Ken Olsen raised money to start Digital Equipment Corporation with the help of a plan copied out of a textbook. Without written and tested systems in place, delegating operational tasks is impossible, even with great people. For instance, say your mission statement says that you intend to produce the best-in-the-world example of your product no matter what the cost. Your business may be considering an acquisition, in which case a pro forma business plan (some call this a what-if plan) can help you understand what the acquisition is worth and how it might affect your core business.
Avoid too many bells and whistles
Busy,
out-of-control business owners
make hasty decisions because they don't take time to stop, plan, think, and do what it takes to build an organized and systemized company. Profits
are the reward
which the manager of a business receives for his services in organizing and superintending the business. To
improve quality and
safety, require every supervisor to take a few minutes every Wednesday to look for potential safety issues and quality improvement areas, then fill out a pre-printed form describing the work or problem observed, along with their recommendations to remedy the situation, the responsible party, and when the problem area must be fixed. For
each piece of
equipment, add the purchase price, interest, maintenance, gas and oil, service, tires, repairs, insurance, storage, rent, and mobilization costs over the life of the item.
Know and track your numbers
It
must demonstrate why
your company is the best, what types of services, products, projects, or customers you specialize in, and where your company does business. Limit
text on visual
props to a few titles, subtitles, phrases, and talking points five or six is usually the maximum. You'll
get a good
return by improving your image and promoting your company in a consistent manner. Your
vision is like
the larger goal or dream behind your business the optimal desired future state.
Some companies survive but fade back into obscurity
Inform
them what you'll
do for them. Better
to keep it
to a couple dozen pages and stick to the truly important material. Businesses
that are recognized
as the best in their markets continually take care of their customers in everything they do. By
such means thousands
of people who cannot trust their own judgment in these matters, will be attracted to a place where they are certain to be treated fairly.
Should Customer Relationship Management Be Your Primary Focus?
That
s exactly what
empathy will help you do. When
organizations and individuals
are not required to bear the negative consequences of their failures, a moral hazard exists. Is
this all starting
to make sense? The
ideal span of
control depends on the nature of the work, the abilities of managers and workers, and the similarity or divergence of tasks being managed.
A feature is a fact. A benefit is how it helps the customer
It
is best to
have a VC firm s term sheet without ever stating what you believe the value to be. Consensus
or democratic decisions
are made by a majority of those most directly affected by the decision. However,
the exploitation of
counterpart s expertise within interaction raises issues of control between companies over rewards and the direction of their development and may lead to conflict. This
strategy works best
when brand loyalty is high and there are perceived differences between brands.