So many people work harder not smarter in their business or at their job. How do you focus on what is really important? You first must determine WHAT is important to you and then what is important to managing your business. Aligning your personal motives with the profit motives of your business is critical to your success.

1. Clearly design and define the two to three key measures of success and failure in your business. Can’t hit a target you can’t see. What does it look like when you are successful? By defining success in your terms you will really know when you actually hit it.

2. Develop and review daily and weekly reports that bring you meaningful information (the measurables). These ACCURATE reports will keep your progress in focus by giving you early warning of trends in progress – both those that you need to correct and those that you will use to a greater advantage. A leader is a visionary. See the big picture and how these measurables really affect your business. Do not use these reports as “hammers” for your people. Use them as tools to detect trends, both positive and negative. React like a leader!

3. Spend one hour a week with your best customers — listening, collaborating, suggesting, and understanding. You will learn exactly what your customers are thinking and this will be a powerful and pleasant way to build customer loyalty. Think of this from the internal customer perspective as well. When was the last time you sat with one of your employees and observed what they did?

4. Spend two hours periodically (a week, a month, etc.) answering the phones — from customers, prospective customers, the public, etc. Imagine using what you learn from these calls as a way to increase customer loyalty. You are hearing first hand what they think and need.

5. Have regular (monthly- quarterly) meetings with your competitors and a mastermind group, discussing the trends within your industry/profession and ways to cooperate. Look for new opportunities to expand into and get your name into the community in a positive way.

6. Have at least a dozen people in every aspect of your business who will tell you the truth. Listen to them carefully and with an open mind to improve.

7. Ask people (employees, customers, suppliers, etc.) for their opinions, i.e. what are the things hampering the way we do business, what do they like, how can it be better, are you providing what people need. Keeping an open mind will bring unprecedented results to those who listen actively.

8. Develop action plans with dates and people for the major areas and major functions within your business. Distribute it to your key people. Review it regularly to keep your business on track to reach your goals on time.

These ideas not only come from me but from Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Leonard, Dale Carnegie, Andrew Carnegie and other very successful people. Many business owners have implemented them into the daily routines of their companies and have reported great success.

Here are some quick questions for you to think about:

Are you using tools like this now?  If yes, how can you improve them? If no, why not start today?

How will you use these ideas to grow your business profitably while having more fun?

To your continued success,
Coach Nancy

No subject seems to pervade our lives as much as finance. Whether it is wresting with the family budget or seeing if your company qualifies for a bank loan, finance looms larger than any other technical subject on a daily basis. Managers are expected to scale down medical supply inventories or set up budgets for departments or projects, yet it has been my experience working as a business coach with in the healthcare industry that most management is sorely lacking in their basic understanding of finance. Why even some C – level employees depend too heavily on the CFO to tell them WHAT to do in regards to smart financial decision making.

All organizations preach to their managers to think like owners and consider all sorts of ideas and options before making a decision. We drill home the virtues of thinking costs savings and value added to our managers, yet how many businesses or healthcare organizations, large or small, train their management in the specifics of business finance? I would suggest few to none. But what business does not need ample cash flow and sustained profitability from every department in order to be successful?

If managers are expected to take ownership and share the responsibilities of running the business, they must be held to the same standards as owners or executive level management when it comes to financial understanding and accountability.

The key is to start training people immediately. We spend so much time training or hiring for technical expertise but very little to the financial understanding that is so basic for the achievement of corporate financial goals. Before promoting from within, ensure candidates have met certain basic criteria for leading people and understanding the financial risks of all aspects of their leadership. Before hiring from the outside, consider interview questions that specifically elicit a person’s financial comprehension.

So many executives simply hand over periodic financial reports to managers and assume they know what the heck they are looking at. Most reports end up in the bottom drawer somewhere. Many managers don’t take company financials seriously until they are required to – by that time it may be too late.

Managers today should know how to effectively utilize the basic tools such as reading, understanding and utilizing a balance sheet, statement of cash flows, and a profit and loss statement when making decisions. Teach managers at all levels how to create a functional budget so there are accurate financial metrics by which to measure a manager’s performance. Every manager’s performance should be tied directly to company financial goals. If not, don’t give them the title of manager. The need to make quick financial decisions is vital at every level to succeed in business today.

How would you rate your management’s actual understanding and accurate use of financial information?

Now is the time to take action to ensure your managers have every tool available to them to make proper decisions and take appropriate actions as leaders- especially those critical financial tools.

To your continued success,

Coach Nancy