their own lack of confidence and interpersonal skills in dealing with people. They might readily acknowledge that the buck stops with them, but they actually expect their staff to carry the can and take full responsibility for errors, cock-ups and misinterpretations. The performance of the team is the leader's responsibility and when something goes wrong it is invariably due to poor communication, low motivation, or a loss of respect for the person in charge. Either way, it falls squarely on the manager's shoulders. The good leader shields and protects colleagues, while helping them to develop so they are fully aware of what is expected.
When managers expose their team members' weaknesses or inadequacies, yet deliberately take the credit for their successes, that is the biggest indication of their own lack of understanding of the management role and their inability to lead. They are actually relinquishing responsibility because of their insecurities and ineptitude. They cannot deal with the problems appropriately so they expect their subordinates to bear the brunt of the consequences. Yet, if the communication had not been faulty or ambiguous, there would be fewer setbacks. Close monitoring of staff would have revealed early trends in the interpretation of the instructions or suggestions and in the execution of the given tasks.
Monitoring Results In a nutshel, the best managers value their staff and communicate well. This does not mean sending tons of paper or emails around to read, but actually giving clear comments or instructions, simply and briefly, to ensure everyone understands what's expected of them. Once a communication is given, the end result needs to be monitored. If a response from a member of the team is due at some time in the future, it has to be followed up until delivered. It is a lack of monitoring activities which leads to the worst problems for team leaders; a situation likely to be blamed on lack of time because leaders themselves are busy.
But the greatest fallacy around leadership is that when you are in charge of a team you have to work terribly hard to set an example to others. In fact, if you are too busy you are not doing your job properly. A competent manager delegates tasks and leaves his or her team to get on with them. The primary job for the manager at all times is to be there for the staff, to concentrate on their needs; to be available to answer queries, to check progress, to advise and encourage, to deflect inappropriate action and to assist where needed. If the manager focuses on the team, her/his guidance will ensure they do 150% because consistent positive attention to their needs and problems will boost their feeling of value and motivation.
To every single colleague, the team leader is the most important person. The one they wish to please and impress. When the team is neglected because the manager is 'too busy' the results become all too apparent in unexpected negative outcomes and low productivity. Everyone likes to feel appreciated and recognised for a job well done and the lowest morale is often created by this lack of attention and recognition from managers. This is because they tend to stress the negative, critical aspects of their workforce instead of the positives, which end up undermining or diminishing genuine team effort. In such situations, it is difficult for collagues to remain loyal or to focus on desired outcomes.

Project management is the art of organizing and managing resources in an efficient method which completes the project at hand in the way it was meant to be. A project is a temporary task which creates either a product or service, so managing each individual one is a unique process. It's important to recognize all the dimensions needed to complete a project and act on them in an orderly fashion.
Construction project management differs from the general term of project management in the way that construction project management specifically refers to organizing a project regarding the area of construction. Also, much of construction project management is done digitally through software to ensure that nothing is left out. This works because sometimes it's easy for a project manager to forget a thing or two when he or she is stressed out from the time limits or budgets given.
Project management software helps individuals in keeping track of a complicated project which might easily become confusing if all the components are not kept organized. Things that need to be taken into consideration are appointments, communication, resource allocation, and more. Even people like subcontractors and employees need to be thought of and remembered to check up on their work progress and receive pay. People also use the software to make sure that various deadlines are met and that the overall project is completed on time, and that the many requirements previously calculated in construction estimating like staying in budget are met.
If you are interested in doing some research or feels that construction project management software if needed in your job, then looking at online construction software websites which rates different types of software according to requirements is a good first step. Once you know which construction project management software is right for you, then purchasing is the next step. However, if you're thinking of starting a business, then perhaps your very first concern should not be construction project management. The step before finding project management software is acquiring a good construction estimating software, and there are plenty of websites regarding that as well out on the internet. A website which satisfies both of these needs and more is www.web-based-software.com/reviews.asp. You can find a plethora of software regarding every aspect of construction that one could possibly need.

Trends in Small Business Management Skills
New data has shown that the majority of business owner-operators neglect their personal needs and have no plan to exit their business upon retirement. The survey indicates that only 37% of owner-operators have planned for their own exit from the business and only 38% have any form of personal development plan to ensure ongoing career development and satisfaction.
64% of SME owners work more than a 40-hour week and only 45% take four weeks holiday each year. While many business owners consider they’re in business for lifestyle reasons, this is clearly not their reality.
These insights have emerged from a sample of more than 300 Small to Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in 32 industries. Respondents have gone to http://www.eyeswideopen.com.au/pages/Quiz where they have completed a 22-point questionnaire that provides them with a snapshot of their own business, how it rates in their industry and compares it with the total sample.
Kirrily Dear, Director of ‘Eyes Wide Open’ (a pragmatic business consultancy servicing SMEs) says this survey is different because it addresses the happiness and fulfillment of the owner.
“We believe it is the first time the owner-operator’s personal needs have been acknowledged as a critical part of management. It is possible that there is a connection between business owners neglecting their personal needs as they strive to grow their business and the long terms sustainability of small businesses”.
Management Skills Gap
In the wake of a major growth surge in the size of the SME sector of the economy over the last ten years, the survey points to a serious gap in on-going management skills.
For example, only 61% of businesses completing the questionnaire set and hit their sales and profit targets in the last 12 months. 60% have defined roles; responsibilities and targets for their team, but only 55% actually conduct regular performance reviews.
However, small business owners continue to perform well as employers. 87% encourage team members to contribute ideas on improving business operations and 85% regularly offer encouragement to the team. 77% regularly discuss achieving business goals with their team.
Out in the lead is the Human Resources sector with an overall score of 73%. This industry out-performs others in internal communication and performance management. For instance, 86% of Recruitment/HR/Outplacement companies conduct regular performance reviews compared with the total sample (55%). Many also work 40 hours per week or less.
At the other end of the spectrum, the Retail trade had an average score of 44%. This sector scored below average on 19 of the 22 attributes measured. Of particular concern for this sector is the lack of planning. Only 23% had a business plan compared to 50% overall.
The questionnaire is available online for the next six months and can be completed by any SME owner-operator. Ms Dear says, “It is very thought-provoking and reminds us of key management issues that may have been forgotten in the busy-ness of day-to-day business”.
Kirrily Dear has this advice for SME owner-operators: “Take stock of why you are in business and what's important to you. It is important to be clear about these factors to ensure you are able to sustain your motivation and commitment to building a successful business. Also you need to work on reducing the extent to which the business relies on you personally. It is crucial that you keep perspective on your own health and general well-being”.
Survey top-line Results:
1. Recruitment, HR, Outplacement = 73%
2. Accommodation, restaurants, cafes = 66%
3. Marketing & Biz Consulting = 62%
4. Manufacturing and construction = 61%
5. Financial Planning = 59%
6. Accounting and business administration = 58%
7. Retail trade = 44%

The Truth about Business and Executive Coaching
People from all walks of life are jumping onto the coaching bandwagon, lured by stories of £100,000 salaries, many with little or zero experience are fighting for their piece of the pie. Let’s get down to facts and demolish a few myths, mostly generated by the coaching industry itself.
Myth One; you can earn at least £5000 a week/month as a life/business/executive coachFact: 40% of coaches earn less than 10k a year, and the majority struggle to remain in the profession for more than a year. The reality is in the majority of cases it’s the coach training organisations that are raking in the money.
Myth Two; Coaching is officially recognisedFact; There is not one official coach training orgainisation or body that is recognised by any government anywhere in the world. The reality is that some of the larger "international" coaching associations were privately founded by commercial training companies for the purpose of externally ‘legitimising’ their training courses. These types of associations typically have a private business agenda that concentrates on adding large numbers of members to their database for revenue generating purposes.
Myth Three; Clients are crying out for coachesFact; The industry has more coaches than clients, during a survey over 50% of ICF coaches said it took them over two years to obtain their first coaching assignment. Every week a new coaching company springs up offering “certification”, the industry is already saturated with ill equipped, “coaches” with little or no actual practical experience, coaches are crying out for clients.
Myth Four; You need a ICF (international coach federation) diploma to be recognised as a legitimate coach Fact; The ICF was formed in the mid 1990’s by Coach U, a USA based online coach provider for the purpose of certifying their own life coaching courses.
Myth Five; Certification adds credibility and confirms level of experience Fact: Certification means absolutely zilch and does not qualify someone as having the best skills and experience as a business/executive coach.
Myth Six; Coaching organisations are selective in who they admit on to a coach training programme. Fact: They couldn’t care less as long as you can cough up the cash.
Myth; Coaching can be done over the phone Fact: Hmm really? How can a coach possibly offer expert advice without meeting the individual face to face? Can a Doctor diagnose an Illness over the phone? No he wants to examine you first. The same applies to coaching, a one on one meeting is essential in the first instance for the effective implementation of a coaching protocol. Then and only then can coaching assignments be carried out at a distance.
So what is important about selecting a coach for your business?Experience in business! Theo Paphitis on a recent edition of BBC2’s Dragons Den was approached by a prospective entrepreneur to set up a coaching project. When questioned about how many years she had studied, she replied none, I trained with a master over two months (NLP master in this case), the only masters are school masters or as they are more commonly known head teachers or head masters or ships masters. If anyone calls themselves a master run a mile. She was then questioned what practical business experience she had. Answer none. Theo quite rightly then questioned how anyone could set them selves up as a business coach/trainer/mentor/consultant with out actually having experience in business!. As was expected all Dragons, quickly dismissed the business model as impractical.
Lets face it if you need your car serviced you get a qualified mechanic who has had many years experience working on cars, preferably on your make. If you want your plumbing fixed you get a qualified plumber who has served his/her time as an apprentice fixing many sinks etc, if you have gynacologist problems you go to a qualified gynaecologist not a plumber!
The same rule of thumb applies to taking on a coach, if you want to get your sales team motivated, hire a coach that has worked in sales, if you want a coach to help your grow your business get one that has either run his own business for at least five years or who has worked at a senior level for a major blue chip company. If you want a coach to motivate and inspire your staff to overcome obstacles, setbacks and problems get one that has started a business, or preferably several, gone bust, lost everything and started again.
Trust me on this he will offer more value and practical experience to your company than anyone who has a “certificate”.
The coaches’ role is to improve results and performance, coaches don’t know everything and should hold their hand up and say I don’t know rather than trying to be all things to all men. Executives don’t want yet another course, they need unbiased support and constructive input and criticism, the same approach does not work with every client. If you have a suite tailor made in saville row, it wont fit others. Coaching is the same, individual and bespoke taking the needs of the individual balanced with the needs of the client into account.
Ian Broadmore is a leading motivational speaker, personal development consultant, coach and mentor.Founder ofIan Broadmore Changing Lives and The Abintra Clinic. Ian is featured regular in the media as an expert on personal development and strategy management. Working with both individuals who seek a better quality of life or corporations that require change management, he is based in Londons Harley Street

Back when I first considered offering clients executive coaching services, I had a misconception of what it was. One I shared, perhaps, with many others: I thought it was the unquantifiable art of fixing broken behavior and personalities.
It’s not. It’s about business performance and how human behavior impacts your bottom line.
Executive coaching is actually the skillful delivery of effective feedback as part of a systematic application of proven behavioral science tools that identify, target, define, measure and incrementally improve human behavior, with the objective of advancing business performance.
There can be “touchy feely” elements to coaching, but no more so than in other areas of human relations — they’re called interpersonal skills.
Effective executive coaching is more methodical and process-oriented than one might assume.
Here are nine points for you as a business owner or leader to remember when assessing the need for executive coaching — for you, for a few key employees, or for a whole team:
1. Business objectives. First and foremost—it’s all about business objectives. If the coaching being considered is not explicitly aligned with the company’s overall business strategies and goals, it will neither be effective nor a worthy investment of company resources.
2. Key performers. Executive coaching should be considered for your most important people—and especially those in leadership roles. Effectively coached leaders can positively “infect” your organization with what they learn from their coaching experience and your “learning ROI” will increase exponentially. These primary performers must be in positions that carry out the behaviors critical to achieving the targeted business objectives.
3. Collective goal setting. You, alone, will not be dictating the process. Once the business objectives have been identified, and the key performers have been chosen, you, the performers and the coach will establish specific behavioral goals that lead toward those business targets.
4. Safe environment. A coaching program is most effective when delivered in a safe, open, honest, and supportive environment focused on organizational growth and individual development—not one fraught with punitive consequences and “do it or else” extrinsic motivational influences.
5. Change. Coaching is an effective tool to help human behavior adapt to change in an organization. If you are introducing cultural, organizational or procedural change in your company, coaching should be a part of that change event. New initiatives are more likely to fail if human behavior does not change to support the new way of doing things.
6. Expectations. Human behavior changes incrementally. We learn new skills and change our ways a step at a time. If you are considering coaching, have a frank and open discussion about expectations with the coach you bring in and with those who will be coached.
7. Not therapy. Executive coaching is not a form of—or a replacement for—therapy, spirituality or psychoanalysis; it’s a business tool.
8. Measurable. If you engage an executive coach, understand the process and how success is measured. Measuring change in desirable and undesirable human behavior is elemental in effective coaching and applied behavioral sciences.
9. Part of the whole. Coaching should be but one piece of the performance puzzle. Consider executive coaching as part of an overall people development structure in your organization that contains a strong 360-degree performance appraisal program; an effective rewards and recognition system; regular business skills training opportunities; employee feedback outlets; professional development seminars; and ongoing leadership enhancement initiatives.
Executive coaching works, but it is most effective when used for the right reasons. It’s a business decision.
And like all good business decisions, it should be about your business.

There seems to be no gray area when it comes to trusting and being trusted. Many things affect our decision to trust - past experience, new information, attitude towards risk - but one thing is certain: if trust is betrayed, it is more likely to be withheld in the future.
Are you fostering a culture of trust in your organization? By trust, I mean believing that people will say and do the right things for the right reasons.
According to many studies, organizations with a high trust factor are far more likely to have superior financial performance, so besides being something nice to have, there are serious economic implications for a work environment grounded in mutual trust. In his book "The Speed of Trust", Stephen M.R. Covey explains this using two very simple equations: "When trust goes down, speed will go down and cost will go up. That's a tax. When trust goes up, speed goes up, cost goes down. That's a dividend." Think about it. For example, when you micromanage the work of someone you've hired specifically for their expertise, time is wasted on unnecessary conversations, rework, multiple reviews, and jumping through approval hoops. That time - yours and theirs - costs. Productivity is greatly diminished and the speed of decision-making resembles the last runner in a marathon - finally there, but who cares anymore?
A recent study by Watson Wyatt Worldwide indicated only 49% of employees reported having trust and confidence in the performance of senior management, down from 51% in 2004. The results aren't surprising given the rash of widely publicized corporate scandals. Trust, according to Covey, is about character as well as competence. In a recent interview in Workforce Management he said, "You can do a lot about this. You can establish trust. You can grow it. You can restore it."
If a survey was taken today in your organization on the three important aspects of trust, how do you think people would answer these questions about you?
Integrity: Are you telling me the truth?
Credibility: Do you know what you're doing?
Sincerity: Do you care?
The answers will either be "YES" or "NO."

The Police and Neighborhood Safety. The authors had developed a theory based on their observations of a well-known sequence of events in some urban communities, summarizing it like this:
“Evidence of decay (accumulated trash, broken windows, deteriorated building exteriors) remains in the neighborhood for a reasonably long period of time.
People who live and work in the area feel more vulnerable and begin to withdraw. They become less willing to intervene to maintain public order (for example, to attempt to break up groups of rowdy teens loitering on street corners) or to address physical signs of deterioration. Sensing this, teens and other possible offenders become bolder and intensify their harassment and vandalism. Residents become yet more fearful and withdraw further from community involvement and upkeep. Some people leave if they can. This atmosphere then attracts offenders from outside the area, who sense that it has become a vulnerable and less risky site for crime.”
Further to the publication, two things happened. First of all, a fuller theory emerged from what had been an observation of reality, one still too familiar in many of our cities today. Second, actions were taken in many places in the US, some of them counterintuitive, misinterpreted or controversial even now. The glue that holds the ‘Broken Windows’ theory together, belongs to the behavioral and social sciences. I suggest that it is extremely useful - beyond the unpleasantness of some suburban life - to understand organizational decline in our safer and perhaps even cosier business organizations. As in suburban US, there are practical ways to deal with the organizational deterioration, or, alternatively, dare I say, get out before it’s too late.
The ‘Broken windows theory’ suggests that relatively small - and in themselves often harmless - realities (broken windows, graffiti on walls, litter in the streets, etc.) have the power, if not addressed promptly, of creating big social changes by sending signals to the environment. These signals are interpreted as “Nobody cares much around here, it is safe to break things, litter or vandalize, etc.”, and this makes the environment attractive to people who engage in this kind of behavior. Prolonged harmless graffiti leads to more broken windows and wider vandalism because its message is: “You can get away with destruction here”, which opens the door to broader disorder. To put it bluntly, small deterioration can create irreversible decline. The theory was a pillar for what, years later, would be known as the ‘zero tolerance’ law enforcement policy in places such as New York, which has often been misunderstood, I suspect even by many who quote the policy.
The conventional wisdom of the action to be taken to fix these problems would read: don’t let them get away with it, punish them. But in behavioral sciences terms, punishment has very moderate effects, at least if compared with what we call ‘extinction’, that is, making sure that if there are incentives for those engaged in the disorder, these incentives are removed. In behavioral sciences, we call behavioral reinforcement anything that, ‘attached’ to a given behavior, has the ability to increase the probability of that behavior. For the New York gangs engaged in massive graffiti on the underground trains, for example, the reinforcement could probably be understood in terms of a sense of power got from seeing the effects of their actions all over the place and the apparent immunity they enjoyed. Power, ego building, a sense of achievement, group spirit… Whatever it is or was, it is reinforcing those behaviors, that is, is motivating these people to do it again. While conventional wisdom and popular psychology would suggest that the police should find and punish those perpetrators, a truly behavioral sciences-based approach would favor the removal of the reward over the application of punishment. And this is precisely what authorities in places such as New York did. Instead of ‘find them and punish them’ they opted for ‘find them and show them the futility of their actions’. How? By cleaning the graffiti as fast as they could, in same cases in front of the perpetrator’s own noses. And, as a knock-on effect, overall crime declined. Big time.
‘Broken windows’ policy is far from a theoretical framework. It has clear consequences, as a commentator in the Washington Post described: “The theory has spawned a revolution in law enforcement and neighborhood activism. Broken windows? Get building owners to replace them. Graffiti on the walls? Scrub them clean, then get tough with graffiti artists. Abandoned cars? Haul them away. Drunks on the sidewalks? Get them off the streets, too”. He also cites an official American neighborhood website: “These ‘order strategies’ such as those listed below help to deter and reduce crime: quick replacement of broken windows; prompt removal of abandoned vehicles: fast clean-up of illegally dumped items, litter and spilled garbage; quick paint out of graffiti; finding (or building) better places for teens to gather than street corner: fresh paint on buildings and clean sidewalks and street gutters”. It couldn’t be more prescriptive.
We have our own versions of graffiti and litter in our companies, and I am not talking about the cleanliness of the toilets. Organizational life is full of rules of the game, some of them explicit, others tacit, some necessary, some not, some enabling us to do our jobs, some plain silly and only created to satisfy big egos. In non-judgmental behavioral terms, rules create the borders of what is or is not acceptable, therefore serving as a map for people in the organization. If the rule is stupid, people should be able to challenge it by trying to change it but never by simply ignoring it.
There is a trick here. Ignoring a stupid rule and being able to do so without being penalized, may have the intentional good consequence of making that rule less stable, which is good news. However, if an authority figure in the organization ignores the rule, period, this is a graffiti signal to others saying: rules are not taken seriously here. This may be unintended, but it is potentially a powerful trigger for widespread lack of compliance. In the process of fixing A (by ignoring it), we have created problem B. However, many rules are not stupid. They simply guide efficacy or effectiveness or time management or information flow or quality maintenance. If you see a decrease in compliance, a progressive rise of loose ends, unfinished discussions, decisions only half-baked, delayed implementations, poor usage of an information management system or agreed actions not taking place, and, people are getting away with it, you may be looking at broken windows. As in the social theory described, these facts in isolation may not be big enough to make the firm collapse, but, whether you want it or not, they will have a multiplying effect with unintended consequences.
You may think that this is simply a lack of discipline, and you may be right, but this is unfortunately just a label that means very little in behavioral terms. The reality is that if there is no negative consequence (for the perpetrators) and the behaviors are reinforced by the fact that loose compliance, for example, is simply possible, before you know it, the place will attract other non-compliance realities of a bigger magnitude. Perhaps you could also call it poor management, period. You may be right, in which case management is more unlikely to see anything particularly wrong.
I am more interested in the utility of ‘broken windows signals’ in the organization. These are symptoms that you may have spotted which, although not necessarily an expression of a true and full ‘broken windows’ environment, should be an early warning signal. They should ask you to make a judgment on whether there is something more serious behind those symptoms and signs. The greater the tendency for those loose ends, the more you should be alerted. Together with the examples given above, watch out for meeting minutes that suddenly disappear from the agenda and don’t seem to be reviewed anymore; requests for issue input followed by progressive silence; deadlines that appear more ‘flexible’ than ever or are simply not met; circulated briefing documents that nobody really reads; sudden loss of clarity about who is accountable for what, perhaps associated with an increase in so-called shared responsibility; requested formats (for meetings, reports, input sought) that are ignored; repeated postponement of events due to the lack of quorum.
All those are ‘broken windows’ in the management system. They may not kill the firm by themselves but they are symptoms of underlying pathology. In the best of these cases, there may not be death on the horizon but the firm’s weak immune system will simply attract other infections. A worse case is one when all these things seem to be ‘new’ or not noted on the organization’s previous medical history. The firm has a temperature and the fever should alert you. And alert is a good word. While very poor organizational performance may rock the firm enough to shock the system and trigger immediate remedial measures, a more gentle increased tolerance for marginal performance is a sign of serious deterioration that can easily be overlooked. It is the equivalent of walking through the same street every day and not noticing the broken windows and the graffiti.
You may think that this is all very well, but that it’s not happening or not possible in your organization. After all, yours isn’t one of those companies. For the eternal optimists, I would remind you of a social experiment in 1969 by Philip Zimbardo, now professor Emeritus of Psychology in Stanford. It is considered a precursor of ‘broken windows’ and you’ll see why. Zimbardo left two identical ‘vulnerable’ cars on the street in two different places and waited for them to be vandalized. The one left in New York’s Bronx was stripped bare in a day. The one left on the street in Palo Alto, California, remained untouched for a week. At the end of the week, Zimbardo himself put a hammer through one of the windows and, as a report put it: “As though this act and its impunity were the starting gun they were waiting for, the Californians rallied round to destroy that car just as thoroughly”. All it takes is a broken window in your organization. You decide what action to take, but here is a tip: don’t bother with punishment.

“Relationship Selling” as a system to describe and teach the paramount importance of the interpersonal relationship in business and the conduct of business around the world. Mr. Cathcart has transformed the business world by instilling the values of simple human kindness and contact back into the conduct of the business day. Too bad Mr. Cathcart doesn’t teach disaster preparedness.
When I look at my market today, I am as amazed as Jim Cathcart was decades ago when he looked at his market and I draw the same conclusion, what is needed are relationships. I know that those in healthcare value relationships with customers, but what relationships are developed with vendors, employees, nurses, doctors and competitors. Are these relationships nurtured in the good times?
Everyone in Disaster Planning, Preparation, Education, Response and Recovery should be true disciples of Jim Cathcart and Relationship Selling. The lessons taught in that simple system will build the type of healthcare system resilience that American desperately needs.
But there is more to nurture than just business relationships; as healthcare prepares in an “All Hazards” manner, Relationship Leadership is needed.
What is Relationship Leadership?
Relationship Leadership is the use of interpersonal skills beginning long before a disaster looms to create an environment of mutual trust and respect to influence others to work towards common organizational goals. This means permanently abandoning healthcare’s current dependence on the power and control (demand and threat) method of leadership.
Nurses would be the first to benefit from this process change. Rather than threatening nurses with loss of licensure or disciplinary sanction if they must leave at the end of a shift in a disaster, imbue undying loyalty by showing undying loyalty in the “good times.”
Nurses would not be the only ones to benefit however. After Hurricane Francis, Cape Canaveral hospital needed a new roof. Many of their employees also needed new roofs after 2 hurricanes. When the hospital hired a roofing contractor, the hospital included “front of the line” roof replacement for all hospital employees who needed it. 95% of the hospital employees lived within 1 mile of the coast so the hospital went a step further. The hospital added that the “front of the line” status for hospital employees would be perpetual.
The roofing contractor was thrilled by the long term hospital contract and the “guaranteed work” that the “front of the line” clause represented. The hospital employees loved it because it showed that the hospital genuinely cared about the employee’s safety and the safety of their families. Interestingly, the hospital saw a surge in new employee applications and a drop in attrition. The cost to the hospital was nothing more than the effort to demonstrate Relationship Leadership.
Relationship Leadership requires that those in positions of “power” surrender power to the relationship and leave their ego permanently at home. Relationship Leadership is a unifying process between two equals who care for and about each other and the organization. Relationship Leadership is based on mutual respect, freedom and trust and seeks the happiness and wellbeing of each other and the organization as a common goal.

If you've ever bought shoes for a teenager, then you know first-hand about the pains associated with fast growth. Just when one pair seems barely broken in, it's time for a bigger size! Similar to a parent who can't ignore the urgency of meeting the changing needs of a constantly growing child, the leader of a business in transition also needs to put top priority on addressing the "growing pains" - signs that the organization's talent, structure and systems have become outgrown.
Every organization goes through phases of development. As your business expands, it will start to feel uncomfortable in its own skin. Customers will continue to expect the next best thing, and in order to anticipate and meet their evolving needs, the organization must be resilient enough, as well as willing and able to transform itself as necessary. Without a plan, things can just seem to "happen", until one day you find yourself surprised by the stinging reality that what once fit so well, just doesn't fit right anymore.
How do you know when it's time for change? There are many telltale symptoms of organizational growing pains. While every business in transition is unique, take a look at a list of common signs and mentally check off any that are painfully familiar:
 Lack of a shared vision
 Conflict where there used to be harmony
 Everything is a crisis
 Organization looks to top leader for every decision
 Spending too much time putting out fires
 People feel like there aren't enough hours in the day
 Tactical technicians in top leadership
 Meetings are a waste of time
 "Ready, fire, aim!" decision-making
 Sales are growing, but not profits
If you’ve checked off more than one and your aim is taking the business to the next level, then its time to replace the growing comfortablenesses of the way it is, and step into bigger shoes

Have you ever lost an opportunity because you weren't perceived to be as "qualified" as a competitor was? Did you ever hesitate to approach a prospect because you didn't think you were "ready" yet? Have you ever thought, "What makes ME think someone else should listen to me?" If you're like most of the people who have built a career as an independent speaker, trainer, coach or consultant, you've certainly had your share of doubts, and faced the "Credibility Catch-22."
The "Credibility Catch-22" most commonly occurs when someone is just getting started in the business. Early on, novices believe that they can't get engagements without experience - and they can't get experience without engagements. The phenomenon isn't limited to novices, however. As a human development professional considers entering different markets, offering different services or attacking a new industry, the catch-22 pattern reappears and reasserts itself, causing doubt and hesitation - undermining the professional's progress and success in the new endeavor.
Holding a Ph.D. from a prestigious university or a coveted distinction from an international association can certainly open doors and close deals for the person who has earned those credentials. At the same time, our industry is filled with examples of people who lack academic degrees and professional designations, yet find tremendous popularity and prosperity for themselves.
So what's the deal? Let's take a closer look at what the word "credentials" means.
CREDENTIALS are the concrete substance of CREDIBILITY.
Credibility, according to modern social science, is made up of several dimensions. In their paper, "A Factor Analytic Study of the Dimensions of Source Credibility" David Berlo and James Lemert focus on three: Competence, Trustworthiness and Dynamism.
"Competence" is the result of the knowledge you have accumulated and the skills you have developed. When we're assessing a person's credibility, we favor the person with superior knowledge and skill.
"Trustworthiness" is the result of applying that knowledge and skill in real-world situations. We give more credibility to the person who has a successful track record … to the person who has more experience putting their expertise to practical use.
"Dynamism" can best be defined as the quality of being dynamic and charismatic. While the credibility test certainly favors people who meet the competence and trustworthiness factors, we tend to prefer to work with people who are upbeat and energetic over those who are controlled and static - and we definitely prefer warm, friendly and attractive people over those who are unpleasant to look at, listen to or be around. The more dynamism a person possesses, the more credibility we bestow upon them. In fact, as illogical as it may seem, dynamism is sometimes the most powerful factor in determining the level of credibility a person has, as seen in the success con artists have in exploiting their victims.
So how do you increase your credibility?
When most people in our industry think of professional credentials, they think about academic degrees and whatever designations the top association in their discipline offers - and depending on the type of business you're trying to build, they can be critical to your success.
But many things contribute to your credibility. Here's just a few:
-- Group affiliations and association memberships show that you take your profession seriously - particularly if you've served as a volunteer, committee member or officer.
-- Training programs you've completed as a student and train-the-trainer certification programs show that you continue to improve yourself and the services you have to offer your clients.
-- Your resume and curriculum vitae document your employment experience and your professional accomplishments.
-- Your publications - articles, books, audio programs and video programs - speak volumes about you.
-- A listing of your presentations - including those you offered both for free and for a fee - are proof of your experience in working with clients.
-- Client lists, testimonials, case studies, recommendations and references establish your "street cred" and serve as the REAL credentials as your business matures.
If you take time to SERIOUSLY inventory ALL of the experiences and accomplishments you've earned, you'll be surprised how much evidence of credibility you have. Document it in a way that you can use in your marketing efforts and you may never have a problem with professional credentials again

A friend recently lamented to me that she hadn't had an opportunity yet to take the latest online course offered by her organization. As she put it, "They say it is being ‘offered', but that doesn't mean there is any choice-we have to take it. The problem is, when?"
In this age of electronic everything, this problem is becoming more and more prevalent. Online learning is often recommended because the courses are available to employees at their desks, working alone and at their own pace, whenever they decide to do so. My friend stated the following drawbacks:
"Difficulty finding time. Like most people, I am very busy in my job. However, if I know, for example, that a traditional classroom seminar or workshop is to take place next Wednesday from 1 - 4 p.m., I book the time and I go. Fitting it into my work schedule at my "convenience" is more of a challenge. Let's face it-it's never convenient.
"Difficulty focusing. When I am at my desk, it feels foreign to be working on an online course instead of my work. Also, when I am at my desk, other people naturally assume I am doing my job, and they interrupt me with questions and impromptu meetings as usual.
"Lack of human interaction. The dynamic in a classroom situation is very different from sitting alone at a computer. The opportunity to ask questions of the instructor and to exchange questions and thoughts with other participants is an important part of a seminar."
Although all three points are legitimate, as a communication specialist I am particularly concerned with the third. It seems to me to crystalize an insidious change in society at large, and in business life in particular: loss of inter-personal communication.
I am mesmerized when I watch children and young adults work their way through complex computer programs and surf the Net as though it were the most natural thing in the world-of course for them, it is. They are acquiring naturally a set of technical skills that their elders had to learn with much more difficulty, and this is the benefit. However, in all that time spent interacting solely with a computer, what is sacrificed is the development of the social skills that are so critical in the working world.
Great emphasis is placed today on teamwork, yet much of the training we expect people to carry out is solitary. Could the training methodology actually be working against other teambuilding efforts?
Obviously, e-learning is here to stay, and far be it from me to speak against progress. I do, however, believe the need for human interaction is built into our very being, and we ignore it at our peril.
The challenge lies in taking advantage of e-learning, while at the same time making up for the social element it takes away. Here are three steps to consider.
1. Have a team meeting before the course begins, including an introduction to the features of the course and discussion of how it will benefit the team. The team sets a specific time for all members to work on the course at once, even if lessons are restricted to an hour or two at a time. A brief discussion could be held by telephone conference after each lesson, offering an opportunity for airing of any problems or misunderstandings, and the type of group input that often occurs naturally in a classroom setting.
2. Where practical, people should use computers away from their own desks. Training room facilities are the best, but if these are not available, why not have people swap computer stations while they work on the course? This reduces interruptions, and also takes learners away from the setting where they are normally focused on their day-to-day work. Both of these factors are conducive to learning.
3. On completion of a particular course, team or departmental meetings can be held to discuss how the new learning can be put into action. When courses are mandatory, people too often feel they are simply working towards a certificate, and they need to have an opportunity to see the practical benefits of what they learn.
My own workshops often elicit such comments as "It was fun!" That is the result of the classroom dynamic and my own strong belief that adults learn most effectively when they are enjoying the process. Yes, I work to make my workshops fun, because that means they will be more effective. Designers of e-learning programs could increase the value of their products by remembering that learners are not e-beings, but human beings

The vast popularity of the newly released book entitled "The Secret" has validated the enormous interest in concepts that will help individuals get what they want. Readers learn that the secret is the understanding of the force of The Law of Attraction.
The Law of Attraction is simple to learn and powerful to practice. It begins with the understanding (and acceptance) of the scientific principle that energy attracts like energy. Since our thoughts are energy, we actually attract what we think about, what we focus on. If we focus on positive things we get positive results. Negative thoughts lead to negative results. These results can be as simple as finding parking places or as complex as relationships. In every event, results begin with thoughts. Thoughts are the beginning of virtually every action and we can control these actions by these thoughts.
The Law of Attraction is not new. It has been discussed for years, sometimes under different names or descriptions, but the concept hasn't changed for centuries. That said, the popularity of the new book and its contents overwhelming considering the number of sales of the book since its release.
Interestingly enough, The Law of Attraction plays an important role in business and customer service as well. When understood and applied organizations can completely redefine their cultures for the better.
The Law of Attraction in business works like this: when you peel back the layers of any business you get to the core. At the core are certain beliefs and certain values. This value system drives the decisions at the very highest level of the business. Beginning with the CEO, the values of that individual are made clear by that person's actions; what they say, how they speak of their employees, customers, family, competition, beliefs, etc. As they grow and move up the ladder they become directly responsible for the recruitment of hi-level subordinates who will work closely with them. The Law of Attraction states that they will attract "like" people. Look around and you'll see this validated every day. People with similar values and beliefs will become attracted to them. Similarly, those with conflicting values will not be comfortable in the environment and they will leave.
These values (the energy) expand as growth occurs. The executives attract managers with similar values and beliefs and the managers attract similar employees. The culture becomes defined even to the point of attracting similar customers! The company, in affect, can actually determine the type of customer they want to attract based upon the practice of The Law of Attraction.
Look around at the companies with whom you do business. Low energy organizations are likely to be led by lower-energy leaders, perhaps with value systems based upon their personal motives and desires. Their leadership values become clear and the people they recruit quickly recognize that their "leader" is out primarily for himself so they become ambivalent and de-energized. You can guess the type of people THEY attract.
Look then at business leaders who are energized and values-focused. They attract similar managers and employees who likewise attract in the same manner. As customers detect this energy they are drawn to it. This is The Law of Attraction.
Are you happy with the employees and customers that YOUR company attracts? It can change... but it must come from the top

Research indicates that Emotional Intelligence (E.I.) – how we handle ourselves and our relationships – can determine success more than I.Q. In fact, E.I. may determine as much as 80% of a person's life success. Cognitive ability or what we call I.Q. is only about 20%. Quality leadership training is a combination of E.I. and cognitive ability.
More specifically, Daniel Goleman (along with two E.I. researchers: Richard Boyatzis and Annie McKee) explains the role of E.I. in leadership in Primal Leadership, Realizing the Power of Emotional Intelligence (2002). They found the most effective leadership and management styles work through emotions which evolve from the limbic system in the brain.
The limbic system is responsible for sending information to the prefrontal lobes for analysis and decisions. This system is an open-loop design which means other people can and do change our physiology by altering our hormone levels, cardiovascular function, sleep rhythms and immune function. A leader's primary task is to drive emotions in a direction which has positive impact on motivation, strategy and productivity.
Since emotions are at the heart of effective leadership, the key to being an effective leader lies in learning to handle yourself and your relationships in a positive manner. Emotional Intelligence competencies include:
• Self-awareness • Self-management • Social awareness – empathy • Relationship management
Important new research clearly indicates that we rely on connections with others for our emotional stability and motivation. Who is the most likely person employees will be watching? The leader of a group has the strongest impact because people take emotional cues from the top which ripple throughout the organization's emotional climate. In addition, it is not just what another does but how it is done that registers in our limbic system.
Our emotions automatically shift to match the person we are with, even if the contact is nonverbal. This is called "entrainment" and can take place in a couple of minutes in some situations. The more cohesive the group, the more likely moods will be shared – positive or negative.
A Yale study on moods found that moods influence how effectively people work. A primary factor in how well an organization functions depends on how the leaders manage their moods. We know upbeat moods increase cooperation, fairness and business performance. Cooperative and harmonious groups reflect a higher expression of every person's best effort and ability.
Furthermore, how people feel about working at an organization (the climate) can influence productivity. Low morale and lack of cooperation predict high turnover and lower productivity. In addition, distress and worry decrease mental abilities and E.I. This makes it difficult to read the emotions of other people accurately – a skill necessary for empathy.
In addition, research indicates that the emotional state and actions of leaders set the climate. They create the conditions that determine the employees' ability to work well. In general, leaders need to be more supportive and empathetic as work becomes more emotionally demanding. When leaders are negative and unmotivated, there is anxiety and dissonance which undermines morale. When leaders are out of touch with the feelings of employees, they create dissonance. This causes people to feel off-balance, be easily distracted, and perform poorly.
In contrast, emotionally intelligent leaders create resonance or harmony. Resonant leaders rally people around a worthy goal. They are self-aware, in touch with the truth about themselves and their feelings. They use self-management to express emotions appropriately and are able to empathize with others. Without empathy, resonant leadership is impossible. When leaders are energetic and enthusiastic, an organization thrives.
The most effective leadership and management style will use a combination of Emotional Intelligence and cognitive ability. While cognitive ability tends to be set, E.I. is learned through practice, feedback and repetition over time. Although learning to improve Emotional Intelligence is self-directed, it cannot be done in isolation.
Coaching is an ideal way to provide a safe context for change to occur and to better prepare people to be resonant leaders. Some leaders find it difficult to get honest feedback as they are promoted into management positions because employees instinctively want to please their boss and are hesitant to give negative feedback. This can decrease self-awareness and effective leadership development. The coaching process provides essential feedback for continued awareness and skill building.
In summary, to effectively lead and manage relationships, leaders must continue to:
• be self-aware • manage themselves appropriately • have empathy with their employees

. It was rare that he had the chance to take a lunchtime walk beside the city’s river. He wasn’t going to waste this one. And in any case, he desperately needed some space. Oblivious of the grey skies, the grey path and the rush of other grey suits weaving their way around him, he wrapped himself in his thoughts.
It was the music which caused Simon to stop. A busker was playing his harmonica with an energy that even the most distracted mind couldn’t avoid.
The musician was playing fast and loud, notes spilling from his instrument with the enthusiasm of a happy child. Combining complex riffs into a frenzied melody, his sound was a splash of colour on the dull canvas of the day.
His small audience – those who weren’t rushing to their next meeting – stood dumbstruck in wonder. They clapped as he finished and, as he stepped back for a break, the generous chatter of change into his hat reinforced their appreciation.
As he sat down, the harmonica player looked up and noticed Simon standing, motionless, staring through him to the river behind.
“I’ll be starting again in a min…” he said before interrupting himself. “Man, you look terrible. Who stole your happy pills?”
Simon refocused on the busker. “Tough day,” he said with a sigh and just the hint of a resigned smile. “Tough year, in fact.”
Simon wandered over towards the musician and, without being prompted, he continued. “I’ve got 250 emails in my inbox and I can’t clear them out because they keep coming as quickly as I read them. I can’t even get a break by leaving the office because my BlackBerry means that anyone can get hold of me at any time, by phone or email or text message. There’s no escape. No one ever told me that being a manager would mean working 24/7.”
The harmonica player thought about Simon’s predicament for a moment. “I can’t tell you much about management,” he said, “but I reckon I can teach you one thing. Watch this.”
With that, the harmonica player stood up at his microphone again. He put his instrument to his mouth and started playing a simple train-like rhythm with just two notes. Doo Doo Dah Dah. Doo Doo Dah Dah… Slowly he built the speed of the rhythm while continuing to use just the two notes he’d started with.
With subtle variations, the busker created an almost tribal rhythm which resounded around the plaza. Within minutes, a crowd had gathered, bigger than the crowd of a few minutes earlier. Rather than standing in awe, this crowd couldn’t help but move. They tapped their feet and rocked their bodies. Some started dancing.
The music continued for a few minutes and concluded with rapturous applause, shouts for more and the rattle of more change into the hat on the ground.
Simon watched all this in wonder, but he wasn’t sure he understood what the musician was trying to tell him.
The harmonica player smiled. “What I just played can be played by any first year harmonica player. Yet the crowd were moved by it more than all the fancy stuff I was doing earlier. Sometimes I need to remember a lesson I was taught early on in my music career:
Just because you can doesn’t mean you must.
He paused to let Simon absorb his words, then went on. “Don’t you think that same lesson might apply to you? You’ve got all this fancy techno stuff which allows you to be on the job around-the-clock. So you’re letting it keep you on the job around-the-clock.”

Many businesses fail to realise the amount of time it takes to get a new employee fully trained. It can take anywhere between 1 and 6 months to train a new member of staff. It can also take the same amount of time to find out if they are suitable for the job in the first place!
Businesses also have a high turnover of staff due to not having proper policies in place to encourage the best staff to stay on in the business.
Some of the best ways to increase staff retention are also the simplest to implement. A great idea is to increase their holiday entitlements and other benefits over time served. Just a simple thing like giving an extra day off (to a maximum of 5) for each year in service can make a great difference. Giving employees greater flexibility and more control over the hour they choose to work, based on their length of service is also beneficial.
Making annual bonuses routine and incorporating them in the wage structure also helps to stop staff leaving half way through the year.
Training all your best staff so that they can take on more responsible work and improve their people management skills so that they understand how to treat and motivate the staff below them is essential.
Training is so imperative especially with technology changing at breakneck speeds. This is a win win situation. You end up getting more productivity and your employees feel appreciated.
Talking to your staff maybe quarterly (or every 6 months) and discussing their job will quickly identify what is troubling them. The biggest problem I had in my previous business was that staff did not get on with each other! By just moving them around either in a different office or changing their roll I was able to retain my most valuable members.
Any time you have to critisise the action of an employee, use the kiss, kick kiss formula. Start of by praising what you do like of them followed by the criticism (and how they could change for the better) and end with praise again.
Another common gripe in the work is being forced to work with outdated equipment, machinery and computers that keep breaking down or are far too slow. Your employee probably costs you a small fortune and yet some employers are not willing to spend a few hundred pounds in upgrading old technology that will actually help in achieving substantially more productivity.
What about their desks, chairs, filing cabinets, staplers and other small pieces of equipment that cost pennies to keep maintained and yet are routinely in poor working order. Routine maintenance of all the equipment is essential.
If your staffs do perform well in any task be sure to let them know. It amazes me how bosses will leap at the first chance to critisise but will not utilise the opportunity to praise. Praise them verbally and in writing, and remember to give out rewards now and again.
What do you do if 1 of your best member of staff leaves? There is a huge likelihood that they might not enjoy their new job. Make sure that they know that not only did you value them whilst they were working for you but also that the door is still open for them if they decide to come back and remember to keep in touch. Former employees, having found out that the grass is not greener on the other side are likely to be the most valuable members second time around and are much easier to integrate back in the workplace.

In all business turnaround situations there are certain steps that are commonly taken to change the fortunes of a failing business.
The owner of a less than successful business may require professional expert help to arrest the business demise and to create value for the organization. The task of managing the required change may be beyond the owner's skill set or too much emotional sentiment may exist that may preclude the owner from taking the tough ‘business saving decisions'.
Is there a standard process to be adopted in business turnarounds?
All business situations are different and, therefore, merit different approaches and emphasis on different aspects of the work. However, there are some steps that are generally considered in many successful business turnaround situations and ten of the most relevant are given below:
1. Review and Assess the Present Situation In a business turnaround it is important to understand fully the starting position. It will be important to gather objective and anecdotal data in order to review the situation and to determine the causes, as well as to comprehend the immediate effects, of the issues impacting the business.
Management accounts, the sales order book, financial arrangements, internal controls, customer service levels, quality and leadership skills are typical areas that will require evaluation and a view taken on.
2. Develop Plans and Business Strategy After assessing what is required to be changed for the business turnaround to be successful, it will be necessary to develop robust plans and strategy that will achieve success.
Without doubt it will be necessary to comprehensively document the actions to be taken, the timings, the financial impact of those actions and to obtain ‘buy-in' from the business owner.
The benefits of writing the business plan include that of a reference against which actual results can be measured and an indication to third parties that the proposed business turnaround plan has been carefully evaluated and is a viable proposition that should be supported. This will be an important and relevant form of communication to investors, staff and others who may need to know what the businesses future plans are.
3. Communicate With Key Employees For the business turnaround to gain momentum it will be necessary to meet with managers and key personnel. The current business affairs should be explained and the consequences of not taking corrective action should be made known. An outline of the proposed actions to be taken should also be communicated and a request for comments should be sought.
Whilst it may not be possible to answer detailed questions it will be important to elicit the concerns of this group and address them as positively as possible.
Members of this group will critical to the success of the business turnaround. They will be charged with taking the planned actions and delivering the results; consequently it will be imperative that the group act as a team and are committed to the future plans.
4. Communicate With Other Employees It will be necessary at the earliest opportunity to meet with all employees or their union representatives, particularly if job losses are planned.
A prolonged period of uncertainty, fuelled by rumour and counter rumour, will not be beneficial to the business and whilst bad news may not be easy to deliver, the communication of it in a timely sensitive manner is desirable.
The meeting will also be the opportunity to provide an insight into the future business plans and the part the remaining employees will play.
5. Meet the Bank The bank and other parties with a financial investment in the business should be advised of the business turnaround plans. If possible meetings should be arranged to discuss the plans and to seek assurances of continued, and maybe, more support for the business.
6. Meet Customers Dependent upon the severity of the situation within the business it may be necessary to reassure key customers of the business turnaround plans and the benefits that will accrue for them.
This action should be considered mandatory if the cause of the business demise has been poor customer service, poor quality product or any other matter not meeting the expected/agreed customer satisfaction levels.
Begging for a second, third or even fourth chance to ‘get things right' may be embarrassing but remember: no customers - no business. Learn from past mistakes, do not promise what cannot be delivered and ensure internal systems, processes and communication channels are raised to a standard that will seamlessly allow business to be conducted in a timely and efficient manner.
7. Meet Suppliers If the business has failed to settle payable accounts on time, even the murmur of business turnaround activity taking place may result in suppliers imposing draconian payment terms that may jeopardize the business turnaround recovery plan.
If support for the turnaround plan has been gained from the financial institutions and investors, it will be advisable to actively seek meetings with vendors to outline the plans and to seek their continued support.
Re-establishing trust will be critical. Negotiating new or even the continuation of existing, payment terms from a weak position will be difficult, however, all promises made should be honoured or if failure is imminent inform the vendor in advance of how any debt will be discharged.
8. Conserve Cash Review and improve if necessary the credit management procedures. If possible negotiate extended payment terms to suppliers; examine thoroughly all unused assets of the business and liquidate if necessary.
Options that may be available include selling unused buildings, renting out spare office space, selling unused plant and office equipment, disposing of excess or redundant stocks, factor sales debt and if unavoidable make excess employees redundant.
In addition the elimination of all unnecessary overhead cost should also be actioned.
9. Implement New/Update Systems and Procedures A thorough review of existing systems and procedures will be required to meet the goals of the business turnaround plan. Implement change if necessary; it will be noteworthy to recall that a continuation of old practices will almost certainly result in the same old results.
Positive and profitable change may be required and this should be communicated to employees, so that they understand their roles in the new business environment.
10. Monitor, Measure and Take Action Throughout the business turnaround process, results should be regularly measured against plan and corrective actions taken if required. Key performance indicators (KPI) should be determined that will give a snapshot of the business performance and be available on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.
The KPIs should include financial and non-financial measures and reflect the important aspects of the business that will determine success or failure.
Finally it will be desirable to pro-actively communicate the turnaround progress to all interested parties - employees, customers, suppliers as well as the financial institutions.
Provided sound business management principles are employed, results measured and positive trends reported, control of the business should be re-established. However, the business turnaround work should not be considered as a one-off. The experienced gained during the turnaround process should be adopted to avoid a repetition of the earlier mistakes made

Some of the most common worries about setting targets for performance measures are:
* challenge 1: Striking that sensitive balance between making the target achievable but also a stretch.
* challenge 2: Creating that sense of urgency that will motivate people to hunger after the target.
* challenge 3: Having a measure or means of monitoring progress as the target timeframe approaches.
I'd like to share some ideas with you, about how to lessen the burden when you come face to face with worries like these.
idea #1: don't strike a balance between achievable and stretch - do both
What I've learned is that it takes practice and confidence-building to achieve a target or goal. Why not set at least two or three targets for any single performance improvement? The first one is shorter term and not very challenging, for the purpose of building target-accomplishing momentum. The interim target is an opportunity to build more capability and confidence to stretch. The last one is the stretchy target, which you might have no idea of how to reach at this point in time, but be in a better position to know after you've achieved the interim target.
idea #2: use vivid and specific language to describe the world after the target is accomplished
Numbers alone are hardly enough to motivate anyone. So handing a team a performance measure + target value + timeframe won't likely be enough motivation. Have you ever tried telling the story about what the world (or at least your part of it) is like after the target is met? Colour, sound, movement, emotion, expression, behaviour, shape, rhythm and all those other sensory experiences emblazon the meaning of the target into the minds and hearts of those setting out to achieve it. Motivation from within is the best kind.
idea #3: make sure your measure can be monitored at least 6 times within the target timeframe
Design your measure so you can calculate it as regularly as is feasible, and then set a target timeframe that accommodates frequent enough feedback to increase your chances of staying on track. For example, monitor your measure weekly or monthly for a 1 to 2 year target timeframe. Yes, sometimes you just can't get data this frequently, but that doesn't change the fact that a single point of data says nothing. Is it worth setting a target that you cannot honestly know is achieved?
Look out for part 2, for the next 3 challenges of target setting!
Stacey Barr is the Performance Measure Specialist, helping people to measure their business strategy, goals and objectives so they actually achieve them.

The last 3 of the 6 most common worries about setting targets for performance measures are:
* challenge 4: Anticipating the consequences of achieving and not achieving the target.
* challenge 5: Finding the courage to go beyond your comfort zone.
* challenge 6: Having the wherewithal to change whatever must change for the target to be accomplished.
Here are my ideas and learnings about overcoming them.
idea #4: keep one eye on the target, and one eye on the bigger picture
Even if you had enough foresight to explore the unintended consequences of achieving your target before you locked it into your plan, the world will still change later on. I once heard a story about a rail organisation that placed more importance on on-time running of trains than any other performance outcome. So much so, that one day, due to pressure risking the train running late, the driver omitted an important safety check to save time. The train derailed because of a braking problem that the safety check would have easily picked up.
Every now and then, ask your self "is this target still a good idea?" and "if we miss it, what's likely to happen?" and "if we achieve it, what's likely to happen?". It's okay to change a target that is no longer going to serve its original purpose. Is this check a part of your regular performance review process?
idea #7: give yourself (and your staff) permission to learn by not achieving targets
You are not supposed to achieve every goal or target you ever set. And if you do, then it's probably because you aren't challenging yourself enough. You're staying inside your comfort zone, inside of what you know works, what you know you can accomplish. That's not what improvement is about. There is no learning without failing, no improvement without learning.
If you want to jump over a creek without landing in the water and getting your shoes all wet, then don't aim for the far bank of the creek. Aim for a metre or so beyond it. Set the target further than you think you can achieve. That way, you'll be less likely to land in the water, and more likely to land even further than you thought possible. Somehow, our strides are longer when our eyes focus further ahead.
idea #6: do some preliminary scoping of "how-to" before locking in the target
If you and your team do not yet possess the target setting and achieving prowess of an Olympic athlete, then avoid setting any kind of target without first exploring a range of ideas of how you might go about achieving it. A very innovative manager I know has for years used simulation software to model his business processes (freight). The model simulates the steps in the process, the variability in the time each step takes, the variability in market demand, resource constraints, and much more. He can then make changes in the model to simulate changes like investing in more equipment, or changing a step, or removing a constraint (like a policy). So before he spends a single dollar, he can get a good idea about which strategies are going to work best to reach his targets.
What's wrong with taking an iterative approach to finding the right target? Scope a little and set the first target value. Explore what it might take to achieve that, then revise that value if necessary. Start the more detailed action planning to get a stronger idea of resource implications, and revise the value again if necessary.
Stacey Barr is the Performance Measure Specialist, helping people to measure their business strategy, goals and objectives so they actually achieve them

Boundary setting is something one expects to find in a parenting book or a psychologist's journal. However, it applies to adult to adult relationships at work as much as it does to adult to child relationships.
In almost any workplace, for any given behaviour required to deliver an organsation's goal, people can be split into three groups.
One group is those that are both willing and able to perform and behave in a manner which contributes positively to the desired goal of the organisation.
Another group is those who are unwilling to contribute to the desired goal of the organisation even if they are able.
The third group is in the middle; those who sometimes are willing and sometimes are able to contribute to the desired goal of the organisation.
When boundaries are not set and people are allowed to behave in whatever fashion suits them, the unwilling group generally outnumbers the group which is willing and able.
People tend to seek the personal benefits of the freedom to do as they please over the benefits of the group.
When boundaries are set, with consequences for breaching the boundaries, the group which is willing and able tends to outnumber the group which is unwilling.
Further, when boundaries are set, with consequences for breaching them, the group in the middle tends to want to become more willing or more able to avoid the consequences.
There are basically three parts to a boundary. The first two are setting the boundary - the third is what we will do to defend that boundary.
If you {a description of the behavior we find unacceptable}.
We will {a description of what action we will take to protect and take care of the organisation in the event the other person violates the boundary}.
If you continue this behavior {a description of what steps we will take to protect the boundary that we have set}.
The need for boundary setting applies in several areas of business.
Financial transactions are an obvious area. If boundaries are not set with regard to authority levels for expenditure and expenses, then financial performance is usually impaired and financial irregularities become common.
If boundaries are not set with regard to starting jobs without a hazard analysis or policies on known, typical, industry-wide unsafe acts and unsafe conditions, then physical injury, asset loss and reputation loss are inevitable consequences.
When boundaries are not set with regard to customer greeting, sales approach and follow up, poor, or at least variable, service, poor reputation and poor sales result.
It is not enough to set boundaries. Boundaries must be adhered to. Breaching them must have a consequence. A negative consequence. If leaders give ground based on wanting to be "nice", the implications for the organisation are usually negative.
For example, allowing people to claim personal expenses which are not allowed because it is difficult to say no is a start to more serious financial irregularities.
Allowing people to perpetrate an unsafe act or work around a safety procedure to "speed things up" without immediate negative feedback is a sure start to developing a laissez fare attitude to safety.
Allowing people to greet guests with a range of casual greetings including "hello", "hi", "how are you?" and "gidday", rather than the more formal greeting we want our five star hotel to be known for, such as, "Good Morning, Sir", will create, at best, a variety of brand positions in our customers' minds. At worst, it will create the brand image of a casual social club rather than a five star establishment.
The ways in which boundaries can be set include policies and standards.
Policies are guiding principles. For example; "We will treat all customers with respect". Or, "We will provide maternity leave of thirty weeks", or ""We will report all incidents". The methods by which policies are enacted are processes, procedures or work instructions.
Policies should be simple, short and clear. They should not be buried in the middle of procedures, processes or work instructions. There should be a clear consequence for not complying with all policies. Otherwise, the effectiveness of policies as boundary settings is compromised.
Standards are outcomes which are expected. They are written as {verb}, {noun} with a measure of what is a successful action. For example; "Answer the telephone within three rings" or ""Greet the customer with "Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening, Sir/Madam/Ms" There must also be a consequence for continually not meeting a standard. Otherwise standards lose their effectiveness.
Organisations which set boundaries and ensure that breaching them has a consequence, reward those people who are willing and able to strive for the organisation's goals. They also motivate those people who are unsure whether there is any benefit in being willing and developing the ability to achieve the organisation's goals.
Further, they provide a mechanism for counselling those people who remain unwilling to find another job which has requirements more suited to their ability and willingness

One of my business goals is to increase subscribers to the mezhermnt Handy Hints ezine, so I can get lots of useful information out to lots of people, and also help people get to know me and the PuMP approach to performance measurement.
Obviously I can't control whether someone joins the ezine list - it is unethical to simply add people to the list without their permission (do you recall the confirmation you had to give in order to be added to the mezhermnt Handy Hints list?). But I can influence a few things that increase the number of people that find out about it, and even the proportion of those people that go to the next step and sign up.
So whether your improvement initiatives are small like mine, or much larger and more complex, there are a few good tips to consider when you measure the impact your improvement initiatives have on the intended results.
tip #1: start with some baseline data
The performance measure for building my list is the number of new subscribers. Before starting any list building initiatives, subscriptions were averaging about 10 per week. That's my measure's baseline.
What's your performance measure's baseline? Did you measure it before you began your improvement initiatives? Can you establish the baseline from historic data, or estimate where it was at that time? Can you use correlated data to calculate roughly where it was?
tip #2: pilot test each initiative separately
I don't just implement all the possible improvement initiatives for list building at once (it is tempting, but not sensible). Why? Because I want to first know how effective each strategy is for my situation, and then only invest in the strategies that work best. For solo professionals and large organisations alike, time and resources are limited and must be invested where they get the highest return!
My initiatives include Google Ads that appear when someone searches for "kpi" or "balanced scorecard", improving my website design to list higher in internet search engines, and publishing free articles on the web. For 10 weeks I tested Google Ads, in isolation of any other initiative. The effect was that subscriptions lifted to an average of 105 per week, an impact of 95 subscribers per week (not too shabby a result).
Are you in the habit of jumping into several solutions and actions before really testing the size of impact of each? Yes testing is slower, but you'll just waste time and money on initiatives that don't really work, when you have no way of knowing either way.
tip #3: use diagnostic indicators too
There are a few other indicators that are also useful to give more information about the ezine sign-up process. One is the click through rate of people that become aware of my ezine, who then sign up. By adjusting the wording of the Google Ad, I can finetune its relevance to people who search for information on KPIs. Of the 3 Google Ads I tested, one achieved a click through rate of 0.3%, and the other two were equal at 2.9%.
To decide which of the two better ads to go with, I needed more information. Another diagnostic measure is the position that Google ranks my ad along with other ads for the same search keywords. One ad averaged around position 5, and the other around position 4. Now I know which ad performs the best, and what size of impact it is capable of having on my performance measure of subscriptions.
Do you know which of your initiatives are most successful, and by how much? Have you tested variations of your initiatives to pinpoint what makes them more successful? Diagnostic indicators can be designed before you test your initiatives, but often you discover helpful diagnostic indicators during your testing too.
Stacey Barr is the Performance Measure Specialist, helping people to measure their business strategy, goals and objectives so they actually achieve them

It was rare that he had the chance to take a lunchtime walk beside the city’s river. He wasn’t going to waste this one. And in any case, he desperately needed some space. Oblivious of the grey skies, the grey path and the rush of other grey suits weaving their way around him, he wrapped himself in his thoughts.
It was the music which caused Simon to stop. A busker was playing his harmonica with an energy that even the most distracted mind couldn’t avoid.
The musician was playing fast and loud, notes spilling from his instrument with the enthusiasm of a happy child. Combining complex riffs into a frenzied melody, his sound was a splash of colour on the dull canvas of the day.
His small audience – those who weren’t rushing to their next meeting – stood dumbstruck in wonder. They clapped as he finished and, as he stepped back for a break, the generous chatter of change into his hat reinforced their appreciation.
As he sat down, the harmonica player looked up and noticed Simon standing, motionless, staring through him to the river behind.
“I’ll be starting again in a min…” he said before interrupting himself. “Man, you look terrible. Who stole your happy pills?”
Simon refocused on the busker. “Tough day,” he said with a sigh and just the hint of a resigned smile. “Tough year, in fact.”
Simon wandered over towards the musician and, without being prompted, he continued. “I’ve got 250 emails in my inbox and I can’t clear them out because they keep coming as quickly as I read them. I can’t even get a break by leaving the office because my BlackBerry means that anyone can get hold of me at any time, by phone or email or text message. There’s no escape. No one ever told me that being a manager would mean working 24/7.”
The harmonica player thought about Simon’s predicament for a moment. “I can’t tell you much about management,” he said, “but I reckon I can teach you one thing. Watch this.”
With that, the harmonica player stood up at his microphone again. He put his instrument to his mouth and started playing a simple train-like rhythm with just two notes. Doo Doo Dah Dah. Doo Doo Dah Dah… Slowly he built the speed of the rhythm while continuing to use just the two notes he’d started with.
With subtle variations, the busker created an almost tribal rhythm which resounded around the plaza. Within minutes, a crowd had gathered, bigger than the crowd of a few minutes earlier. Rather than standing in awe, this crowd couldn’t help but move. They tapped their feet and rocked their bodies. Some started dancing.
The music continued for a few minutes and concluded with rapturous applause, shouts for more and the rattle of more change into the hat on the ground.
Simon watched all this in wonder, but he wasn’t sure he understood what the musician was trying to tell him.
The harmonica player smiled. “What I just played can be played by any first year harmonica player. Yet the crowd were moved by it more than all the fancy stuff I was doing earlier. Sometimes I need to remember a lesson I was taught early on in my music career:
Just because you can doesn’t mean you must.
He paused to let Simon absorb his words, then went on. “Don’t you think that same lesson might apply to you? You’ve got all this fancy techno stuff which allows you to be on the job around-the-clock. So you’re letting it keep you on the job around-the-clock.”
Simon stared out at the river in thought for some time. “Just because I can doesn’t mean I must,” he said, half to himself. He pulled his mobile phone out of his pocket and pointed to the off button. With a knowing grin, he said, “So perhaps I need to use this more often?”

We all know that time is precious. Time with our family, time with our pets, time for ourselves. How do we juggle all that and work too??
That’s a huge question for everyone that runs a household and goes to work. It gets even more interesting when one works from home.
Susan the friend across the street comes by for coffee right in the middle of an important call from a client. Little Annie is chasing the dog around the house after coming in from a mud wrestling match and that call you’ve been waiting for all week has just come in, and you had to put your significant other on hold to take it, followed by Joe who comes in from playing basketball screaming at the top of his lungs that he’s broken his ankle, he’s dying please help. The last straw has taken its place……….right on your unorganized desk.
How do you get the one’s you love to understand that you are not just “playing on the computer” all day, but running a business, the same business that feeds and clothes them and puts a roof over their heads?
It’s been a problem of mine from the start of my freelance career years ago, and I must admit that there are days when I can’t seem to get anything done no matter how hard I try. We’ve all had days like that, when you have not had a minute’s peace all day and done nothing but work and take care of others and have nothing to show for it. Not another design finished, not another article written, no dinner made or calls returned.
You can “go to work” without interruption if you “put your foot down”, and follow a few simple rules.
Decide on what hours are your “office hours”. Include 15 minute breaks, 1 hour lunches, the whole thing. Do not let anyone sway you from the routine unless it is an absolute emergency. Tell your family and friends that from 9:00 to 3:00 or whatever time you work you are off limits. They wouldn’t call you, or walk into your office, or scream when you are on the phone if you were in a “real” office. You would get fired, and they know it would be there fault.
Sit down and make a list of rules. Make copies for everyone that is bothering you while you work. Sit them down one by one and tell them in a very nice manner that you are now “going to work” and explain how that works. Tell them you are available on the phone during your lunch hour. Or they may come over for gossip for 15 minutes.
Give them their copy of the rules. Tell them how much you appreciate their understanding, then let it go. Yes let it go, this is the scary part. Do not go against your rules. If someone tries to break one of the rules just tell them “remember, I’m at work now. I would be happy to discuss this, or do this, or whatever it is when I get off work.” This will work if you keep at it. Don’t give an inch. This isn’t to say if Patty is sick and needs to come home from school, you don’t go and get her. You would do that if you had a “real” job too. Just use common sense and see how much easier your days are.
One more thing. When your work day is over, it is over!! Do not take calls or do other business unless it is an appointment you have made in advance. That is like taking your work home with you, and no one likes to do that. Make time for you and your family during your “off” hours.
This takes some practice, but don’t feel guilty, it will take away a good deal of the “work at home” stress and make your life a lot easier

Most businesses have a facility maintenance management system in place that prevents storm water pollution. To protect our water resources, m businesses are required by the EPA to obtain National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits and to develop Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPP.)
It is the challenge of the facility maintenance management staff to put strategies in place to reduce pollution runoff from their property. Facility maintenance management and operations requires an ongoing long-term system that plans, guides, and supports storm water management.
Effective storm water management systems prevent chemicals and hazardous waste products from reaching the nations waterways. Facility maintenance personal are involved in the day-to-day operations of a comprehensive system to provide an industrial facility with a well maintained plan that adheres to the rules and guidelines established by the EPA
Storm water runoff can contain toxic chemicals, oil and grease, pesticides, metals, and other contaminants that are a major source of water pollution and that can pose a threat to public health and the environment. Some industrial facilities are identified by their SIC codes as being probable candidates for aggressive pollution control preventive measures.
These business are identified by the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Code, include, but are not limited to the following industries:
*Paper producers
*Chemical producers
*Lumber and wood producers
*Leather tanning and finishing industries
*Stone, clay, glass, and concrete producers such as quarries
*Fabricated metal producers except machinery and transportation equipment
*Mineral industries and landfills
*Materials recyclers such as junkyards and metal scrap yards
*Transportation facilities that have vehicle maintenance shops and equipment cleaning
*Construction operations, including clearing, grading, and excavating more than 5 acres
Storm water management products are available commercially that address the problems of storm water pollution. Drain covers seal and protect the storm drains from receiving the contamination from waste run off. These pads are constructed of a solid tacky urethane product that provides a durable seal.
Products used for protection against run off must be chemically resistant for use with a wide range of chemicals and substances that are produced in an industrial environment. Drain covers must be suitable for those industries that use certain solvents, oils and chemicals.
Traditional storm water management practices include the following:
1) Covering fueling operations and materials manufacturing and storage areas so that these chemicals will not be carried by storm water. A preventive measure is a cover that seals and blocks these chemicals and other hazardous materials from entering the storm water.
2) Providing pollutant storage areas with berms or other containment devices to prevent leaks and spills from storm water. Spill containment berms and spill blockers can be used effectively for containing these spills.
Spill blockers and berms should be constructed of non-absorbent materials and be resistant to a wide variety of chemical and fluids.
3) Using oil-water separators, booms, skimmers or other methods to minimize oil-contaminated storm water discharges
4) Reducing debris and sediment in storm water discharges with screens, booms, or detention ponds
Passive Oil Skimmer will remove oil permanently from catch basins and storm drains
5) Diverting storm water away from areas of potential storm water contamination.
These products play a vital role in a comprehensive facility maintenance system. Use of these types of these preventive systems aid in the protection of streams, water supplies, and personal safety of our waterways