Tag Archives: Teamwork

How Do You Institutionalize Double-Digit Growth? Six Suggestions

Situation: A company is enjoying 10% organic growth per year and wants to sustain this growth rate. They enjoy a favorable position as a technology leader. Their principal strategy is to continually advance the technology. The chief obstacle to ongoing technological superiority is getting the right people to populate their brain trust. How do you institutionalize double-digit growth?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Look for domestic office locations that have the right talent but a lower cost of living. Florida presents attractive cost of living with low employee turnover.
  • Can the company compartmentalize?
    • Set up a remote location, run by a trusted individual, and do portions of the work there.
  • Be aware that teamwork within the company becomes a challenge with remote locations.
    • A communications strategy – for example videoconferencing – can help to engender teamwork across distance.
    • The pandemic made videoconferencing a far more viable alternative than it was prior to the pandemic.
  • If the company’s infrastructure is highly bureaucratic or the cost of quality high, can adjustments be made that will relieve some of the cost pressures?
    • Creating “Hot Teams” is a method to developing new, innovative solutions.
    • Can the company’s technology be leveraged to improve productivity – for example, using modeling and simulation to reduce prototyping costs?
  • Can the company employ knowledge management?
    • Gather lessons learned from past and recently completed projects.
    • Share good or best practices.
    • Make sure that new efforts do not start from scratch.
  • Consider outsourcing to universities, with proper contracts.

[like]

How Do You Build a Strong Team? Six Solutions

Situation: A CEO wants advice on how to strengthen her team. She is confident in her employees’ capabilities, but wants to see more teamwork and collaboration to add to the company’s culture. What have others done to encourage team building, and how has it worked out? How do you build a strong team?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • There are many options for team building activities. Look at the Discovery Channel for some ideas: Monster Garage, American Chopper, and programs like these. They feature some highly effective methods of building team camaraderie.
  • One CEO regularly conducts team building activities:
    • Taking the crew to the new Star Wars or blockbuster movie opening.
    • Go-Cart racing.
    • This is done during working hours, and the employees appreciate both the effort of the company, and the fact that they are not asked to do this after hours.
  • A caution – this type of activity may help morale, but it may not contribute to retention.
  • While team building functions are an essential part of building and maintaining company culture they are only part of the task of building a strong team. The group considered conditions at previous companies that prompted employee departures:
    • Lack of advancement or any clear path to advancement,
    • Ambiguity in roles and expectations,
    • Salary and advancement caps,
    • Poor managers,
    • Lack of consistent or clear feedback on performance.
  • Looking at this list, the converse represent the things that a CEO should do to build a strong retention culture and strong teams:
    • Clear expectations of employees in terms of performance,
    • Clear and public tracks for advancement in job and salary increases,
    • Frequent and consistent feedback on performance – both positive and as necessary corrective feedback – but always with considerate and constructive delivery,
    • Well-trained managers.
  • These factors parallel the findings of the Gallup Organization in their investigation of factors contributing to high levels of employee engagement and profitable growth.

[like]

Do You Focus on Taxes or Investment? Eight Considerations

Situation: A company’s accountants advise them to make distributions for tax purposes. Simultaneously, the company’s future is based on technology and staying ahead of the competition. This requires ongoing investment. Do you focus on taxes or investment?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • The focus of the answer is distributions and company morale, not tax planning. Think about the impact on the team. Are there considerable differentials in compensation within the company? If so, this may be impacting morale.
  • Differentiate bonuses from variable compensation. Make bonuses special. This starts at the top. The attitude should be that if someone works hard, they will be compensated. Once bonuses become assumed, they are just regarded as part of the overall compensation package.
  • Smaller geographical units can help retain a small company atmosphere and drive. As a company grows, similar results can be achieved with Tiger Team projects.
  • If the organizational structure enables this, foster friendly competition metrics between offices – and publish the results.
  • One company distributes performance data to top staff – with color-color coded red/yellow/green metrics based on performance. All red and yellow numbers require an explanation. The company has seen a significant reduction in red and yellow metrics since they started this.
  • At company meetings – publicize and recognize top 10 performers in various areas. Recognition boosts morale.
  • Company events boost teamwork and morale. These may include company barbeques, in-house cooking shows created and run by staff, and quarterly outings – bocce ball, tubing, sailing on the Bay.
  • Growth is accompanied by change. When a company starts it’s a mission. After 15 years it’s a job. This is a function of growth, and it takes ongoing creativity to keep individual employees excited about their job and role.

[like]