Tag Archives: Difficult

How Do You Forge an Effective Relationship with a Buyer? Five Points

Situation: A CEO’s Company was recently acquired. She is getting little, if any, guidance from the acquiring company in terms of leadership or management of her former company. What does the group recommend that she do? How do you forge an effective relationship with a buyer?
Advice from the CEOs:
• You’re Lucky: We all wish we had that problem. Many buyers interfere with the operations of the acquired company and make the transition very difficult. This leads to all sorts of problems including employee departures.
• Employee Feedback: Hold an employee meeting, gather their thoughts and concerns, forward those to senior management. This demonstrates a willingness to work with the buyer to forge the best relationship possible.
• Memo: Draft a memo with all of your thoughts, options, and recommendations, send it to the management of the acquiring company and you have satisfied your moral responsibility. No guilt.
• Consult: You may end up consulting to new management sent to you by the buyer to help them figure out how to evolve from practitioners/managers to full-time managers.
• Don’t Worry: The purchase was a good deal to you because you were able to negotiate a favorable deal for yourself and your managers. The future is more a concern for the purchaser than it is for you.

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How Do You Make the Most of People, Processes and Technology? Four Points

Situation: A CEO wants to improve efficiency and use of people, processes and technology. What have others learned from their experience? How do you make the most of people, processes and technology?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • One CEO gained new insights on the importance of details within the decision making process. She learned that details have had a much greater impact on the outcome of the decision process than her company had previously appreciated.
  • Cost reductions may cost more than they save. If the longer-term vision for the company isn’t considered a company may make short-term decisions that actually cost more in the long-term.
  • Difficult times equal opportunity. The key is keeping your head together and approaching challenges objectively, with an eye to long-term consequences of the choices made.
  • Always maintain balance in both choices, decisions and execution. There will be surprises along the path. Open eyes and balanced consideration will help to address these surprises constructively.

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How Do You Manage Seasonal Gaps in Project Flow? Five Options

Situation: A company experiences seasonal gaps in project flow. This makes it difficult to project both cash flow and staffing needs into the future. In addition, monthly cash flow tends to be uneven. What can they do to improve control of internal and external resources in this environment? How do you manage seasonal gaps in project flow?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • The company currently focuses 60% on consulting and 40% on internal projects, some of which produce future projects. Relative proportions shift over time, and projects can be cancelled.
  • Try to write the company’s contracts to push revenue to early stages of a project, so that there is more cash cushion to help ride out short cash periods.
  • Look for options to change the business model to increase financial flexibility.
    • If there are significant margin differentials between different types of projects this has overhead implications when resources are shifted.
    • Look for ways to allocate less expensive resources or virtual resources with a lower cost to lower margin projects. Look for opportunities to utilize remote resources if these resources cost less.
  • Adjust staff assignments to maximize payoff, as well as staff retention options. Look for project work opportunities.
  • Analyze and evaluate the ability to switch personnel between paying projects and internal development projects.

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How Do You Hire and Retain Good Salespeople? Ten Points

Situation: Many companies struggle to find good salespeople. They find that few of those they hire last very long. Some individuals don’t have the skills to sell, others find the job more difficult than they anticipated, and some leave for better pay at another company. How do you hire and retain good sales people?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Hiring salespeople is most important job a company or owner has, yet it often receives the least attention.
  • Determine what the company needs the person to do.
    • What skills do they need? Is past experience aligned with the company’s needs?
    • Do they have experience in the company’s market.
    • How much can the company afford to pay?
    • Is the pay offered market competitive?
    • What is the pay scheme: salary, salary plus commission, commission only or commission only following a learning period?
  • Advertise
    • Use internet portals, referrals, ads in the local paper or recruiters.
  • Review resumes for basic qualifications and weed out all that do not meet those qualifications or who lack experience in sales.
  • Test or screen applicants using an instrument such as: Identity Compass, Sales Skill Assessment Scorecard, The Caliper Profile, Sales DNA, DriveTest, SalesGenomix, DISC, Myers-Briggs, Grit or Objective Management Group (OMG).
  • Bring interesting applicants in for interviews.
    • Are they relaxed and comfortable with those who interview them?
    • How do they react to pressure?
    • Do they seem to be a good match with the company culture?
    • Are they comfortable with the company’s philosophy, size, reputation, and products or services?
  • Check references – not just those provided, but talk to companies where they’ve worked in the past.
  • Call customers with whom they’ve worked.
  • Remember that past performance does not guarantee future results

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How Do You Say “No”? Four Suggestions

Situation: A CEO has employees who frequently show up in his office with a request that he solves a problem for them. This takes up the time that he needs to solve bigger picture issues. He’s also concerned that employees should be able to solve these problems themselves. What tactics have others used to address this issue? How do you say “no”?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Don’t say “no.”
    • Saying “no” discourages future questions and reduces communication. Instead, answer their question with a question. Help them to see the next step in the process of solving the problem themselves.
  • What questions do you ask?
    • What do you think is the best solution?
    • Have you tried X, Y, Z?
    • Encourage them to use their peers as resources.
    • Focusing on #2 and #3, may give them insight into solving #1.
    • Have you spoken to (name) about this. (Name) may be able to help.
  • Another good response – “I can’t help you right now. Why don’t you try to solve it and I’ll follow-up with you when I can.”
  • It may be difficult to learn how to say no. Instead work on helping others to understand what you know about a particular technology or issue. Just ask questions to show them how to approach the problem, and then let them work through it.
    • This will take more time than “doing it yourself” at the beginning. However, they will rapidly gain more comfort working through issues and options on their own and will also gain both confidence and competence. Long-term it will save you time.

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How Do You Define Roles and Responsibilities? Three Options

Situation: A small company is understaffed and finds it difficult to hire in the current environment. Employees struggle to meet both past and new responsibilities. There simply aren’t enough hours in the day to meet objectives. How do you clarify objectives so that the team can meet them? How do you define roles and responsibilities?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Start by working with employees to create a list of current responsibilities for each employee, along with the estimated time required to fulfill each responsibility.
    • Within this list, classify each responsibility as “Must Do,” “Second Priority,” or “When we have time.”
    • Look at the hours in the day or week. Assess what is possible to do in the hours available, and what is not.
    • Discuss this with the team and ask whether they agree with both the assessment and priority list.
    • Discuss trade-offs and the availability of any resources with the company that may be currently underutilized.
  • Reassess the expectations of clients to determine whether everything that is being done must be done in the timeframe currently promised. This helps to define what is truly urgent and what is not.
  • Another way of stating the process is to:
    • Prioritize and delegate what can be done, or reallocate what can’t be done with current resources.
    • Look for ways to work smarter to get more done in the time and with available resources.
    • If lower priority items still can’t get completed in the available time either drop them or discuss options for accessing additional resources to complete them.

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How Do You Improve Delegation? Three Solutions

Situation: A company is growing rapidly. As it grows it is important to build the management team needed to support this growth. A few talented potential managers have a tough time letting go of previous responsibilities. How does the CEO help them to let go of previous responsibilities. How do you improve delegation?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Don’t teach method. The individuals to whom responsibilities are to be delegated may feel like trained monkeys, not the bright creative people that they are.
    • Set goals. Give them the information that they need to get there. Let them know that there is a procedure, and they are welcomed to use or adapt this as they wish. If they can find a better way that is more efficient – Wonderful!
    • Empower them. This is an investment. Like many investments, it may take time to generate a return, but be patient and wait for this return.
  • Look at the required roles and prioritize them as most to least critical to the company.
    • Start delegating the less critical roles, as well as the roles that are less time sensitive.
    • This will make it easier to maintain patience.
    • Also, delegate roles that play to the strengths of those to whom new responsibilities are being delegated. Those taking these roles will be happier and will do a better job.
  • Create an organizational chart for each department and responsibilities.
    • Make sure that all of the roles for which a department is responsible are included, but group these into similar roles so that there are, for example, 3-5 role delegations.
    • Prioritize each role for importance and urgency.
    • Take the least urgent and significant role and delegate it. Either assign it to an existing individual, or hire someone to take it on.
    • Once this has been done this and those to whom roles are delegated are used to them, do the same with the next least important or urgent role.
    • Do this over time until all the needed roles have been delegated, and managers are comfortable managing the individuals now responsible for them.
    • A valuable resource is the EMyth Revisited by Michael Gerber. It is a quick read and provides guidelines for how to delegate and let go of responsibilities the organization grows.

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How Do You Reduce Interruptions in the Office? Three Points

Situation: A CEO of a small company finds it difficult to focus of company strategy and direction because on continuous interruptions to handle customer and company issues. Frequent phone calls and employees coming in to ask for guidance or to talk about issues make it difficult to focus on plans for the future. How do you reduce interruptions in the office?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • The company has grown to the point that it is time to build a management structure to facilitate decision-making. It’s time to delegate.
    • Identify promising individuals within the company who have the capacity to take on management responsibility. Provide them with the training to assume managerial roles and to handle direct reports.
    • If the talent is lacking in some areas, hire managers to oversee these areas.
  • The phone is the #1 problem – interruptions to deal with customer issues.
    • Hire an assistant to manage incoming calls and to transfer these calls to the appropriate department.
    • Learn to say no. For example, if an opportunity requires the CEO to be off-site to evaluate and estimate a project, that individual could not answer the phone in the office. Similarly, it is necessary to carve out concentrated time for strategic and critical tasks when in the office.
    • Explain to the team the challenge, and the benefits of spending uninterrupted time each day working on strategic direction. These benefits include additional growth and opportunity for both the company and employees.
    • Establish an official time – during regular hours – that the CEO is not available to respond to calls or other immediate needs. During these times, have an assistant direct these requests to the appropriate department or schedule time later in the day to handle an issue.
  • Any executive in a Fortune 500 company plans time for planning and other essential work when they cannot be interrupted. Working without interruptions is essential to efficient, high-quality work.

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How Do You Refocus on Growth? Four Points of Emphasis

Situation: A CEO wants to refocus his company on growth following a difficult two years. Employee absences and stress due to the pandemic have had a significant effect on performance. The objective is to rally the team and excite them about future prospects. How do you refocus on growth?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Focus on the top goals for the company: revenue, customer satisfaction, product quality and delivery, and strategic positioning.
    • These have been company strengths in the past and will form the foundation for new growth and opportunities.
    • This is the time to be the head cheerleader. The company has a strong past and will be even stronger in the future.
  • Key points of communication to the company:
    • We have a strong Good News/Good News story – the company has survived the last two years, has an aggressive plan and a strong future, and will do even better as conditions return to normal.
    • The company is focused on an important and growing sector and is positioned for strong growth as customers refocus their companies.
    • Start this aspect of the communication this week – then keep on repeating it to reinforce optimism as the company repositions itself for new opportunities.
  • Communications to customers to support the strategy:
    • Tell clients that the company is healthy and well positioned to continue to meet their needs better than any other alternatives available to them.
  • Allow a few months for employees to regroup.
    • Staff will be exhausted, physically and emotionally, following the last two years – give them time to regroup and refocus.

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How Do You Evaluate Management Team Performance? Four Points

Situation: As the end of the year approaches, a CEO is evaluating management performance over the year. An area of focus during the year have been evaluating new business opportunities and the impact of these on the company. The CEO has been uncomfortable with disagreements between departments which have slowed opportunity evaluations. How do you evaluate management team performance?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Breaking down issues of concern, there are two areas of focus.
    • Problems that should have been resolved by two people have required a referee (the CEO) to mediate the solution because the two parties could not work things out themselves.
    • Individuals who are otherwise highly skilled have become overly sensitive about minor issues that have prevented them from developing their own solutions
  • The most important step is to have the management team agree on a protocol for dealing with new business opportunities and the impact of new sales opportunities on development and support. A protocol will help to avoid the two issues of concern that have been identified.
    • Direct the team to come up with a protocol that they all agree to, subject to CEO review.
    • Once it is finalized, announce it with great fanfare as the new process that will guide the company. Make it mandatory.
    • Support this process with daily (short – 10-15 minute) or weekly (longer but 1 hour or less) team meetings to anticipate and remove blocks to execution.
  • Tension between sales, service and engineering are natural and healthy. This is because each is driven by different priorities, all of which are necessary to serve the customer.
    • Resolution of this tension requires a turnkey handoff protocol, involving checklists and flow charts.
    • The best protocols are not imposed on people but are developed by the people involved. This gives them ownership, and a stake in implementing and maintaining the protocol.
  • If, despite everyone’s best efforts there is ongoing dysfunction, it may be necessary to replace difficult people. As challenging as this seems, those who report to difficult top managers likely experience similar difficulties with them. Organizations often respond with relief after leadership eliminates a difficult manager.

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