Today I’m going to talk more about the Personal Progress Meeting (PPM). You may be wondering what the PPM covers. What do you talk about if you’re not talking specifically about their works items, or work in progress?
Here are some of the topics you can cover:
Current work issues – what’s working, what’s not working in their job and the jobs of others. What are their ideas for improvement and cost savings. What are your ideas and what does the direct report think of them. Continue reading
Let’s take a look at some of the common hiring mistakes.
Not being clear about what the position entails – including the objectives of the position. Make sure that when you are in that hiring interview, you set out the responsibilities, and the standards. It’s very important to mention the standards expected and set them out clearly, and how the job and the results are going to be measured.
Not being clear about the skills and experience required. Be clear in your own mind of what the required skills are and the experience. Continue reading
I know it’s fashionable to do a top 10 or top 7 list, but when I sat down to write this, the list came to seven.
Let’s go through them. I’ll first list the mistake, and then I’ll provide the solution.
Not listening – this is one of the first big mistakes.
Solution: listen openly. You don’t have to respond every time immediately. You don’t have to have an answer all the time. You can say, “Thank you for bringing that to my attention. I’d like to think about it and I’ll get back to you.” Because you’re the owner, manager or boss doesn’t mean you have to have an answer every time. Listen, and let them know that they’re listened to. Continue reading
This week, I continue this series with Getting Your People on Board. We’re still focusing on management. Management is about getting a desired result. The three key points of business we talked about before:
• Focus on results
• Systemize everything you can
• Delegate everything you systemize
And I add this fourth key point for managing: Measure everything you delegate.
This is what you’re doing when you’re managing. You’re looking for the most effective way to get those results. Getting results, being effective is our focus. It’s the what. Systemization is the how. More than anything else, systemizing the business and all the significant parts of the business will get the best results. People run the systems, managers orchestrate the people. Just keep in mind that systemization and the operation of systems is central to everything supervisors or managers do. Continue reading
After defining last week what motivates employees – a sense of mission and purpose – I now want to get into managing people.
Assuming you already have people onboard, I’m going to tackle the managing side of people first. If you don’t have any employees, this part of the equation is still critical, as it points to what you will do and how you need to do it from the second you bring on your first employee.
Today’s businesses, especially small businesses, call for making the most of limited resources, including people. The business leader can’t do it all. He or she has to make the most of every resource and that means making the best possible use of the people of the business, and in return, providing them with rewarding, satisfying jobs and careers which, in turn, goes a long way to making their lives better. Continue reading