The Need For Every Business To Raise Their Sights Above Only Bottom-Line Thinking
The Need For Every Business To Raise Their Sights Above Only Bottom-Line Thinking
Why do we treat our people this way?
And yet, if only senior management realised, that if they treated their staff with any kind of care and humanity, their bottom line could grow exponentially. But first they have to treat their staff as humans. People need a break every now and again.
I once asked the general manager of a computer company what growth he was aiming for over the next 12 months – his reply – 3-5%. When I asked if he would like 30% growth, he almost fell off his chair. His reply was distinctly patronising – ‘Ann, in case you hadn’t noticed, computer companies don’t get that kind of growth any more.’ My reply – ‘that’s not what I asked you – I asked you if you would like 30%?’
I went on to explain, that if we aimed for 30% and only achieved 15%, wasn’t that infinitely better than aiming for 3-5% and getting it? However, I also explained that he wouldn’t get 30% by constantly tightening the screws and demanding more and more and more from his staff.
I have spent 15 years working with organisations, encouraging managers and employees to leave behind work methods I believe are leftover from the Industrial Revolution. I show managers how to delegate 30% of their day to employees so they (the managers) can work ON the business not IN it, and I show employees the necessity of starting to think and act like an owner not a dependant. To think every single day, ‘How can I do my job better today than I did it yesterday?’ An organisation will not get this kind of loyalty if they treat their people like machines. Even machines need oiling occasionally.
I believe everyone within an organisation is a stakeholder, not just the shareholders. In fact I believe if an organisation actually gave their employees a small parcel of shares, they would be amazed at the loyalty and involvement and results they would get from their staff.
It is a cliché I know, but in this world of look-alike products and services, the ONLY competitive advantage any organisation has is the people it employs. Their loyalty, passion, energy, initiative, drive, creativity and willingness to go the extra mile when times are tough, could be the difference between survival and extinction.
Business planning is done the way it has always been done - a group of senior managers (mostly with a financial background) putting their heads together to create a dry and uninspiring business plan – yes a business needs a business plan, but wouldn’t it be more exciting if they:
a.Didn’t just focus on the short to medium term?
b.Involved their staff in looking at where THEY wanted the company to be in 2 years, 5 years and
10 years?
c.Asked for ideas and input from every single member of the organisation, including cleaning staff?
d.Had regular focus groups of staff to discuss what competitors were doing and what ideas came
from that which could be used or adapted?
e.Held regular customer forums to involve them in ideas for the future
f.Involved suppliers occasionally to see what ideas they were working on in their business that could have a flow on effect into yours?
One of the most powerful business books any manager or owner can read is Maverick by Ricardo Semlar.
By setting up totally self-managed teams, Semlar (Maverick) improved productivity in his organisation from $10,200 per employee to $96,000 per employee over a period of 13 years. When he first floated the concept of employees not only managing themselves, but also making day-to-day business decisions, he was ridiculed. Yet he had the last laugh, because by empowering his people and giving them a share in the profits (and the losses), he watched his bottom line double/treble and quadruple.
Ricardo Semlar now shows up for work 2/3 times a year, the rest of his time is spent playing golf, speaking to large organisations for a huge fee, and writing books and articles about his business.
He also has a waiting list of people who want to work for his company.
Do you?
Was it easy? No. Did they have set-backs along the way? Of course they did. But he never lost sight of the fact, that working in a hierarchical fashion, where he made all the decisions and everyone else just followed orders, required him to be physically present every day of the week, and that is not how he wanted to live his life.
Ah..I hear you say – but he was the owner of the company. If I as a manager only came to work three or four times a year, I would be fired. Of course you would, I am not suggesting that as a manager you only show up three or four times a year – what I am suggesting, is that you look at the concept that Semlar used – handing over as much decision making to the front line as he possibly could. You can do that.
So where do you start?
You start by making the decision to get out of hierarchy. As managers, what would you rather be doing instead of managing people? Wouldn’t you rather spend one day a week doing more productive things? Do you really enjoy watching other people work (or not work as the case may be)? As a manager, once you have decided what you would rather be doing, think about what you are prepared to give up in order to have that day a week. Usually managers will profess to hating running meetings, or scheduling rosters, or stock-taking, or dealing with performance issues.
Employees can run meetings, and schedule rosters, and do stock-take and deal with performance issues. Employees can do anything, if they are trained in the task, coached while they are learning and then trusted to get on and do it.
The interesting thing is that if we turned our organisations on their head and seriously involved employees, we may actually need less managers. And possibly that is the reason we keep doing what we have always done and getting our 3-5% growth!
Perhaps managers keep coming up with things for their staff to do to justify THEIR positions.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
A manager has four tasks to complete:
1.To increase profits and productivity
2.To decrease costs
3.To grow people
4.To do themselves out of a job every 3 – 5 years.
So maybe bottom line thinking is actually a form of self-preservation for senior management and an easy way of NOT having to deal with staff in any way other than giving out more and more orders and causing more and more change. Whether it is needed or not.
Food for thought.
The Need For Every Business To Raise Their Sights Above Only BottomLine Thinking - To learn more about this author, visit Ann Andrews's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
I have just been working with an international bank and their staff are absolutely overwhelmed by the never-ending, on-going changes that keep coming down from on high. They are quite literally, exhausted! Sickness is rife, attendance is becoming a challenge and morale is low.
Why do we treat our people this way?
And yet, if only senior management realised, that if they treated their staff with any kind of care and humanity, their bottom line could grow exponentially. But first they have to treat their staff as humans. People need a break every now and again.
I once asked the general manager of a computer company what growth he was aiming for over the next 12 months – his reply – 3-5%. When I asked if he would like 30% growth, he almost fell off his chair. His reply was distinctly patronising – ‘Ann, in case you hadn’t noticed, computer companies don’t get that kind of growth any more.’ My reply – ‘that’s not what I asked you – I asked you if you would like 30%?’
I went on to explain, that if we aimed for 30% and only achieved 15%, wasn’t that infinitely better than aiming for 3-5% and getting it? However, I also explained that he wouldn’t get 30% by constantly tightening the screws and demanding more and more and more from his staff.
I have spent 15 years working with organisations, encouraging managers and employees to leave behind work methods I believe are leftover from the Industrial Revolution. I show managers how to delegate 30% of their day to employees so they (the managers) can work ON the business not IN it, and I show employees the necessity of starting to think and act like an owner not a dependant. To think every single day, ‘How can I do my job better today than I did it yesterday?’ An organisation will not get this kind of loyalty if they treat their people like machines. Even machines need oiling occasionally.
I believe everyone within an organisation is a stakeholder, not just the shareholders. In fact I believe if an organisation actually gave their employees a small parcel of shares, they would be amazed at the loyalty and involvement and results they would get from their staff.
It is a cliché I know, but in this world of look-alike products and services, the ONLY competitive advantage any organisation has is the people it employs. Their loyalty, passion, energy, initiative, drive, creativity and willingness to go the extra mile when times are tough, could be the difference between survival and extinction.
Business planning is done the way it has always been done - a group of senior managers (mostly with a financial background) putting their heads together to create a dry and uninspiring business plan – yes a business needs a business plan, but wouldn’t it be more exciting if they:
a.Didn’t just focus on the short to medium term?
b.Involved their staff in looking at where THEY wanted the company to be in 2 years, 5 years and
10 years?
c.Asked for ideas and input from every single member of the organisation, including cleaning staff?
d.Had regular focus groups of staff to discuss what competitors were doing and what ideas came
from that which could be used or adapted?
e.Held regular customer forums to involve them in ideas for the future
f.Involved suppliers occasionally to see what ideas they were working on in their business that could have a flow on effect into yours?
One of the most powerful business books any manager or owner can read is Maverick by Ricardo Semlar.
By setting up totally self-managed teams, Semlar (Maverick) improved productivity in his organisation from $10,200 per employee to $96,000 per employee over a period of 13 years. When he first floated the concept of employees not only managing themselves, but also making day-to-day business decisions, he was ridiculed. Yet he had the last laugh, because by empowering his people and giving them a share in the profits (and the losses), he watched his bottom line double/treble and quadruple.
Ricardo Semlar now shows up for work 2/3 times a year, the rest of his time is spent playing golf, speaking to large organisations for a huge fee, and writing books and articles about his business.
He also has a waiting list of people who want to work for his company.
Do you?
Was it easy? No. Did they have set-backs along the way? Of course they did. But he never lost sight of the fact, that working in a hierarchical fashion, where he made all the decisions and everyone else just followed orders, required him to be physically present every day of the week, and that is not how he wanted to live his life.
Ah..I hear you say – but he was the owner of the company. If I as a manager only came to work three or four times a year, I would be fired. Of course you would, I am not suggesting that as a manager you only show up three or four times a year – what I am suggesting, is that you look at the concept that Semlar used – handing over as much decision making to the front line as he possibly could. You can do that.
So where do you start?
You start by making the decision to get out of hierarchy. As managers, what would you rather be doing instead of managing people? Wouldn’t you rather spend one day a week doing more productive things? Do you really enjoy watching other people work (or not work as the case may be)? As a manager, once you have decided what you would rather be doing, think about what you are prepared to give up in order to have that day a week. Usually managers will profess to hating running meetings, or scheduling rosters, or stock-taking, or dealing with performance issues.
Employees can run meetings, and schedule rosters, and do stock-take and deal with performance issues. Employees can do anything, if they are trained in the task, coached while they are learning and then trusted to get on and do it.
The interesting thing is that if we turned our organisations on their head and seriously involved employees, we may actually need less managers. And possibly that is the reason we keep doing what we have always done and getting our 3-5% growth!
Perhaps managers keep coming up with things for their staff to do to justify THEIR positions.
It doesn’t have to be that way.
A manager has four tasks to complete:
1.To increase profits and productivity
2.To decrease costs
3.To grow people
4.To do themselves out of a job every 3 – 5 years.
So maybe bottom line thinking is actually a form of self-preservation for senior management and an easy way of NOT having to deal with staff in any way other than giving out more and more orders and causing more and more change. Whether it is needed or not.
Food for thought.
The Need For Every Business To Raise Their Sights Above Only BottomLine Thinking - To learn more about this author, visit Ann Andrews's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
|||
David BarrDavid Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website |
|||
Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
|||
Casey GollanCasey Gollan, Business Coaching & Mentoring Programs. Add $1 Million to $10 Million in the next 1 to 3 years. Since 1996 Casey has to added hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses. Watch a free video see client results Business Coaching website. - Visit Casey Gollan's Website |
|||
Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
|||
Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
|||
David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
|||
Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | |
|  |
Subscribe to Ann's articles
 | |
|
|  |
 | |
|
| |
 | |||||||
|
 | ||
 |
||
 |
||
|
||
|
| ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
|
 The Idea Compass Feed your body, gain a life 25 Facebook & Twitter Tips Entrepreneurship Or Job? Disciplines of Success |
|
 | ||
 |
Top 50 HR Blogs 2009
Top 50 HR Blogs 2009 | |
 |
Top 50 Niche Blogs 2009
Top 50 Niche Blogs 2009 | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
