|
Unless you’ve just been released from a long incarceration in a Turkish prison, you know that the concept of working on your business – rather than in it – was popularized by Michael Gerber in his mega-hit book, “The E-Myth Revisited.”
Gerber made many great points (which explains the “mega-hit” part), but the on/in distinction is the big take-away for most readers. Here’s an excerpt: “Go to work on your business rather than in it, and ask yourself the following questions:
Well, one of Gerber’s main themes is the idea of systems. Systemize everything. Manage systems, not people. It’s terrific advice, of course, but many small business owners still struggle, even after reading E-Myth. What’s a system? What systems are needed? Where do you start? My answer: Anything can be a system. A system is simply a way to avoid NOT making things up as you go along.
Simple? Yep. Like I said, anything can be a system. Not all systems are this simple, but you get the idea. Beyond creating and installing systems, how else can you work on your business? Perhaps more to the point, how can you find the time to work on your business when you’re consumed by it all day, every day? Here’s a way to let the ideas and time find you: Constantly be in “improvement opportunity mode.” Every time an error or crisis occurs, stop. Avoid the temptation to put out the fire and get back to work. Analyze what just happened. Was it human error, or could a system – even a simple one – prevent future recurrence? If so, create it right then and there. In many cases, you can do this sort of “post-mortem” work in a matter of minutes. Planning is a great way to work on your business. As an early riser, my favorite planning time is early Sunday mornings, before my wife gets up. And business trips can turn into mini planning retreats … if you keep the TV turned off in your room. I know a business owner who tells me he likes thinking about his business while on his riding mower. Some folks really embrace this concept by taking their teams on annual out-of-town planning retreats. Exactly what you do is less important than developing the habit. Start working ON your business today. “Do it. Do it now!” – Arnold Schwarzenegger "It’s not my fault!” How many times have you been a customer and heard that line? It usually happens right after you bring a product or service defect to the attention of someone at an establishment where you’re spending your hard-earned money. I was on the receiving end of this statement recently. It was tempting to give a customer service lecture to the person in front of me, faultless as he may have been. This particular situation involved receiving the wrong fast food order. I had ordered the medium Unrecognizable Chicken McParts and instead received – and was charged for – the aptly named Super Sized version. For a moment, I thought perhaps they’d brought me the entire crate of McParts straight from the walk-in freezer but they assured me this was indeed packaged for individual sale and consumption. (Disclosure: While I may find it amusing to poke fun at the fast food industry, that’s where I had my first job. Accordingly, I’m somewhat sympathetic to fast food employees. Even so, until they start putting the right stuff in the bag, they will be the target of my “how-not-to-do-it” business lessons.) As a small business owner, I pay lots of attention to the way service is delivered when I’m the customer. Most folks reading this are probably equally aware of nuances that might be missed by others: The words that are said and how they’re said, body language, the care with which transactions are handled, and so on. It’s almost unfair to use fast food joints as examples of how to (or how not to) conduct business. After all, they make it awful easy to identify faults. So, let’s raise the bar and discuss another industry. In fact, let’s discuss your own company. Have you had the “it’s not my fault” talk with your people lately? Have you ever had it? Chances are, if nobody has had a direct discussion with your employees they don’t intuitively know that the customer doesn’t care whose fault it is. Even if the customer does know who’s to blame, “blame” isn’t on the agenda. Getting the problem fixed quickly is. Here’s a good discussion to have with your troops:
Banish “It’s not my fault!” from your workplace. Replace it with confident, competent service that keeps your customers coming back.
|
My blogI write about business, small business, marketing, management, leadership, a little bit of travel & other topics of interest to business people. Archives
July 2019
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed
|
|
©2007-2019 Collier Business Advisors LLC
|