To make the most use of whatever time you have available you must focus on your long term aims. Being focused on the smaller picture rather than the big one will throw you off course. Look at where your time goes and consider if you can make better use of it. Not everybody understands us when we talk about time management. So if you are working in a group you all need to understand the same message and what you are trying to achieve.

Short term goals are one type of time management goal and the other is the long term goals. All of them will need you to list what and when things need to be completed. The things that need doing now and over the next year or two are usually considered to be short term goals. Long term time management goals are where we plan to be in five to ten years time.

We all want fast results but the big picture is where it is important to aim. Avoid being distracted and maintain focus on your long term aims. Goals should be considered and changed as required and they should never be set in stone.

Each day you should be doing something that is using time management skills to achieve your aims. A lot of people spend far too much time chasing their tails so make sure you are not one of them. Spend some of your time considering how you can make the most of the time you have to reach your long term goals

Keep a regular check on where your time is spent and if that is wise and productive. Try to look with an impartial eye as though you were somebody else. Decisions should be taken because they are good and this helps prevent emotions getting in the way. Your free time should be considered as well and using time management skills can help to make the most of your relaxation time.

Make a plan of what you need to have to reach your goal in ten years time. We need to set out how much time we can devote to each task we have ahead of us. Time management always starts by looking at our aims and our intentions for where we want to end up

Your time management scheme is your plan to meet the goals you have set for yourself. Whatever skills and education are required to achieve your goals need to be learned .Make the time available to prepare your plans for the future.

The application of time and energy will help you achieve your goals but it must be focused on the important things. To achieve success you will need to plan and have a time frame of how things should pan out. Wasting time in one area of your life will delay your plans so always consider your time management goals when deciding to spend time on other things.

Whether you want to set goals for your business or your personal life, defining clear, concise goals is very important. Without clear goals you can end up confused about what you want to achieve, and you may be putting yourself on the path to stagnation. Clear goals can give you tremendous momentum and intense purpose in your life.

Here are five important tips to help you to define clear goals in your life:

1. Understand what you want to achieve. In order to define clear goals, your first step is to determine exactly what you want to achieve. If you don’t know where you’re going, you can’t figure out a route to get there.

Once you know where you want to be and what you want to achieve, you’ll be able to come up with the goals that will help you get there.

* Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Your long-term dreams and desires might take some brainstorming, so take the time to sit down and do it.

2. Determine a timeline. Setting timelines will prevent procrastination and spur you on to action to meet your goals. Having a timeline for your goals also helps to clarify them because now you know what you want and when you want it!

* Come up with goals that you want to meet in a month, year, and even five or ten years from now.

* Make a plan that will keep you on track; however, don’t etch your plan in stone! Keep you eye on the prize, and know there will be changes along the way.

3. Ensure your goals are realistic. Eliminate stress from your life by having realistic goals that you can achieve. A clear goal is a realistic one.

You can seperate long-term goals for business or life into smaller, acheivable action steps. Reaching multiple goals along your journey will give you a feeling of accomplishment and motivate you to continue.

4. Be specific. Clarify your goals with the details of exactly what you want. Avoid vague generalities. When you make a specific goal, you’ll be better able to accomplish it.

* Specific goals allow you to form your timeline and define your action steps. There’s no guesswork involved when dealing with specifics.


* For example, “make more money with your business” is a vague goal. Come up with a specific goal, such as, “I will make $1,000 more per month, three months from today.” This goal is specific, measurable, and realistic.

5. Refine your goals. Your goals may change as your life changes. During this process, you’ll be able to make them more specific, realistic, and achievable.

* It’s okay to refine your goals several times in your life! What’s important now, might not be important to you six months or six years from now. Be willing to accept change. Revisit your goals from time to time and make new plans if necessary.

Some people flounder through life, unsure of their purpose or what they want to achieve. Don’t let this be you! Your life will have clear meaning if you put some thought into what’s important to you, what goals you want to achieve, and what actions to take to make your dreams a reality.

Participative Management Design Improves a Multi-Production Facility

The Situation

QuietFlex Manufacturing had a problem. Productivity and morale needed to be improved, and one department was in conflict amongst themselves and with the company. Meetings were disintegrating into arguments over emotional issues, rather than yielding constructive discussions toward solving production problems and improving the workplace. Workers tended to bring nonspecific complaints to management, making resolution difficult, even though CEO Dan Daniel’s priority was to create a thriving work environment. These miscommunications caused workers in one department to question their confidence in the company’s leadership.  

The Task

Mr. Daniel wanted to help the QuietFlex Manufacturing employees be satisfied and challenged in their jobs, and feel important to the company’s overall success. He needed a way to “shift the focus from emotional issues to factual issues that I could do something about,” and hoped to “increase the production rate and decrease the amount of physical labor so our employees felt that the job had more value.” QuietFlex Manufacturing needed to move quickly to continue competitive production, and make plans to avoid a recurrence of the situation. Mr. Daniel wanted to bring everyone together around a set of common goals, reduce stress and physical labor, and find new ways to solve problems into the future.

Mr. Daniel had attended a Caridas Consulting International (business consultant) workshop about using Participative Management Design to build individual involvement in company success, “It was a good seminar for strategic executives, but I initially questioned how well it would work on the plant floor.” He contacted CCI to tailor a program for QuietFlex. Mr. Daniel sought an approach in which all stakeholders could win. He valued the talents and skills of his people and wanted to bring out those strengths to build internal capability. He knew CCI specialized in improving performance and productivity through people. The task was to improve the quantity and quality of production, increase morale, and improve communications to manage problems effectively over the long term.

Implementation

Mr. Daniel was eager for solutions that would work for everyone at QuietFlex Manufacturing. He had been intrigued by CCI’s participative management strategies, and knew that such an approach made sense for his company. The best solutions arise from the daily needs of work, and the best-informed people are those who are doing the work. Participative Design calls for change in the location of responsibility, so the people doing the work initiate the changes. People are encouraged to be self-managing, though not autonomous. Managers provide redesign guidelines, so that everyone contributes to the process and develops reasonable expectations for change. Mr. Daniel was eager to see how Participative Management could both address the employees’ needs and improve the bottom line at QuietFlex Manufacturing.

The company’s initial Participative Design sessions lasted two days for each shift. Caridas Consulting helped participants define and evaluate their current work process and make suggestions for improvement. Certain features of the production process were not flexible; Caridas Consulting got the group to focus positively on what could be changed. Initially, Participative Management Redesign sessions were difficult because people were not convinced there would be any real change. As they saw their suggestions being implemented, people began to improve their productivity and commitment to the company, as well as their own expectations and morale. Plans created within this collaborative framework earned the commitment of everyone on board. People were eager to implement the plans of their own making. They became innovative problem-solvers, and as issues arose, they found the initiative to create solutions. Caridas Consulting conducts Participative Management follow-up sessions with each area every six months.

CCI recognized that positive business results could not be sustained and company-wide improvements would not be complete without guaranteeing their successful delivery. QuietFlex management realized they needed to improve employee relations immediately. Enhanced communication and conflict resolution skills have made the workplace conducive to the introduction and execution of new ideas. Now QuietFlex keeps employee relations strong by helping managers be quality communicators. Caridas Consulting business consultants helped managers develop:

• basic communication skills, with an emphasis on genuineness, positive regard, and empathy
• conflict prevention and resolution skills

Immediate feedback from top managers shows these skills gives them a sense of interdependent control and improves their relations with employees. The managers are eager to further develop their communication skills and build on their initial accomplishments.

After a Successful Intervention

Mr. Daniel reports the situation at QuietFlex has dramatically improved. Workers in one department have been able to increase production from 2500 lbs per hour to 4000 lbs, and continue to progress. In the meantime, scrap and reject have been reduced dramatically. Safety has greatly improved, since the work redesign. People’s ability to participate has greatly improved the speed and quality of production. Mr. Daniel says the people at all levels of QuietFlex are pleased with the results. There are “more pounds being pushed out the door, and we redesigned the pay structure so there are incentives to reduce scrap and waste further, and improve product quality. Employee earnings are already up by 30%. Our employees can produce more and not be as tired.” The business results have been decisive and continue to improve.

By incorporating Participative Management strategies at QuietFlex Manufacturing, employees have been given a role in solving future problems. Participative Management Design has “given the managers a way to deal with specific issues. Now they know to ask the employees to really define the problem and what they think the solution should be.” Mr. Daniel is pleased CCI helped QuietFlex both increase quality production and communicate with their workers. “I ask everyone to bring me solutions with their problems,” he says.

Caridas Consulting also worked in the most troublesome area of the plant. He “threw Caridas Consulting into the lion’s den,” by asking them to work with a group of workers so disgruntled, and so cut off from management, that they had asked the union to intercede on their behalf. As in the glass plant, CCI helped the duct workers develop detailed outlines of the work flow and define their problems. The workers proposed a set of solutions, and the management responded by detailing the changes they were willing to make, and setting a timetable for implementation. Now that most of the changes have been implemented, productivity is up over 30%; because compensation is tied to productivity, morale and pay for this group has also improved substantially. Caridas Consulting opened the lines of communication between these workers and management, resolving the immediate issues and setting up a framework for future problem-solving.

Mr. Daniel is now a believer; the results at QuietFlex prove that Participative Management Design is a flexible and comprehensive model that can be used across industries and at all levels. The workers at QuietFlex have raised the quality and rate of production, and greater productivity means higher wages. They have learned to innovate solutions. Participative Management Design has helped all the people at QuietFlex Manufacturing reach their individual and common goals, and provided them with a framework for continued success.

Further information, please contact Evangeline Caridas        713-629-5692 

Leadership styles - there is a lot of junk written about leadership styles - so let’s make this really easy. There are really only 2 leadership styles - leading from the front and leading from the back..
What? No complicated methodology? Nothing complicated that needs an army of consultants to set up and deliver?
No - just a simple question.
Do you lead from the front or lead from the back?
Just imagine
You are out taking your children for a stroll (if you don’t have any children, just imagine you do..) and you are strolling in the park. You let them run on ahead and play. You idle along at the back - maybe have a drink or an ice cream. You are leading from the back. You have the situation under control and all is well. You have no need to get up and start shouting and telling children what to do.
But then you go out of the park
And you leave to cross the road. It’s not wise to be at the back now. Children will probably expect to be shouted at. You have to take control and now you are leading from the front.
This can easily be translated into the work place.
Relaxed
Imagine that you are at work and everything is going well. The team has hit their targets and it’s nearly holiday time and everyone is feeling good. Now is the time to lead from the back. No one will want to hear from you. No one will want to go over the work rosters for the next 6 months. You can safely lead from the back
Now imagine that your offices have been hit by a power cut. The offices are in complete darkness and staff and need direction and leadership. Now is the time to lead from the front.
Going missing at this point would be a very good way to lose the respect of your staff. What they need is to see you in command.
Of course, you will change from front to back during the working week and a good boss will be able to effortless change from one to the other.
A simple way to learn how to do this is to just listen to staff talking with each other.
Are they worried? What are they anxious about?
Are they working? Should they be hard at work?
Is their behaviour what you would expect at the current time? (For example, if they are strolling about and a big order is needed to go out, then you need to lead from the front and create a little more urgency into proceedings)
A bit of chatter is usual in most workplace but by tapping in to it, managers can decide where they need to position themselves to get the most out of staff.

Why should you bother?

The life blood of any business is good customer service. Although you should try and attract new customers good customer service will help generate customer loyalty and encourage repeat business. With every satisfied customer your business is likely to go on and secure many more customers through recommendations and if you do not take proper care of your customers there is probably a competitor waiting in the wings that will.

A customer satisfaction survey will help by not only identifying problem areas but show that you care and are proactive in looking for ways to improve the service that you provide.

Where do you start?

Objective - Before you start compiling your survey consider what the objectives of the survey are, in that way you will remain focused and find it easier to decide what questions to ask.

Analysis - In addition to the objective consider also how you will analyse the answers having completed the survey.

Keep in mind that ‘closed’ questions (where the respondent is asked to choose from a limited number of responses) are easier to analyse than ‘open’ questions (where the respondent can reply in anyway they want).

A great deal will depend on the predicted volume of respondents, the higher the volume the more important it is to have an easy method of analysing the results.

Opportunity – Keep in mind that as well as obtaining valuable market research data customer surveys are also a good way to publicise aspects of your service that your customers may not be aware of.

It is important that before you publish the survey that you check that the questions you have asked will provide you with market research data that when analyzed will help you make informed decisions.

Next, read through the survey from a marketing view point, check that you have phrased each question so that every opportunity has been taken to promote your business?

The ideal question will perform the following three functions:-

• Market research - provide valuable feedback to help you improve your customer satisfaction levels and in turn your business
• Marketing - promote aspects of your business
• Information/Education - advertise a service that you provide that your customers may not have been unaware of

For example:- Do you find the in-store baby changing facilities useful?

In asking this question the store will hopefully not only receive useful feedback on the baby changing facility but they will also promote the store as being child-friendly even beyond the customers who actually require the facility.

Warts and all – to maximise the benefit from a customer survey you must be prepared to take criticism.

A customer satisfaction survey should be designed to highlight problems so that they can be addressed; regular customer satisfaction will prevent complacency and will also give early warning on where your competitors initiatives may be losing you business.

What questions should you ask?

Depending on their own particular size and makeup each business is likely to have unique factors in relation to providing good customer services however there are common areas relevant to all businesses be they a physical store, online store or a service industry. The following are some key areas to providing good customer service.

Communication - Is it easy for your customers to communicate with you?

When customers telephone are their calls answered quickly; are their enquiries about products or services handled properly? A good business will make every effort to ensure that whatever the customers query it is resolved by the right person, politely, quickly and fairly.

If there are reported problems that cannot be resolvable immediately do you promise to respond in a given time period and do you deliver on your promise?

Use a customer satisfaction survey to check that all your employees are perceived by your customers as being helpful, courteous and knowledgeable.

Location – Do your customers find it easy to visit you, if a physical store, is it conveniently located with good access?

Making it pleasant, making it easy - For a virtual business it is important to ensure that your website is aesthetically pleasing and easy to use.

Regardless of the store being a bricks and mortar or purely online web based store, is the store properly laid out and can your customers find what they need and is there sufficient detailed information and help on hand to explain how a particular product works?

The right quality products – In addition to measuring the quality of the service that you provide you should ensure make sure that the products and services that you provide do fully match your customers’ requirements.

Value for money – Cheap or expensive is rarely a good measure, value for money is.

Is your business associated with value for money by your customers, if not, why not?

Speed and attention – Regardless of the business most customers will want to be dealt with quickly but attentively.

Are you doing everything you can to avoid any delay?

Customers like to be treated as individuals, how do you treat your customers? Attention is appreciated but it needs to be followed up with a quick and satisfactory resolution to the query.

Demographics and Specific issues – Take the opportunity to profile your customers, for example their gender, age group and where they live?

The more you try to understand your customers the better you will be able to target your business.

As part of the survey allow your customers the opportunity to highlight any problems that they may have and provide you with contact details so that their problems might be later addressed and their concerns followed up.

What is next?

Having completed the survey analyze the results.

Trends – Identify specific and common areas where the service needs improving.

Ask yourself if any criticism is valid, be honest to yourself, is there anything that can be done to properly resolve, or at the very least, minimise the problem?

Training – Are all employees properly trained and do they have sufficient knowledge?

Where customer service training programs have been implemented have they had the desired effect and improved the customer experience?

Follow-up – If a customer has raised a specific issue through completing a survey ensure that they are contacted and that their complaint is properly addressed.

Don’t squander the opportunity to resolve a problem and keep a customer.

Continuously Monitor - Make changes and then measure by issuing further surveys.

To view a sample customer satisfaction survey for a store that demonstrates some of the above advice please visit:- Sample Customer Survey

In the UK and many other countries, employment tribunals have more than doubled in the last 5 years.

how so?

Well, television is increasing reality and people see The Apprentice and celebrity chef programs on TV. People who do well are almost always represented as walking about, pointing and shouting at others (and quite often swearing and being rude also) to get the job done.

But that’s television - it’s not management…

It’s meant to entertain the viewing public and remember they don’t want to hear theories and explanations - they want to be entertained.

So how to be a better manager with all this bad advice around? Here are 3 thoughts to ponder.

1. Listen more. Talk less.

You will be able to make better decisions with all the facts and people will be happy (or happier) if they can see the manager has listened. Solutions will be more readily accepted if staff have had an input. And don’t forget - it’s your staff who actually do the job…

2. Learn to prioritise

Unfortunately, not everything can be important all the time. Just because something isn’t important to you - it doesn’t mean it’s not important to the person involved. So you need to be able to (tactfully) say to people that you won’t be dealing with that particular issue today, tomorrow, this week, ever… Without shouting abuse at them…

3.Get UP TO DATE  information

Too many managers rely on “gut” or what they think - not the facts. After all stopping to check the facts and figures doesn’t make for good TV does it. And after all, most TV programs must be fitted into a 1 hour slot, so spending time expanding the story lines means less advertising revenue…

Finally, recognise TV management programs for what they are - TV programs….

Business planning feels sometimes like visiting the dentist – you know you must do it, but you keep putting it off.

Historically business plans were prepared to obtain finance and subsequently filed away. Larger corporations prepared business plans internally to justify operational and project budgets. These business plans were seldom revisited and the accuracy and completeness were always questionable.

Regardless of the size of your business, it is imperative to be incredibly focused within your business. In depth focus can only be achieved through proper planning. This can be achieved through the use of structured business plan, sound business advice and ongoing evaluation against the plans.

The structure of the business plan should include:

• Current market situation – Understand your current market environment, including its size and the share you can realistically achieve. The size of the market will depend on market trends, target customers and competition.

• Current target customers - Evaluate the characteristics of the target customers that could buy from your business.

• Competitor analysis – The level of competition and the strength of the competition will provide an indication of how difficult it will be for you to attract customers.

• Marketing strategy – List the objectives and targets for the volume and share of the market you hope to achieve and when you want to achieve it by.

• Marketing plan – Explain in detail how you going to achieve your marketing targets and objectives.

• Sales Goal and objectives – Details your sale forecasts in terms of different product types by volume and value.

• Operational requirements – Draft an outline for your plans for premises, equipment, staff, suppliers, compliance and estimated costs.

• Current financial requirements and financial forecasts – Includes a breakdown of your financial requirements, the sources of finance available and any shortfall that will require funding.

• Management processes – Consider key skills, responsibilities, and management processes needed.

• Business risks – Details the risks your business is exposed to and how you plan to mitigate it.

No-one knows the pitfalls of planning and running a business better than persons who have done it. Rather than wait too late, contract business advisors if you do not have the necessary expertise. Experts can not only provide business advice for your business planning process but will become advocates for your business, cheering it on!