Mick's Business Column

Archives 2007

All businesses should be on the Web—August 21, 2006
Unfortunately, some businesses still are not on the Web. That's like not having a phone and expecting customers to reach you! Many of today's consumers go to the Web and do research before leaving home. You don't have to spend thousands of dollars for a site. The refreshingly new attitude in Web design is keep it clean, keep it concise, keep it simple. People are tired of the fancy, time-wasting sites with too many bells and whistles that cost YOU money.
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Organizations should adopt performance management—August 28, 2006
Great leaders often take actions that are not so obvious to the outside observer but are nonetheless critical to their success in managing the performance of others. What are those "actions?" * Setting expectations * Giving earned praise * Sharing constructive feedback * Coaching or slightly correcting when necessary * Taking corrective action for performance that doesn't meet the standard. Are you starting to see a pattern here? You…

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Employees need clear expectations to succeed—September 4, 2006
Setting clear, observable performance expectations is one of the most important jobs of an effective leader. Without clear expectations, employees are left to flounder, make up their own standards, or worse, learn the bad habits of other employees doing it wrong. Some will argue, "I can't afford to spend all that time setting expectations with employees!" Can you afford not to set a foundation for an employee's future success? The…

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Workers need regular dose of positive recognition—September 11, 2006
In order to maintain their motivation, somewhere around every seven days (according to Gallup), people need earned praise. Inexpensive, yet powerful, positive recognition is a leader's tool to meet that need. Be careful not to confuse positive recognition with constructive feedback. Positive recognition is a single event designed to recognize the positive results attained by an employee. Constructive feedback, on the other hand, is an ongoing process to give people the information…To obtain the entire article please visit.

Feedback guides a worker in improving—September 19, 2006
Constructive feedback helps steer people in the right direction, helps them make slight corrections and gives them the information they need to do a good job. While positive recognition is the fuel for the engine, constructive feedback is the vehicle's guidance system, allowing it to go forward smoothly, avoiding obstacles and maneuvering effectively through various situations. Like positive recognition, feedback really does matter! Feedback benefits a leader by: * Providing…

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Coaching lifts employees to next level—September 25, 2006
Coaching is all about helping someone improve his performance. Coaching is a step beyond giving feedback. Feedback focuses on letting the person simply take the information and decide how to use it. With coaching the leader is far more directive and, together with the employee, a performance plan is developed to help him continue upward or get his performance back to standard. A good leader knows when to trust someone to use feedback effectively and when to go to the next level and really… 

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Managers get office slackers to pick it up—October 2, 2006
Discipline, one of the hardest actions a leader or parent takes, is also one of the most critical. One way to determine effective leadership in organizations is to ask, "What happens to slackers?" If they are handled quickly and justly, that is a sign of good leadership. Letting employees continue to slack is a sign of poor management. Many managers today lack the courage or skills to discipline effectively and, as a result, organizations suffer. When steps… 

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How conflict is handled affects organization—October 9, 2006
Conflict is natural and unavoidable, yet many organizations pretend it doesn't exist. What else would explain why so many organizations choose to ignore conflict or at the very least do nothing about it? Conflict is not the worst thing in an organization. In fact it can be argued that conflict is good if it promotes healthy discussions and debate. Let's say there are two people who believe they can build a better mousetrap and they argue about who can do better. They…

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Practice makes perfect when handling conflict—October 16, 2006
"I can't stand conflict. I avoid it at all costs. I'd rather have a root canal than confront someone I am in conflict with." Sound familiar? It's probably the sentiment of most people. By its very nature, resolving conflict is stressful, unpredictable and awkward. It doesn't have to be though. Conflict is only unhealthy when you fail to manage it, and then, of course, it tends to only get worse. Steps for handling…

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Don't ignore conflict -- it will only get worse—October 23, 2006
Many managers make two critical mistakes when employees have conflict. · They ignore it until it grows from a molehill into a mountain. · They play "mommy and daddy" with grown-up employees. Both are equally bad. Ignoring conflict in hopes of it going away is like having a major infection and hoping it will get better on its own. It doesn't — it becomes critical and possibly life-threatening. Although ignoring...

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Add a touch of Mayberry to your organization—October 30, 2006
Have you ever longed for the days when life was less hectic and doing business with someone was friendlier and simply easier? Have you ever longed for Mayberry, where life just seemed to move at a slower, more enjoyable pace? Imagine walking into Floyd's Barber Shop where Barney is in the barber's chair getting his comb-over trimmed, Andy is reading the paper and, golly, there's Gomer pestering Andy with yet another question on life. Everything looks so...  

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A satisfied customer boosts your bottom line—November 6, 2006
What are the advantages of creating an organization that provides consistently great service? They are many, with the most important being your bottom-line. The greatest service organizations in the world have healthy bottom-lines — because of the experience they create for the customer. You know this intrinsically if you have done business with them; your wallet opens very easily knowing your needs are met and you are being catered to. The next advantage is "repeat...

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Consistency is the secret of superior service—November 13, 2006
What do the "best of the best" have in common when it comes to service? They all do an extraordinary job of providing the best to you. They do it seamlessly, apparently effortlessly, as they anticipate your every need and desire. They do it so well that you don't even think about it — but you certainly do feel it. You feel it all around you, the experience of just being there knowing you are going to be well taken care of. How is it that the...

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Fix your business practices to be more customer-friendly—November 20, 2006
Is your customer- or guest-service system broken? "Absolutely not!" you say. "Why would we allow our system to be broken?" You might have a broken system and not even know it. Anything that makes it hard for your customers to do business with you needs your immediate attention — and falls under the adjective "broken." Given this definition, most businesses have to admit they're not without some need...

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Now's not the time to scrimp on service—November 27, 2006
ATTENTION, RETAILERS! We have a yellow light special going on for you right now in the service department. Caution — this is the most important time of the year — when you make the majority of your sales. Pay attention or lose customers. Now that I have your attention, I would like to share some great service ideas. Please make the following clear to your employees throughout this wonderful time of the year: · Absolutely no "chit-chat"...

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Daily huddles will keep your service levels high—December 4, 2006
Sustaining high customer service standards can be challenging for some organizations. You know these organizations well because one day you will get great service and feel that you have had a memorable experience and the next day that experience is completely lost. The inconsistency many times can be absolutely maddening, especially when you have been a loyal customer. How do you sustain high service standards? The answer lies in doing some little things extraordinarily well. One of those...

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Involve workers to prevent failures—December 25, 2006
In most organizations, people work within a system, a system that guides their efforts making them more efficient and effective. The challenge is that every system naturally fails and organizations have to find ways to anticipate failures before they become costly. A powerful management tool to help head off problems is called "opportunities for improvement" or OFI. With an OFI program employees are actively encouraged to look for problems and issues and make solid...

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