I received this question from a business owner recently: Q: “I’ve been successful in growing my small business, and I’ve started hiring some staff members. At first, I could keep track of what everyone was doing just by overhearing them and by quick check-ins. But now that I’ve hired more people, I feel like I…
Performance evaluations have gotten such a bad rap over the years that sometimes we forget why we do them. It’s a high-stakes conversation, sometimes adversarial. The employee wants a raise and we want better performance. The risk of frustration, disappointment and even anger seems ever present. I’d rather go to the dentist! At Anchor Advisors, we agree with those…
When our business grows to be more than we can handle on our own, we bring in employees and entrust them with portions of the work. In the beginning, the risk is low; we can monitor them closely and if someone drops the ball, we know how to pick it up since it’s stuff we’ve…
Mission Statement: We resolve to be pretty much OK. We won’t make glaring errors, so our customers will be somewhat satisfied. We want people to like working with our team, and feel comfortable working at our company. Now, there’s a mission statement – if you’re on a mission to fail. No business would ever create such…
As a small-business owner, you probably are bombarded with hundreds of direct-mail pieces and e-mails that promote upcoming training seminars and conferences. You might glance at the titles and think, “So-and-so could use some training in that,” but the thought goes no further. But, training your employees is an important issue that deserves your time…
While many business owners consider well-defined job descriptions crucial to their business, how many have actually taken the time to create a job description for themselves? Not many. But, a business owner needs a job description just as much as the rest of the team. In fact, a business owner may need a job description…
Many of the small businesses that we encounter are family-owned and operated. And on the surface, this seems like a good idea. After all, you love your family, so why wouldn’t you want to work with them? You know them well and trust them, so it seems like a lower risk venture than relying on strangers. While working with…
Managing a business, especially a small business, is like coaching a sports team. Like any team, you have your stars, and inevitably, you have your benchwarmers. While both groups have a place in your organization, they should not be managed in the same way. We all know our stars. They bend over backwards to get their work done and…
The creative services business requires managing and selling a rather unpredictable product – people. But, this doesn’t mean your business and its success must be equally unpredictable. Creative services companies can realize steady growth and success – even with the uncertainty and variability that accompanies managing and selling people’s services. Here are four key strategies…
I often hear business leaders tell me that they don’t get enough done in a day. They have a to-do list a mile long, but they spend their whole day answering employees’ questions and solving employees’ problems. But, if we let day-to-day issues like these fill our day, it’s impossible to make progress on the leadership tasks that only…