Over the last six blogs we have looked at counting. We focused on – The Productivity of Support Staff, Counting Money, Measuring Marketing, Tracking Sales, Counting Production, and The Physical Plant Also Counts. The final count goes to Management which is “The Final Accountability

Good Management is about bringing all seven areas together. In a small business, the owner is often the only decision maker. This is the simplest organizational structure that uses what we call “Spider Management”. All of the legs of the spider report to the central body or head. This form of organizational structure can be very effective. However, the larger the company the less effective Spider management is.

In a larger business  delegation of responsibility and the requisite authority is necessary for success.  The inability of the owner to “let go” is one of the most common roadblocks to the creation of a capable middle management team and growth. When the owner realizes the value of empowering others, much more can happen.

As the business grows so must the management team. Many companies of size have people in place who are accountable for the performance of others but often, they are not a team. They are more a collection of independent and non-relating decision makers focusing on their own area of concern without regard to the company as a whole. Helping our middle managers to become team focused, and feeling like a valuable part of a team, is an essential task of senior management.

To this end, at Business Navigators we often present the Three Levels of Management:

Managing Tasks – where getting things done is the managers main concern. Though necessary, this level limits a manager’s overall effectiveness. For greater success, the Task Manager must move to the second level.

Managing People – where helping others get things done is the main concern. To reach this level, a manager must learn to evaluate others, communicate well and be a Coach. These skills are essential to reaching and moving beyond the second level of management

Managing Vision – Those who reach the highest level of management see the big picture. They envision how the company will look in the future and include others in the creation of that vision. They are Leaders.

Growing a business will succeed when management teams are successful in all Three Levels of Management. When owners can delegate to middle managers and middle managers act as coaches the team performs. Most importantly, every employee sees their place in the future of the company.

Measuring management performance can be highly subjective. We must do it all the same. Self-evaluation of the Three Levels of Management may be the most important measurement of all. It is, “The Final Accountability, because good management is good business.

Next: Three blogs on “Sharing”

Let’s consider two perspectives when analyzing the physical plant that contains your business. Those two perspectives are location and contents.

LOCATION

The old real estate maxim has a lot of weight when considering your business. The three most important elements to consider are Location, Location and Location.

Is the location of your building(s) best suited for the customers you serve?

Do they know where you are and can they get to you?

Can your employees serve your present and future customers from the location you have selected?

If visibility is important for your company, can you be easily be seen and remembered as people pass by?

If the answer to any of the four questions is “no” you might consider relocation as a solution.

CONTENTS

The function of each element of the business helps to define the requirements for the form the structure takes. The interaction among departments in a business helps to determine the location within the four walls for each department.

Asking those who are involved with the situation their opinions as to how best to arrange the space is a most effective approach.

At Gabrilson Heating in Davenport, IA Tom Gabrilson decided to get the employees involved in planning the layout of the shop.

Plastic covered blueprints of the warehouse/ shop were posted on the wall. Employees could draw their suggestions on one of the blueprints and the other blueprint was used to present ideas to be implemented. After several months of drawing and decisions a final layout was adopted. Tom believes that this method got better results than if he had used an architect or an engineer.

In one company a plan for reorganizing the shop was submitted not on paper but on a piece of sheet metal cut in the shape of the space and drawings of machines was indicated with a blue magic marker.

Dominic Volpone of the H.J. Ziegler Company, in Ashtabula, OH. spent over a year researching the best arrangement for the space in his new building. He asked for and received the input of employees, staff and vendors involved in all areas of his business. The final outcome resulted in one of the most functional buildings we have witnessed.

If your business includes vehicles that are used for service, installation, delivery of your product or service they should be included in the scope of Physical Plant.

The arrangement of contents of vehicles should receive the same focus of organization and planning that traditional building space receives. They are seen as a representation of your company from the inside the outside and are one of the most powerful marketing tools provided you can own.

Next: Management – Final Accountability