Top Management Issues

July 5, 2007 at 2:33 pm | In Business | Leave a Comment

The Australian Institute of Management (AIM) recently conducted a survey and discovered the top six issues that keep managers awake at night. They were:

  • Pressure to achieve management objectives
  • Work/life balance
  • Finding and appointing talented staff
  • Managing organisational culture
  • Developing organisational leaders
  • Retaining staff

I believe that identifying and measuring the important stuff would help address most of those issues.

Let me know what you think?

How to Discover the Important Stuff: Part 2

July 5, 2007 at 2:31 pm | In Business | Leave a Comment

This postcontinues thae discussion from part 1 and identifies what else is required to find the important stuff.  

 

The final two steps in identifying the “important stuff” are strategies and actions. Most businesses can be described as people providing a service or product (operations) to customers. A strategy needs to be identified for each of these key components. Actions will then be instigated to implement the strategy. When done in this way the day to day actions within the business will be in alignment with the vision and mission statement.

 

Strategy

 

A simple definition of strategy is “a way to win”. The dictionary definition is “the art of employing or devising plans towards a goal”. In war a strategy is used to plan how to defeat an opponent. On the sporting field a strategy is employed to win a game. In business a strategy is employed to achieve the business vision. As well as having an overall business strategy a strategy is required for each of those key components of the business. Note, that depending on the business, there may be additional key components to those identified above. These could include:

 

  • Environment
  • Financing
  • Growth
  • Stakeholders / Owners
  • Community

 

Actions

 

The final step is determining what needs to be done.

 

Use the collective knowledge within the business to identify actions that will implement the strategy that will move the business towards the vision in alignment with the business values. The actions (like goals) need the following attributes to be effective.

 

  • Measurable
  • Time Bound (have an expected date of completion)
  • Accountability (a person who is responsible for implementation of the action is identified)

 

Consider also including the implementation of the actions into your performance management system.

 

Summary

 

For smaller businesses the mission, strategies and actions can be included in a one page business plan. Targets can then be set to measure the success of the actions and the strategies and reported on via a Balanced Scorecard (see the May edition of The Coach for more details).

 

For larger businesses this methodology of identifying the important stuff can be used throughout the organization. Each work team or department has the same purpose of a business that was discussed above; that is people providing a service or product to customers. These work teams or departments can develop their own mission (which will be in alignment with the business mission), strategies, actions and targets.

How to Choose Your Future

July 5, 2007 at 2:28 pm | In Life | Leave a Comment

“Don’t ignore heartfelt desires simply because they seem impossible, undeserved, embarrassing, inappropriate, or not within your grasp. Dig within yourself for the source of the emotion behind the desire and see where that leads you” – Michael Gerber

 

Do we really have the power to design our present and future life or is our life predetermined or just a function of our past? I believe that we do have that power and this article discusses the steps that need to be taken to realize the power.

 

The steps to designing a life are not complicated but do require some in depth self analysis and some time. But what better way to spend time than investing it in you. This is not only for your own benefit but for the benefit of the people who are important in your life. Once you begin the process of designing a life that you want you should find that you become a happier, more supportive and inspirational person to the people in your life who matter.

 

A life of default is one lived by a manual, written by our past circumstances and the people that have impacted us. With this outlook we have little if any power on our life. Rather than taking a good look at ourselves and deciding what we want to do with the gift of life based on our values and strengths we make decisions with a short term outlook based on what seems the right thing to do. Symptoms of people living this life include

 

  • Blaming others or circumstances for their current and future condition
  • Using the word “should” when discussing goals or actions
  • Feeling stuck in a rut

 

However, a default life can be attractive. We may like the idea of living a life that we “should” or letting fate take its course. There are many happy successful people who have lived a life of default. My challenge to you is that if you do choose a life of default make it a conscious decision in the realization that there is an alternative.

 

If you choose to design your life the steps to take are:

 

1.      Identify your values and strengths

In this step you will identify both what is important to you and what you are good at. Ask people who know you well to help with this step.

2.      Document your designed life

Have fun with this. Don’t use constraints such as money or your current circumstances to hold you back.

3.      Develop a personal mission or purpose statement

This is one or two sentences that is consistent with the information discovered in step 1 and step 2. It should be inspirational for you. Share it with someone who is important to you and post it somewhere you will see it daily. An example is “I will pursue moments of joy and happiness, living each day fully and freely, always seeking exciting new experiences, conquering my fears and serving the needs of myself, my family and my friends”

4.      Identify a way to win

For each important area of your life (e.g. relationships, career, health and fitness) identify at a high level how you will achieve your designed life that was documented in step 2.

5.      Set your goals

See The May 2007 edition of The Coach for goal setting tips

6.      Identify 10 actions that you can do to achieve your designed life

Share these with people who will support you with these actions.

7.      Measure your progress

Celebrate when goals are achieved

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