Leadership - 2016 Archive - Page 2

Last week we discussed that in order to have your employees take ownership of a task you first need to define what taking ownership means to your business. If you haven't yet defined taking ownership, we encourage you to do so now or at least look at our sample definition. This week, we recommend you focus on one task one employee should take ownership of.  

We often hear frustrated business owners question why they can't get more of their employees to take ownership of their roles. Is it the hiring? Is it the culture? Can you not hire great employees anymore? We've covered this in other articles and know there is a combination of factors at play here, but mostly it's that your business is designed to get the results you are currently getting. If you want more employees to take ownership, your business needs to do something different. This month we're going to look at what "something different" means. 

Is it time to hire?  The question seems so simple to answer on the surface, especially if someone has just handed in their notice or worse, just quit on the spot. This month, we're going to challenge you to dig deeper into the hiring question. We're going to challenge you to view hiring decisions not just from the business' short term needs, but also from its long term strategic needs.

This month we've focused on taking your prospects on a sales road trip. One that is clearly mapped with each step in the process identified in advance. By doing so, you and your prospects know what's coming next. The final piece is to make sure you do it consistently.

This month we've discussed technology, the point of view you have around technology, working with vendors, and resources to improve your tech abilities. As we wrap up this month, we want to focus on one more issue:  Implementation. It's one of our favorite words. 

This month we've discussed the point of view a business needs to have regarding technology and the importance of working with your IT providers. Once you've created the right mindset, it's important for your business to have basic knowledge. Again, you don't have to be an expert, but you have to be knowledgeable enough to ask the tough questions. So where do you get the knowledge? Thankfully there are many resources to learn about your technology needs. Here are a few of our favorites:

Quote: "The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency."  - Bill Gates

Chances are you'll be working with a vendor to implement technology in your business. These vendors might be web designers, social media experts, or even sales people for technology tools such as CRMs or email marketing software. We often find that the communication between the vendors and business owners often halts, muddies, or even worse completely ruins many attempts at implementing technology in a business. Here are a few tips to ensure that as a small business owner you are prepared to talk the talk with your technology vendors.

Technology! You can love it or hate it, but there's one thing that is clear:  it's here to stay. This means that as a business owner you must learn to deal with it. Otherwise, your business can suffer. Does that mean you need to adapt right now to technology? Absolutely not, but it does mean you need to think about technology from a strategic point of view. Today we'll be looking at the productive points of view business owners need to adopt when discussing technology: