As the number of employees increases in a business, there is more and more need for a management system and a management leader. In a perfect world, business owners would hire people for specific roles, and they would do their job without needing anything from the owner/manager. But that’s not the real world.  I’ve often heard owners say, “If everyone would just do their job, everything would be fine.” The truth is most people want to do their job, and typically they want to do it well. But employees are followers, not self-sufficient departments or division owners. They need direction, i ..read more

Executive coaching and business coaching continue to rise in demand and popularity. It is increasingly common to hear business owners and executives talk about their “coach.” You will also hear terms used like “life coach,” “leadership coach,” “organizational coach,” “process improvement coach,” “management coach,” or “performance coach.” However, the most common terms used in business are executive coach and business coach.  What is Coaching? First, let’s define what we mean by coaching. The International Coaching Federation (ICF), established in 1995, has become the largest and most wi ..read more

The 3 C’s of Successful Hiring Interviewing and hiring is often a very stressful experience for business owners. This is one key reason that every business, no matter how small, should develop an effective process for interviewing and hiring in order to make a successful hire. I’ve heard many horror stories from business owners about bad hires. At best they consume precious time and resources. At worst, you may find yourself in court. There are several facets to an effective hiring system but let me share with you one tip that may be a game-changer for you. Here’s the tip: Always interview and ..read more

Many people aspire to become a manager – and that’s a good thing! Companies of all sizes desperately need good managers. However, for most, when they get into this new role they quickly discover that it is very difficult to be a manager! (Not to mention a good one!) Why is that? There are at least three challenges that make it difficult to be a good manager. Here they are: The first challenge that makes it difficult to be a manager is the Time Challenge.   Particularly in small to mid-size businesses the manager is a “working” manager. By that, I mean that the ma ..read more

What’s the Key to Long-term Success? It’s the Manager! The most important thing that owners of growing businesses can do is to develop managers! You cannot scale your business without a strong team of managers and leaders. You cannot build and sustain a strong workforce without effective managers. Jim Clifton and Jim Harter, working with the Gallup Organization, entitled their book It’s the Manager. I humbly borrow that title from them because I could not agree more. In the Gallup research they found that the quality of managers and team leaders is the single biggest factor in an organization ..read more

Three Keys to Effective Employee Management   Managers in small to mid-sized businesses are typically “working managers.” By that, I mean they have production tasks and responsibilities along with their management responsibilities. These “working managers” often struggle with time management, focusing more on production tasks than effective employee management. This is a foundational mindset and time utilization shift that doesn’t come easily. To help managers focus on the most important “manager” responsibilities, I have identified three key tasks that will serve the manager and organiza ..read more

What is a Fractional Integrator for EOS® Companies? The term “Integrator” is fundamental in the EOS® model. Instead of president, general manager, or COO, we use the term Integrator. Why? It cuts through the titles and gets to the true role and function needed to scale your business. This role is critical to successfully run your company on EOS®! In the book Rocket Fuel, authors Gino Wickman and Mark Winters state, “An Integrator is a person who has the Unique Ability® to harmoniously integrate the major functions of the business.” Those major functions are typically marketing, sales, operatio ..read more

What Does a Manager Do?   Managers in small to mid-sized businesses are typically under-trained and under-leveraged. In fact, this is true about many managers in larger companies as well. For a business to scale, the owner MUST learn how to leverage the manager role. But what does a manager do? Several decades of management experience has taught me a lot, but I still look back at the classic book The Leadership Pipeline by Ram Charan, Steve Drotter, and Jim Noel. Many of the ideas I share here can be traced back to this seminal work. These authors have identified three core competencies t ..read more

The Accountability Chart, AKA the Organizational Chart. Does your company have one? And why you definitely should… Most business and organizational leaders are familiar with the traditional Organizational Chart. It is a tool that I started using several decades back. I found it helpful in many ways. So, I was frequently surprised at the number of people in business who did not use it. Then about ten years ago I read the book Traction by Gino Wickman and it became clear to me why so few valued it the way I did. Wickman used the term Accountability Chart to help business leaders better ..read more

Executive coaching and business coaching continue to rise in demand and popularity. It is increasingly common to hear business owners and executives talk about their “coach.” You will also hear terms used like “life coach,” “leadership coach,” “organizational coach,” “process improvement coach,” “management coach,” or “performance coach.” However, the most common terms used in business are executive coach and business coach.  What is Coaching? First, let’s define what we mean by coaching. The International Coaching Federation (ICF), established in 1995, has become the largest and most wi ..read more