Leadership Secrets for Great Meetings with just the right number

Ineffective and poorly- run meetings serve as one of the top talent and time wasters. Develop the skill to run a tight, highly focused meeting with just the right number and kind of people in attendance and your stature as a leader rises.

First, figure out what is the specific outcome of the meeting and start with that as the written objective. Give your meeting a name that even states the “objective”. Next, ask yourself who has the greatest information or talent and should be at the meeting. Figure the personnel cost for the meeting. For example, if an employee has an average annual salary of $50,000, the per hour cost for that one person is $96 per hour. (This includes salary plus benefits and general company overhead). You can extrapolate other salary costs from this base. Here are other tips to make this meeting move from average to great:

(1) Put a specific time frame on the meeting and start on time. If people show up late, create some fun—but telling— response for tardiness. In one organization, the latecomer has to sing to everyone. In another, the latecomer buys cokes for everyone. In another, the latecomer is given a scarlet “L” on a tent card. In Saturn Automotive plant meetings, if the door is closed, you are late and an alarm rings if you try to enter.

(2) Develop good facilitation skills, making sure everyone participates and is heard from

(3) Summarize questions, outcomes, actions. Summarize frequently

(4) Have the names of who should attend on the agenda, which is sent out at least 48 hours in advance.

(5) Create a “parking lot” notebook. If an issue is brought up that is not on the agenda but might be addressed at another time, write it down so it can be tackled.

(6) Consider a stand-up meeting. To move people through quickly, have no chairs in the meeting room. It’s amazing how quickly people can get work done when there is no place to sit.

(7) At the end of the meeting, and as a way of staying focused and practicing continuous improvement of meeting management, tell the group the personnel cost of the meeting and if the money could have been spent more wisely in another format?

(8) Make sure a summary of the meeting is sent to the participants along with any action items or next steps, a due date, and the person or groups to which they are assigned. (9) To break a meeting routine, you might consider beginning by asking people to come prepared to tell the group about some person whom they want to acknowledge for outstanding service. Starting off by highlighting positive performance—particularly of unsung employees—is a powerful gesture.

(9) Don’t forget to say thank you. Time is the only true non-renewable, irreplaceable resource. When people give you their time, they gave you a piece of their lives.

Business Expansion Plan For Small Entrepreneurs

Every small business will eventually feel the heat and find the need for expansion. The time will come when the small plans that worked when first starting the business may no longer be sufficient.

Understanding What to Expand

The buzzword 'business expansion' may be catchy to outsiders but as a business owner you need to understand precisely what to expand in order that the scarce resources that you do have are optimized.

1. You feel increasing personnel helps increase production to meet growing demand.

2. Maximized labor can't cope with the market demand and you have identified that automating business operations would both reduce costs and increase efficiency.

3. International demand cannot be met as the business is operating now. Diverse markets need localized service points.

4. You need to keep more inventory on hand because price fluctuations don't allow just-in-time procurement. You are contemplating using a warehouse facility for storage.

5. Your supply chain is hard pressed; it is difficult to manage with the existing logistics operation.

The need for expansion can be a combination of above and you know well that you can hardly push it any further without expanding.

Planning Your Business Expansion

Having identified the exact nature of the expansion needed, the next step is careful planning. Let's examine each of the above cases.

1. Increasing personnel doesn't require increased funds. Payroll can be taken care of from the increased revenue from the business.

2. Automated machinery calls for extra skills for operating it. Ideally, you would train a few of your best people to operate the machines or hire extra personnel. Normally, the company that was used to procure the machinery will also provide training as needed. Y

3. Opening localized service points need not be by buying or renting real estate unless you have explored the possibility of outsourcing. This is where having a website comes in handy. The Internet is by far the best way to reach overseas clients. Also, using this method, your business will be open 24/7.

4. Constructing or leasing a new warehouse will increase your asset base but not without a huge investment. You should critically analyze if you can get by with the existing space, maximized by using retractable storage racks, thereby creating more space within your existing warehouse.

5. There is no substitute for augmenting logistics. Your options are either contracting out the supply chain or managing logistics yourself.

Knowing when and how to expand your business is essential for continued success. If you find that you are struggling to keep up with demand, and certain operations are continually pressed for time, then expansion is an option that you will want to carefully consider.

Time Management for Business Owners

It is important for business owners to make the most of every minute of the day. After all, you are trying to grow your company into something special. For this reason, time management is very important.

Do you manage your time everyday with a high degree of efficiency? If so, you do not have anything to worry about as you are probably on the right track. Of course, there is always room for improvement. Even if you think you are using your time wisely, you never know when a few changes here and there could make a big difference.

As the owner you need to learn how to become the best time manager in your company. You are in charge of everybody from your right hand man down to the newest employee on your payroll. For this reason, the way you manage your time is very important.

Fortunately, there are ways to increase your time management proficiency. Not to mention the fact that practice makes perfect. Once you are in the habit of making the most of your time, you will continue to do so day after day without even thinking about it.

How do you feel about your time management skills? If you have any room for improvement, and you probably do, now is the time to do something about it. Soon enough you will find yourself working more efficiently and having more time available than ever. This is sure to make you a better business owner, while helping to increase profits.

The Secrets To Leadership Exposed

Much has been written about leadership: rules, pointers, styles, and biographies of inspiring leaders throughout world history.

But there are certain leadership ideas that we ourselves fail to recognize and realize in the course of reading books. Here is a short list of things you thought you knew about leadership.

1. Leaders come in different flavors.

There are different types of leaders and you will probably encounter more than one type in your lifetime. Formal leaders are those we elect into positions or offices such as the senators, congressmen, and presidents of the local clubs.

Informal leaders or those we look up to by virtue of their wisdom and experience such as in the case of the elders of a tribe, or our grandparents; or by virtue of their expertise and contribution on a given field such as Albert Einstein in the field of Theoretical Physics and Leonardo da Vinci in the field of the Arts.

Both formal and informal leaders practice a combination of leadership styles.
- Lewin's three basic leadership styles ;authoritative, participative, and delegative
- Likert's four leadership styles ;exploitive authoritative, benevolent authoritative, consultative, and participative
- Goleman's six emotional leadership styles - visionary, coaching, affiliative, democratic, pacesetting, and commanding.

2. Leadership is a process of becoming.

Although certain people seem to be born with innate leadership qualities, without the right environment and exposure, they may fail to develop their full potential. So like learning how to ride a bicycle, you can also learn how to become a leader and hone your leadership abilities.

Knowledge on leadership theories and skills may be formally gained by enrolling in leadership seminars, workshops, and conferences. Daily interactions with people provide the opportunity to observe and practice leadership theories.

Together, formal and informal learning will help you gain leadership attitudes, gain leadership insights, and thus furthering the cycle of learning. You do not become a leader in one day and just stop. Life-long learning is important in becoming a good leader for each day brings new experiences that put your knowledge, skills, and attitude to a test.

3. Leadership starts with you.

The best way to develop leadership qualities is to apply it to your own life. As an adage goes 'action speaks louder than words.' Leaders are always in the limelight.

Keep in mind that your credibility as a leader depends much on your actions: your interaction with your family, friends, and co-workers; your way of managing your personal and organizational responsibilities; and even the way you talk with the newspaper vendor across the street. Repeated actions become habits.

Habits in turn form a person's character. Steven Covey's book entitled 7 Habits of Highly Effective People provides good insights on how you can achieve personal leadership.

4. Leadership is shared.

Leadership is not the sole responsibility of one person, but rather a shared responsibility among members of an emerging team.

A leader belongs to a group. Each member has responsibilities to fulfill. Formal leadership positions are merely added responsibilities aside from their responsibilities as members of the team.

Effective leadership requires members to do their share of work. Starting as a mere group of individuals, members and leaders work towards the formation of an effective team. In this light, social interaction plays a major role in leadership.

To learn how to work together requires a great deal of trust between and among leaders and members of an emerging team. Trust is built upon actions and not merely on words. When mutual respect exists, trust is fostered and confidence is built.

5. Leadership styles depend on the situation.

How come dictatorship works for Singapore but not in the United States of America? Aside from culture, beliefs, value system, and form of government, the current situation of a nation also affects the leadership styles used by its formal leaders.

There is no rule that only one style can be used. Most of the time, leaders employ a combination of leadership styles depending on the situation. In emergency situations such as periods of war and calamity, decision-making is a matter of life and death.

Thus, a nation's leader cannot afford to consult with all departments to arrive at crucial decisions. The case is of course different in times of peace and order -different sectors and other branches of government can freely interact and participate in governance.

Another case in point is in leading organizations. When the staffs are highly motivated and competent, a combination of high delegative and moderate participative styles of leadership is most appropriate.

But if the staffs have low competence and low commitment, a combination of high coaching, high supporting, and high directing behavior from organizational leaders is required.

Now that you are reminded of these things, keep in mind that there are always ideas that we think we already know; concepts we take for granted, but are actually the most useful insights on leadership.

Recession Advice - How Vehicle Tracking can improve Fleet Efficiency

ehicle tracking systems have been available to fleet managers for some time and despite an initially slow uptake in the technology, they have now become very popular amongst those who run commercial fleets. Not only do they give fleet managers peace of mind knowing that they have the exact location of every vehicle in their fleet at any one time - they can also improve fleet efficiency too, an important factor during a time of economic hardship.

A GPS tracker works by using a triangulating algorithm to give the precise location of the vehicle it is fitted to. This information is fed through to a remote-operating centre, which can then chart the location of every vehicle in the fleet. Through this mapping system, fleet managers can prioritise routes or re-allocate a vehicle to a pick-up, minimising the time that the customer waits for their collection and maximising efficiency. The utility services and network companies running fleets of mobile engineers are also finding this system extremely useful, as it allows them to allocate call-outs to the nearest available vehicle. Courier and delivery services have been using vehicle tracking systems for several years and were the first organisations to really appreciate the benefits of such a system.

Vehicle tracking systems don't just relay information on a vehicle's location, though. Good quality systems can also provide fleet management professionals with additional information such as the speed of a vehicle. Speeding is an extremely inefficient operation as increased speed invariably means increased fuel consumption. Major fleets that have used these systems have been able to reduce their annual fuel bills by up to 40% just through the information provided by vehicle tracking systems.

By spending a little company capital at the outset, a GPS vehicle tracking system can help facilitate effective scheduling, which results in a reduction in the amount of time vehicles are standing idle or not being used at optimum efficiency. They can also reduce delivery time delays and improve supply chain management by enabling fleet managers to prioritise routes. This leads to better customer relations as fleet managers are able to give their customers more accurate estimated arrival times.

Another saving comes in a more unexpected area. Fleet insurance policies can be cripplingly expensive, particularly for small and medium sized companies. However, insurers now regard vehicle tracking devices as a major force in the fight against vehicle theft and offer substantial policy discounts for fleets with GPS trackers fitted. Faster recovery times of stolen vehicles, a reduction in the potential damage to stolen vans and cars by thieves and eliminating the need to hire replacement vehicles to cover the shortfall left as a result of a vehicle theft all add up to a considerable annual saving.

Vehicle tracking systems can also tell a fleet manager if vehicles are being used out of hours by drivers for their own, personal use. Technically, this could be regarded as misappropriation of a company vehicle and can cost firms a great deal of money over the course of a year. If a driver knows that their movements are being plotted by a remote GPS tracking device, then he or she will be less inclined to use a company vehicle inappropriately. Again, this all adds up to savings for the company.

In a time of recession, every business is looking for ways to improve productivity, efficiency and cut costs. Although it may seem strange to advocate spending money on a complex vehicle tracking system during these lean times, the long-term savings these systems represent are financially prudent and an essential part of effective fleet management.

Managing People the Right Way

Whether you're the manager of two people at a manufacturing plant or 50 people with a Wall Street address, the rules of good management are the same. One of the most important items in Management 101 to address is:

• People work with you, not for you.

When introducing a team member in your department, kindly introduce them as: "I'd like to introduce you to Joanne. She works with me in Quality Control." This will leave a lasting impression on people above your title as they quickly realize you're a dedicated team player, recognizing the value of the great people who work with you. Additionally, it will give "Joanne" a boost, knowing that she is valuable to you and the company and promotes her feelings of self worth. No one is a "subordinate" of yours…leave that for the military!

Another critical tip which many management people forget is:

• Share your knowledge and background experiences with everyone who works with you.

Too many managers simply assign work for the people entrusted to them. Think of where you started…not at the top, I'll bet! Give everyone the benefit of the doubt that they are just as intelligent and worthy as you. More times than not, taking the time to share the whole picture of the project and where everyone fits into it will obtain the final results sooner and make you look like a bigger person. Failure to honor their questions, instead keeping everything "close to the vest", only shows a manager's insecurity. Unless you're associated with the FBI or CIA, there is no reason not to share your knowledge. Your staff will succeed and gain much under your direction, and it will filter through the grapevine that you're a fantastic person to work with which, of course, will tell upper management that you're ready for the next step up.

Sales Process

The theory of sales process improvement focuses on several aspects, all of which will make your company a bigger success. The fundamentals of the sales process involve much of which revolves around both customer and company satisfaction; therefore it can be a premium to invest in some sales process consulting to make a stronger work environment. Sales process improvement is beneficial for any company, and it is highly recommended by many to stress the importance of the sales process to your sales team staff.

The sales process can be dealt with in various manners. The key is to develop strategies which work to meet the individual needs of your clients.

One of the best tools for sales process improvement is to really focus on those with whom you wish to work, and who conversely choose to work with you. Stop wasting time on others who are not going to be won over by your products.

Have your advertising and public relations appeal to a wide audience. Yes, focus upon your target; however, do not limit the demographics of that audience. Make your marketing appealing to all.

Tweak your communication and presentation skills so that these never fail you. Have ready information about your company at all times. Remain current about product knowledge, and be able to communicate clearly with your clients and prospects.

Sales process consulting will further encourage your business to train and hire only the best in your field. Let your company develop a reputation as the best by putting your well-educated staff in the field. Business will certainly follow.

Finally, really utilize the strategies stressed in sales process improvement. Put the methods into practice and you are sure to see increases in revenues.

The sales process is tough. Businesses are forever devising new ways for sales process improvement. With just the right sales process improvement, however, you are sure to head straight to the top.

Sales Manager Coaching

Sales management training with coaching is the ideal program to foster new creativity in your company. A sales manager coaching reps can have great success stories to relate to the team; furthermore, sales manager coaching is fabulous for introducing fresh ideas to team members. Sales management training with coaching can also be a way to spark new team work and communication among staff. Sales manager coaching will assure the very best company leaders. With a sales manager coaching reps, valuable information can be shared, much of which will work to increase your company's revenues and profits.

Sales management training with coaching can be utilized within your company in several different manners.

However the transition from that of a sales team member or even a manager to that of a sales manager coaching reps can be a difficult transition for some if you do not take the right steps.

A program such as this will generate conversation among team members who may have never had opportunities to work together.

A sales manager coaching reps should further be able to relate war stories for his reps. This will encourage teambuilding, communication, and can even demonstrate sales techniques that can work for others.

Sales management training with coaching will also provide managers with the ability to determine the sales skills of others on the staff, and to help them make any necessary improvements.

Sales management training with coaching can further be a useful tool for soliciting feedback from your staff. They may become at ease with informing you of any problems in the field with a sales manager coaching reps at the helm.

A sales manager coaching reps will do wonderful things for your company. Implementing a policy that supports sales management training with coaching is quite beneficial. Overall, you can find many benefits for your business with sales manager coaching in place.

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