Business Management

Do's and Don’ts in Managing your Business

It has often been said that employees rarely quit companies. Instead, employees quit their managers or supervisors by leaving the company. Increasing positive and reducing negative managerial behavior will go a long way towards improving employee engagement.
When your talented employees are engaged, they are able to perform better and improve your business.
Here are some Do’s and Don’t’s to consider in order to get managers and supervisors started in focusing on ways to and improve manager’s performance.

1. Do Innovate – don’t rest on your laurels
             The most successful businesses are more innovative in a variety of ways.
            They offered new products and services more often.
            They adopted new technology more quickly.

2. DO what you say you are going to do when you say you are going to do it.
There is no better way to communicate the message that you are accountable for your promises and that everyone in your company should be accountable as well.

3. DO admit your mistakes…… 
...and take the blame for failures.

4. DO recognize your team.
You can never underestimate the power of simple recognition for a job well done.

5. DO smile and laugh.
Have some fun. But, be genuine; programmed fun and faked laughter is worse than doing nothing.

6. When appropriate, laugh at yourself; it will humanize you.

At the same time………

1. DON'T get angry.
   Getting angry is easy. Anyone can do that. Anger does not belong in your managerial kit bag.

2. DON'T be cold, distant, rude or unfriendly.
    Especially in difficult times, employees take cues from their managers and need to hear from        them. The team will judge managers by their action, moods, and behaviors, not by their intent.

3. Don’t rely on too few customers—diversify
    Many companies run into trouble at times when they lose a single major customer.

4. DON'T BS your team.
    This includes saying things that you don't believe in. This includes hiding information and            just plain lying. By the time each of us is in our early 20′s, we have all developed very well-tuned BS detectors.

5. DON'T avoid taking responsibility for your actions.
   You are the boss. As such, you are accountable and the buck stops with the boss. You are trying to develop accountability throughout your company. So, lead by example.

These are just a few ideas to help structure a positive working environment. I hope you share these with your team. Let me know what you think. gerry@polarisgroupmc.com