Successful Blog

Manage Your Milennial New Hires With Loose Reins

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By Barry Welford

A large proportion of the people you will be recruiting will come from those born since 1980. These are often called Generation Y and the younger of them are known as Generation Z or Millennials. Likely they will be technologically savvy and will be well informed on the job market place and what it has to offer. What are they looking for in working in your company, and what do you need to have them achieve for success?

There is much online help for this significant recruiting challenge and there are even webinars that can set out effective strategies for recruiting Gen-Y.

The recruitment process can only be regarded as a success if both the candidates selected and the company achieve their goals through the contributions of these new hires.

Establishing A Loose Reins Culture

A company culture that is likely to resonate well with these new hires is what the Harvard Business Review calls the “Loose Reins” approach to management. Sometimes, the best management is little or no management at all. Sometimes, effective order and engaging experiences can be achieved with the most simple rules.

The article gives examples of how these principles are applied and gives the following summary of what it is all about:

The power of this kind of self-organization suggests that creativity and innovation might best be achieved not through rigid hierarchy and central controls, but from one or two simple but vital agreements. These agreements are often implicit, ones that everyone understands and is accountable for, yet that are left open to individual interpretation and variation. When we provide the right social context and then let things be, employees self-organize and produce better environment and better results than managers imposing control.

That sounds very appealing but clearly is somewhat revolutionary. Perhaps not everyone will be comfortable in this kind of environment. The recruiting and selection process clearly is critical in making candidate choices that will be successful for both parties.

Selecting Generation Y Candidates Who Can Accept Loose Reins

Before discussing the factors that will distinguish the most successful candidates for this Loose Reins culture, it is easier to define the characteristics of those who will not fit:

Individuals who

  • are black and white thinkers and do not see the shades of gray
  • insist on clearly defined detailed rules
  • are not self-starters
  • have difficulty in making decisions

The better candidates will be at the other end of the spectrum on these dimensions. In particular, they:

  • have an attitude of getting things done
  • can cope with ambiguity and devise practical rules that work
  • are innovative in finding novel solutions
  • will involve and work with other team members

Needless to say candidates will only be interviewed if they have the necessary job and technical skills to handle the position.

What These Candidates Will Demand

What may sometimes be overlooked is that it is even more critical for the candidate that the outcome should be successful. The company can move on fairly rapidly if a wrong decision has been made, but the individual will be faced with much more significant problems if the job is not working out. You can therefore expect that the best candidates will have their own requirements that must be met. In addition to the standard terms such as salary, vacation, hours of work and working conditions these might well include the following:

  • A realistic job description
  • A list of available resources and budgets
  • A clear statement on results to be achieved
  • Possible career opportunities based on success

The bottom line on all this is that the successful candidate and the company must have a shared vision on what is to be achieved and the plan to make it happen. Without this, there is a good chance that one or other or both will be severely disappointed.

Are you a “loose reins” manager?

Author’s Bio: Barry Welford writes for Next Day Flyers. He is a frequent blogger on business performance and Internet Marketing. You can follow him on Twitter at @bwelford.

Is It Time for a Business Partner?

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If you are a sole proprietor, there may come a time when you begin to wonder if it is a good idea to take on a business partner.

Getting a business partner can bring many changes, and you have to be prepared to adapt to a whole new way of running your business. It is important to make sure that your new business partner will contribute positively to the growth and success of your company.

So, when is the right time to bring on a small business partner?

You are unable to solely manage business growth

 While a growing business can bring more profits, it also requires you to invest more time and effort.

If you are running your business all by yourself, you probably have to oversee every aspect of your business and do all the decision-making yourself. Even if you are a very capable business person, there may come a point when you will not be able to cope with the growth.

Taking on a business partner is a good way to manage growth, because it enables you to share your management responsibilities with someone who truly wants your business to succeed.

A partner who has extensive knowledge and experience in certain aspects of management can be an invaluable addition to your business. He or she can also help ease your decision-making burden and contribute new business ideas.

You need to team up with another business to compete with the big players

If your ambition is to become one of the major players in your industry, joining forces with another company can help you reach your goal.

Partnering with another company can be beneficial in many ways. It enables you to obtain additional expertise and knowledge of your industry, increase specialization, access valuable assets and funds for new development, reduce costs and expand your market share. With a greater market share, you will have a more significant influence on market trends.

Your business is on the verge of closing

Getting a business partner does not only help you manage and stimulate growth; it can also be an effective defensive business strategy. If your business is in serious trouble, it may be better to form a partnership with a strong company than to close it down.

A business partner can provide the necessary expertise and resources to get your business back on its feet. However, one disadvantage of entering into this kind of partnership is that you will have less control over your business.

If you want to gain back full control of your business later on, you can make an agreement with your partner to end the partnership on a certain date.

Taking on a partner can be a great business move if you do it at the right time.

To ensure that the partnership will be harmonious and successful, it is essential that you select an individual or company that has the same vision and values as you.

Photo credit: kclink.com

About the Author: John McMalcolm is a freelance writer who writes on a wide range of business topics, from small business management to biographies of famous entrepreneurs such as Richard Branson, Mark Cuban and Steve Wynn.

Entrepreneurial Tips – How to Maintain a Positive Attitude

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By Ronald Alexander

As entrepreneurs, we put work just above everything else. Unfortunately, sometimes when we are working toward something, we forget to maintain a positive attitude, which can lead to additional stress and an unhappy all-around life.

The 10 tips listed below will help you to stay positive while at the same time driving your business in the right direction.
How to maintain a positive attitude

1. Work with people that you like

It’s easy to be unhappy in a business where you are surrounded by negative people all day. This is why it is vital that you hire and work with people who have a positive attitude and don’t drain you emotionally.

2. Don’t hesitate to fire people

It is 100% okay to let people go who are not doing all they can do to help your business. Usually a primary cause of stress for entrepreneurs in the workplace is having people who make them unhappy because they either don’t work hard enough or constantly stress out about little things. It’s a great release when you know that you have just made your work environment better for everyone by letting someone go.

3. Create long-term goals

Short-term goals are good, but having goals that extend decades will allow you to be more focused on where you want your business to go. These goals are usually far less stressful and will show your team that you do know what you want out of your company.

4. Feed your creative mind

Every entrepreneur is creative, so it’s natural that we need to fill our off-time with things that will feed that creativity. Some people like to read, while others get their creative juices flowing by taking a long walk. Whatever you need to stay charged up, you need to make sure that it is included in your weekly schedule.

5. Continue to be yourself

People often forget what got them to the point of being an entrepreneur and having a business. The fact is that you need to continue to be yourself even as you are taking off as an entrepreneur. The people who work for you and the business contacts that you make need to know who the real “you” is. You don’t have to develop a phoney business persona, which, I promise you, will lead to additional stress.

6. Don’t be a yes man

Many people have the instinct that saying yes to their employees will keep all parties happy, but in reality a business has to be run by someone who knows when to say no. If someone needs help with something and you have an important task that you are dealing with right now, you have to tell them no and they’ll need to find another solution to their problem. Always take a second to assess everything before you answer questions at work so you can be honest with yourself and others.

7. Remember to take a break once in a while

Entrepreneurs are usually workaholics, but everyone needs a break to stay fresh. The truth is that those breaks that you take every day will allow you to get better work done, which should be reason enough to take them.

8. Expect stressful situations and deal with them the right way

Work is stressful no matter what you do for a living, so it is each person’s responsibility to deal with every bit of stress that is thrown in their direction. It’s tougher earlier on because you are new to all of the business scenarios that you will face, but with time you will learn how to deal with the stress. Just go into every situation knowing that there will be stress and then conquer it.

9. Don’t expect flawless work

It would be nice if everything we do in our work life ends up being absolutely perfect, but that’s just not reality. You want to draw things up to be perfectly played out, but the most important thing is that you reach the end goal in everything you do. Don’t focus too much on the imperfections; this can help you put off some burden.

10. Don’t try to do everything on your own.

You have a team for a reason, so you have to learn how to delegate responsibilities. It’s not easy at first, but you shouldn’t try to do too much of the work on your own. You run the business, so figuring out who should be doing what all day will help you to take a lot off your plate.

To sum up: You need to figure out what’s keeping you from being as happy as you can be in your business life. Going over these tips should help you to figure out how to lessen the stress so you can focus on getting your business to where you want it to be.

Author’s Bio: Ronald Alexander is a passionate writer and avid blogger currently associated with Forsyth.co.uk, which provides business services including flexible office space and virtual office services in Manchester.

Image source: Pixabay by Nemo

On Being the Kind of Boss People Want to Work With

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By Stacey Thompson

More often than not, the average employee views management in a negative light. Feared, resented, or even reviled, bosses are seen as cruel, unfeeling taskmasters that care only for the bottom line and will readily sacrifice any of the rank and file to attain their objectives.

This culture of hating on the management can go two ways: either employees aspire for these positions in order to propagate the perceived cycle of tyranny, or they will not make the effort to become better workers, seeing that promotion will only turn them into the same monsters they so despise. Neither of these attitudes does justice to the employees, the management, or the company they work in, for that matter.

Are you a boss people like to work with?

In the case of companies, I firmly believe that the culture is propagated from the top down. This places the responsibility of maintaining a prosperous and positive work environment squarely on the shoulders of the managers and supervisors. Just as bad habits and mentalities spring from negative examples provided by the people on top, productive and motivational attitudes are spread by good bosses.

Many people have plenty of theories on what managers should be doing to keep their people motivated, happy, and productive. In my own experiences as both a subordinate and as a manager, I can summarize all these lessons into four pieces of advice:

Open Lines of Communication

No amount of mutual understanding and teamwork will happen if the boss doesn’t even talk with his/her subordinates. This isn’t limited to meetings or official office correspondence; the ability to be able to shoot the breeze with the troops at the water cooler is an important ability to have, if you want to be an exemplary manager of people. It will give you more insights on what motivates (and de-motivates) your people, and in turn, it will humanize you in their perceptions. You’ll cease to be a cruel monster in their eyes, and that can’t be all bad.

Try smiling a little more, too

Though you want to appear a tad more friendly and approachable, do not overdo this, either. Being too chummy with your subordinates will often result in them respecting you less, and your ability to reprimand or correct them will be severely hindered. This does make things lonelier at the top, but remember, this is for the sake of all of your livelihoods.

Give Them a Chance to Shine

You shouldn’t be taking all the glory and credit for yourself, either. This is probably one of the fastest ways to lose favor with your constituents. When they do something above and beyond the call of duty, or have stayed consistently productive and cooperative, give them due praise, and possibly even a material bonus. Let the entire team know when one or more of them have done well, and if your own boss recognizes your team’s accomplishments, let them know where the credit should go.

Allowing them to take the lead and enjoy the benefits of their own achievements will inspire them to work more effectively, and it will give them lessons that will be of use to them when they become managers and supervisors themselves.

Be The Final Word

The two previous bits of advice portray a softer, more yielding kind of management strategy. One cannot be a boss without putting one’s foot down, however. The final lesson on being the boss your people can respect involves being the authority within the team or organization. You are the go-to guy/gal when they want a decision made, the King Solomon that will decide who gets the baby, so to speak.

As a leader, it is on you to set clear goals for you and your team, and you have to be firm when it comes to these things. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be able to change your mind; it means that you will only do so if your colleagues make a strong enough case for an alternative, or if you yourself have evaluated the factors and have found that a course alteration is in order.

Are you an effective boss? What are your strategies for leadership?

Author’s Bio: Stacey Thompson (@RedHotStacey) is a professional writer, marketer, entrepreneur, and a lover of weird little animals. She is based in San Diego, California, and aspires for her own little company to grow successful enough for her to qualify in entering an elite CEO peer advisory group, one fine example being The Sage Executive Group.

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Invoice Factoring for New Business Needs

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By Tina Hamilton

If you are an entrepreneur in your start-up year, you are still learning the ropes. You may have tenacity, family support, passion, and past experience in the industry. However, you can’t be managing every aspect of the business at once and all too often young companies find unpaid contracts and invoices piled on the desk.

In worse case scenarios unpaid invoices can sit around for months and cause companies to fail to meet payroll or face challenges in ordering inventory. Knowing your options is vital to keeping your head above water. One of the best solutions to this all-too-common problem is Invoice Factoring due to its successful record in helping businesses continue to flourish by providing instant cash. Continue reading to learn how it works, and what to look out for.

Cash Flow problems

Getting a cash advance on your unpaid invoices can be what saves your starting business. But finding the right invoice factoring company is equally vital to protecting your assets, as is the ability to get paid off your unpaid contracts.

Fee

When paying a company to collect on your Factoring Accounts Receivables you want to find one that will charge you zero money upfront and take no more than 10 percent of your recovered unpaid invoices. Asking a business to pay upfront is counter-productive and defeats the purpose of getting a cash advance.

Reputation

A factoring company’s reputation is extremely important. It is paramount that businesses take the needed time to do thorough research on any company they consider working with. If there are a lot of negative remarks surrounding a company is it best to keep looking for another provider. It is completely normal to find one or two bad reviews on any business in any industry. Perhaps your business even has a bad review. Do not let one bad review shake your faith in a company, but if the negative feedback stifles the positive, dealing with them is not worth it.

Terms

Make sure the terms are just as agreeable as the rates. You may not be buying a used car, but you can still try haggling a bit to get the terms to an appropriate arrangement. If you find a company with excellent rates but the terms need some improvement, try doing a little research until you do find a company with better terms and present your finding to the provider you are trying to work with. Often they will try to save face by matching or beating a competitor’s terms. When it comes to negotiating terms you can follow advise from online articles that help entrepreneurs negotiate traditional bank loans. Although the products are totally opposite from one another, the art of negotiating is not.

Moving forward

Once you have been paid out on your invoices be sure you learn from the experience so not to repeat the same action from happening again. Perhaps hiring someone to manage accounts is in order. This would also free up some of your time to spend elsewhere in the business.

Finally, positive thinking is a powerful, contagious force that helps drive business forward. Be sure that when you finally nail down your business processes, you line them in a silver layer of positivity.

Author’s Bio: Author Tina Hamilton is a veteran journalist currently researching invoice factoring as an option for her family’s business. You can follow her on Google+.

How to apply military leadership skills to your business

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By Ben Morton

The last four years have unquestionably been difficult times for business and the public. In a short space of time we have witnessed the banking crisis, phone hacking and political scandals and the demise of many familiar big brand names such as Blockbuster and Woolworths to name just a couple.

All of these things have brought leadership into sharp focus once again and led us to ask many questions. Two of the most common questions I have heard are ‘Can we trust our leaders?’ and ‘Are our leaders equipped to lead us through these times?’

Linked to these questions are a couple of phrases or buzz words that I have heard more and more lately; Innovation and VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity). It is VUCA that particularly interests me.

The term VUCA derives from the military vocabulary and they have been training their leaders to operate in this world for many, many years. In fact, it’s one of the cornerstones of military leadership.

Here are some of my favourite techniques, taken from the military, that you can use to help you be an effective business leader whilst operating in a VUCA world.

Provide Stability

A leader’s role is to create stability and an air of calm – these tools can help by ensuring that teams are not reliant on particular individuals.

  • Train your team to understand and be able to carry out other peoples jobs.
  • Don’t allow a Job Description document to constrain what your people do – give them freedom to act.
  • Recruit for flexibility, intellect and team ‘fit’ – not just skills in a narrow job role.

Provide Clarity

In times of uncertainty it is important for leaders to communicate and provide clarity where they can.

Ensure that everyone in your team or organization fully understands the vision or end goal as opposed to just their individual task. This means that if the situation changes, they still know what the team or organisation is ultimately trying to achieve.

Tell people what they need to achieve – not how to achieve it.

‘Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.’ General George Patton

These two points will empower your people to act and handle change quickly with the end goal still in mind. The military call this ‘Mission Command’.

Communicate

It is easy to stop communicating when under pressure but the impact on the team can be huge.

  • Communicate regularly and build it into your processes.
  • When teams are under pressure, individuals will often retreat inwards and team meetings stop taking place – this is the worst thing that can happen in difficult times.
  • Establish a routine for team meetings and communications and make them sacrosanct. This gives you confidence that the team knows what is happening and it gives the team confidence in you and the plan.

Communicate early

The military have the concept of a ‘Warning Order’ which tells subordinates early on what little information is available about forthcoming operations. This allows for concurrent activity and provides a faster response time to challenges. Critics will say, ‘But this could waste time if people start working on the wrong things.’ Not so if you have provided clarity and everybody understands the end goal.

Plan for the Risks

The military have a great phrase – ‘no plan survives contact with the enemy’. So what can we learn from this?

  • Consider the ‘threats’, ‘risks’ and ‘what if’s’ that may affect your plan – create a simple Issues and Risks register.
  • Once you have considered the risks – plan for them. Don’t just have a plan B, have a plan C as well.
  • Communicate the risks and plans. It will allow people to act quickly when things change and once again, it gives them confidence.
Author’s Bio: Ben Morton is a Consultant at TwentyOne Leadership specialising in the provision of high quality leadership training, mentoring and coaching. He has approaching two decades experience in leadership, learning and management along with a wealth of expertise in strategic Human Resource management drawn from experience as a Board Member in small entrepreneurial organizations and working in large multi-nationals such as Tesco and TUI Travel.

Having led expeditions around the globe from the Alps of Europe to the Steppe Country of Mongolia and served two operational tours of Iraq as an Officer in the British Army, Ben understands what it takes to lead people in the most difficult of conditions. He’s passionate about sharing his knowledge, experience and expertise. Connect with Ben on Twitter: @benmorton2