Archives

Oct 29 2009

Third Person Narrative

Third-party perspectives help a company better know itself, even as a one-person start-up. After your business gets big, outside points of view become essential, because when you reach the top of a mountain, you can see a lot, but you can no longer see the mountain.

10 comments - Posted by Paul Orfalea at 12:25 AM

Oct 19 2009

De-Automate Accounts Payable

Most of us run businesses considerably smaller than Bank of America - or even Exxon. A good way for us "mere mortals" to keep track of things is to enlist more of our coworkers to review expenditures - by signing or approving checks. I know that check generation and bill paying can be automated, but the time saved sometimes deprives us of valuable oversight and coworker education. Few things help coworkers appreciate the business more than reviewing a month's checks, and understanding - in very concrete terms - the real costs of doing business.

2 comments - Posted by Paul Orfalea at 10:57 PM

Jul 29 2009

The Most Important Thing to Learn Before You Graduate

In a best-case scenario, we learn both career skills and money skills before leaving school, but most schools do not offer much in the way of financial education. The evidence is all around us in this recession: even people who excel in academics are at risk of life-long insecurity if they do not learn how to manage their money.

Read more...

Categories: Education | Management Skills | Finance | Economics | Optimism

8 comments - Posted by Paul Orfalea at 4:44 PM

Jul 1 2009

Don't Overlook Democracy as a Management Model

An organization called WorldBlu was formed in 1997 to champion the growth of democratic organizations. Founder Traci Fenton identifies ten principles of organizational democracy, including transparency, accountability, decentralization, fairness, dignity, and choice.

Principle six on WorldBlu's list, Individual + Collective, was more or less enshrined in the Kinko's Philosophy, which stated, "...we encourage independent thinking and teamwork." This presents one of the great challenges of a democratic workplace, and one of the greatest benefits. The advantage of balancing independent thinking and teamwork comes from the unleashing of individual creativity. The challenge is the balance itself - keeping that creativity directed toward advancement of the organization's goals.

4 comments - Posted by Paul Orfalea at 7:24 AM

May 20 2009

Invent Obstacles

You've just taken the reins of a successful company. It doesn't matter whether it was a merger or a purchase or you simply bested other candidates for the top spot after the founder retired. Now you wonder, "what is the easiest way to destroy this company?" The answer is simple. Since we know it is management's job to remove obstacles that interfere with workers' productivity, the easiest way to derail a company is to invent new obstacles, and lots of them! We see this technique all the time.

5 comments - Posted by Paul Orfalea at 8:57 AM

May 11 2009

The GST Approach to Marketing Plans

by Dean Zatkowsky

"Strategy without tactics is the slow road to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat." - Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Faced with a product or service marketing challenge, a lot of people immediately brainstorm tactics: "Let's have a sale! We should hold a workshop! Let's do some direct mail!"

At my marketing workshops, I recommend a slower, more methodical approach that simplifies and focuses the problem and its solution. We use a simple, one-page form to identify Goals, Strategies and Tactics.

0 comments - Posted by Dean Zatkowsky at 10:38 AM

May 7 2009

Don't Think Too Much

Each month, a woman who owns a little coffee shop allows local artists to hang their works in her business. It's a very busy café, so the artists get a lot of exposure. But every time a new artist is offered the space, he or she bombards the owner with a long list of questions and concerns about the hanging process. Eventually, she has to tell the anxious artist, "Just show up with your pictures and a hammer. We have ladders. If you don't think too much, it will all come together just fine."

"Analysis paralysis" hobbles giant corporations and sole proprietors alike, so I like the café owner's advice to not think too much. Instead, she wants people to think about the right things. In a way, this fulfills management's primary responsibility to remove obstacles for coworkers. Thinking about the right things reduces distracting anxieties and lets her coworkers - and guest artists - think clearly and, more importantly, take immediate action.

2 comments - Posted by Paul Orfalea at 12:46 PM

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Category: Management Skills