Tag: david lennon

Business improvement – turning around what isn’t working.

Don’t forget big improvements don’t need big budgets or heaps of time.

In fact it is often the small things that have the biggest impact. And the difference between a hugely successful business and an average business is often the little things.

If you are frustrated with something not working, please don’t ignore it because you feel it is too hard to too big.

It may be…but it may not be. 🙂

This week a client of mine had implemented a whiteboard system for tracking projects. It made the invisible visible – everyone could see where projects were up to and where attention needed to be directed. It worked really well for a few months and made a massive reduction in the number of projects delayed in starting. This was essential to boost revenue each month.

But on my monthly meeting with them this week the board was empty. Shock horror!

The person in charge was finding it was taking time to transfer data from the computer to the board.

This is a red flag. And opportunity. Whenever I see cracks appearing in a ‘system’, i.e. a member of staff not doing something, I know there is a deeper cause. I don’t just blame the person.
In this case it was literally taking way too much time to transfer data from the computer to the board and keep updating the board.

The solution is really simple and they will replace the white board with a very large inexpensive screen on the wall and connect it to the computer spreadsheet.

The first solution, the whiteboard, was a major improvement but it then proved less ideal.
The key I want to highlight in this example is:

– Never stop improving and finding better ways to do things. Especially when staff stop doing something or don’t complete something as they should – rather than blame them, examine the process/system including their understanding of it and their training. Note: some staff can be reluctant to criticise a process the boss has implemented so it can be hard to get honest feedback! And you get inaccurate info about it so do your best to help them feel comfortable being honest.

– If the first solution doesn’t work, don’t be wedded to it, change it or drop it!

Do They Know Where the Bus is Going?

Business Turnaround Example – and one of the reasons why I love my job.

A client this week has just taken his first holiday away from the business in 6 years. And the staff were absolutely determined to prove they can man the fort, keep the jobs flowing and the customers happy…and prove to the boss they can do it. And they did. And they were really proud of themselves. And so they should be.

3 months ago this boss was seriously contemplating throwing in the towel.

He felt he had no more fight left in him.

It was a ‘fight’. Doing anything, when you don’t know how to, can feel like a ‘fight’.

He certainly knew how to do his trade real well…but he didn’t know how to manage his people. As a result he had staff that were milking the system, not on time, moody and threatening to leave.

The solution was not hard or complicated. And it’s a solution I’ve seen work wonders time and time  again. It’s so effective and quick, it’s like magic.

First step was the boss brought me on board – but that isn’t the magic part. I assessed the situation, interviewed the team and identified the issues.

The major ‘fix’ I want to share in this post is the need for your staff to know where they are going.

An analogy I like, is to think of your business as a bus and it’s taking you and your staff on a journey…preferably to a destination you want.

When the staff don’t know where the bus is going, they start to get fidgety and think about getting off the bus.

Add to this confusion poor driving by the boss and you have a situation like my client in this example.

The major turnaround by the staff was due mainly to the following:

1. We met with them and found out their career goals and what they liked doing and wanted to do more of, and what they wanted to do less of. We then rewrote their position descriptions with these changes and included a career plan which mapped out their growth in the business.

2. We implemented team meetings every week initially and then reduced this down to every two weeks. These meetings focused on hearing from the staff what needed fixing or changing, and sharing with them great actions taken by the team, number of jobs completed and updates to strategy and where the business is heading.

Both of these actions have given the staff the certainty they wanted in where the bus is going. They are no longer on a mystery tour. One way of looking at this is appreciating that your team are sacrificing time in their lives they can’t regain…how would they feel if they didn’t know where it was taking them?

The two actions have

Let your staff know where the bus is going
Your staff need to know where the bus is going.

given them a sense of belonging, significance, contribution and growth.

One particular staff member who was really playing up and looking for work is now busting his butt, cooperating, hitting targets, going the extra mile and even telling others they should come and work for the company.

If you are having staff issues, and you are not discussing their goals, their challenges, their opportunities and where the business is going, this could be why.

As always, I’m just a phone call away if you need some advice or want to run an idea or issue past me.

2 Case Studies – Drainage and Pilates

 1. Drainage Business

This business just had the first profitable Feb in 8 years and now has staff that are motivated and excelling in their roles. Next step is to get the owner down to 4 days per week.

 

Time to achieve: 6 weeks

 

How:

  • Elimination of grey areas in leadership and who staff report to. It was ‘fuzzy’, there was two leaders. No there is one.
  • Clarification of roles and expectations. This included staff interviews to understand their personal career goals and the type of work they liked doing and where they felt they needed more training/support.
  • Clarification of where the business is going. Every business can be thought of as a ‘bus’ and as the owner you are the driver of the bus. A common cause of low motivation is staff on the bus that don’t know where the bus is going. So they start to think about getting off the bus. Who likes to be on a mystery bus ride!? The bus driver must keep everyone informed as to where the bus is going.
  • Clarification of the culture, vision, mission and vibe the staff want and the owner wants. This is key and part of the Critical Alignment Model I use. Actions are then measured against this – do they help create the desired culture or not.
  • Competitor prices were confirmed and the price of one common service was increased by $100.

 

2. Pilates Studio

This business never had money in the bank, and any cash in was going straight out. This meant there was no surplus to hire more trainers, buy equipment, invest in marketing or cover an unexpected slow period. The business now has $17K in the bank and this is continuing to grow.

Time to achieve: 3 months

How:

  • The main action that turned things around was simply putting a staff member in charge of calling clients about outstanding fees. It wasn’t any more complicated than that. The owner now realises that they probably have lost thousands over the years by clients not paying.
  • We have been implementing a range of other improvements to help improve lead generation, increase clients, increase profit and decrease the time the owner is working in the business. However the main cause of money in the bank is simply chasing up clients that haven’t paid.

 

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So there you go!
I hope these two case studies give you ideas for your own business.

If you need more info or what to run by me your business issue to see if I can help, simply call or email or message me.

0400 520 471
david@davidlennon.com.au

BD101-Core Focus Model

Do you find yourself getting distracted and working on non-core business tasks? Or you aren’t sure how to prioritise the million business development tasks in front of you?

In this short video I give you a great little strategy for categorising what to focus on. It is extremely effective, especially for businesses that need to focus on more sales. You only have a finite number of hours in the day. I can’t emphasise enough how important it is to focus on what matters. Otherwise 6 months go by, a year, two years and your business is still in the same position.

If you have any questions or want me to run through it with you or help you prioritise what you should focus on, I’m just a email of phone call away!

 https://www.davidlennon.com.au/contact/

  You can download the slides handout here: >> BD101-Core Focus Model_lesson handout_2017