Is Running a Business for You?

October 7th, 2009

Starting and running your own business can be one of the most exciting choices anyone can make it can also be an absolute nightmare. Millions have done so successfully and found it an exhilarating and rewarding challenge. Millions have found the opposite. As well as the wealth and freedom understand that it also has its downsides and risks. It is important to think about all the implications of your decision.
You need to consider whether starting your own business is going to be right for you, by honestly appraising your strengths and weaknesses. Do you have the skills and the stubborn determination it will require? Do you have the full support of your family and friends?
Each of these elements is more important than you can imagine. Starting a business can be a lonely existence and if you don’t have the support of your partner or spouse then things can seam pretty bleak when things go wrong.
You should also look very carefully at your circumstances. In almost every instance, starting a business involves a degree of financial uncertainty and risk. Can you afford to forego the stability of a regular wage or salary? Can you afford to lose any of the money or assets you might invest in the business? Are you in a position to wait for revenues and profits to start growing? What type of business is it? Do you have experience and skill in it or is it a dream? Will it really be a business or a job with all the responsibility and none of the perks.
Are you ready to put in all the hours and put everything else on hold for a period of time.
How will be deal with the pressure of running a business where everything that happens or doesn’t happen is down to you.
How good are you at making decisions under pressure?
Which bits of the business will you love doing and which will you hate. If you hate them they will probably not get done so who will do them?
Do you have an idea or will you be using someone else’s idea a franchise maybe?
If you have worked in the same sector previously, this shouldn’t be a problem. But if you’re moving into an area that’s new to you, do your research. You might want to look at training, or hiring an experienced staff member.
How confident are you and equally how determined are you? Beware in how you answer this I have seen many people with massive amounts of both slowly lose everything based on an idea that used to be good.
Now you can answer these next two questions:
How realistic are you?
How objectively can you take professional advice?
Do you work better on your own or with others? What will the business demand?

These are just some of the questions you will need to ask yourself and I would suggest truthfully answer the questions in writing.
The most important thing here is that you know yourself and your strengths and weaknesses. If you are not clear on these then you could be making important decisions in a vacuum.
If you would like to discuss in complete confidence an particular issue or simply want to see how we may be able to help you please feel free to contact us.

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Posted in Business - SME, Sales | 271 Comments »

There are leaders and there are followers

October 6th, 2009

Some people seem to take to leadership and managing others like a duck takes to water. Others need to be guided and informed coached into the role.

Now if you get a follower in a leaders position then this can cause problems!

All too often I see members of staff who are doing a great job and because they are doing a great job in their current role they get promoted.

They get promoted based upon how well THEY do the job – their current job.

Not their management potential.

Not whether they will be an good leader.

Not their ability to drive the business forward.

Not if they can lead a team.

Not in their interpersonal shills

The decision is made on their ability to do their current job. Either they are the best at what they do or they have a high profile in the company.

Time and time again I see companies who have a great and talented salesperson who they then promote to Sales Manager.

Now if you think what makes a great sales person (Sense of mission, Handling Rejection, Gaining Commitment, Financial Reward, Status, Selfishness, Assert will on others, etc).

Typically it is completely different to what makes a great sales manager (Leading Others, Creating a sense of Belonging, Respect for Policies, Nurturing, interpersonal skills, ability to influence and gain commitment, vision for the future, influence, etc).

All too often what happens is that the company loses its best sales performer who goes on to alienate the sales team. Everyone ends up in a lose lose situation.

And this is a bad mistake but all to common.

Just because someone can sell or manage themselves better than others does not mean that they can lead and motivate others to do so.

Its a different skill altogether!

I am sure that you will have people around you that who think they are leaders and will become great leaders just because they do their current role well.

Beware and that they and you don’t make the same mistake.

Simply look at some of the great football players who have made the leap to become managers only to fail miserably! Being talented on the field does not mean you will be successful on the sidelines when a completely different set of skills are required.

Thankfully times have changed and there are several reliable and validated tools that assist anyone in this situation.

Understanding your where a persons strengths lie is the key to a persons success.

Want to find out more?

To find out just how good a leader you are why not take our assessment that clearly measures an individuals leadership abilities. We suggest this is the benchmark for all individuals facing or thinking about promotion or setting up new businesses.

Based on the results you will clearly see just where you stand and what coaching you may or may not need. This simple step ensures that you stay well clear from making the all to common mistakes that many companies and individuals make time and time again.

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Posted in Leadership, Recruitment | 163 Comments »

Are you a Finder, Minder or Grinder?

October 5th, 2009

Different people have different styles. Certain styles and approaches succeed in various environments and doing differing tasks. Assessing your personal style can help you maximise your strengths and improve your performance. Assessing the whole teams, individual personal style means that the whole team can work to their strengths and cover each other weaknesses.

You may be familiar with the concept of “Type A” and “Type B” personalities. The same approach can help identify individual team types. Of course  personalities aren’t always black and white, however we have consistently seen that successful teams have three primary individuals or access to three different individuals.

Identify which of the following three descriptions best describes you and your team :

  • Finder–You live for the thrill of the hunt. You’re assertive, competitive and impatient with paperwork. You know your production to the penny. You come up with ideas. As soon as one project is underway you can’t wait to come up with the next idea/challenge.
  • Minder–You’re a people-person and a relationship builder. For you, people are really important, the task/sale will wait because the people came first. You take pride in providing strong  customer service and you typically stick with a task until its done. You really don’t like change for change sake.
  • Grinder—You make sure that all the i’s are dotted and t’s crossed. The god is in the details and facts are facts. Things have to be done to the letter and rules are rules. Finders may be very showy and minders a little fluffy you will get the job done as it should be. Repetition doesn’t bore you. You’re a “Grinder.”

In a sales situation Finders go get the business Minders develop the relationships and Grinders ensure that the paperwork is all done.

In small businesses and in some teams individuals tend to have to be all things to all people, understanding that it is virtually impossible to do this long term without something giving is an important lesson.

Take steps to clearly understand your style and where you may need help the most, then ensure you plan to have this resource on your team. You don’t always have to own the person you can beg borrow steal the resource from elsewhere. Ok so not steal that would not be good as you can’t be very effective from the wrong side of the prison gates.

If you are experiencing stress or poor performance then a good place to start is to ensure that everyone is working to their strengths and not to their weaknesses. The most cost effective and efficient way is to conduct a validated individual assessment. Ask us how this can be done for your individual situation.

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Posted in Profiling Behaviours Values and Attributes, Team | 173 Comments »

Spotting and Leveraging Your Talent Pool

October 3rd, 2009

Spotting and Leveraging Talent in the Workplace

Talent is a combination of many factors, only one of which is behaviour. Behaviour is the most observable and the reports we use is a report that defines an individuals unique behaviour. Additionally it guides and helps the team member and manager in leveraging behaviour for success.

With this capability, this versatile management tool can be used to:

• recruit the right person,
• get employees off to a fast start,
• revitalise current employees,
• improve communication
• build sound employee-manager relationships
• assist strong team performance

If Computers Have Manuals—Why Not People?

The key to successfully managing talent and personal growth is knowledge of each person’s unique behaviours.

With this knowledge, people can be effectively coached by maximizing strengths to achieve the organization’s goals. Apply the results of the Management-Staff report to create improved morale, increased productivity, personal development plans and win-win situations
for everyone.

Easy Application in the Workplace

The Management-Staff report has time and again proved itself to be an extremely valuable contribution to talent management. It takes a few minutes to complete the online assessment and its simple reporting style and versatility make it an ideal tool for:

• New Employee Orientation and Performance Plans
• Retention Strategies for Key Employees
• Coaching, Mentoring and Leadership Development
• Conflict Resolution

Personalized Report Delivers Unique Information

The highly validated assessment produces a personalised report with valuable information
unique to the respondent’s behaviour including:

• General Characteristics – The individual’s preferred work style based on natural behaviour
• Value to the Organization – The individual’s contributing behaviours
• Checklist for Communicating – How others can effectively communicate with the individual
• Don’ts on Communicating – What others should avoid when communicating with the individual
• Communication Tips – How the individual can adapt his/her own communication to other styles
• Ideal Environment – The individual’s preferred work atmosphere
• Perceptions – How the individual views his/her self and how others view the individual
• Descriptors – Words that portray the individual based on each of the four quadrants of behaviour
• Natural & Adapted Style – A four-quadrant comparison of the natural and adapted style
• Adapted Style – Characteristics of the individual’s current adapted style
• Keys to Motivating – The individual’s wants provide the means for motivation in the workplace
• Keys to Managing – The individual’s needs provide the essential areas managers must address
• Areas for Improvement – The individual’s possible limitations identify areas for development
• Action Plan – The individual creates a customized plan based on the results of the report and discussion
• Behavioural Hierarchy – The individual’s behaviour style ranked within eight common areas in the workplace
• Style Insights® Graphs – An easy visual of the individual’s natural and adapted styles
• The Success Insights® Wheel – A visual illustration of the individual’s behavioural adaptation

What is Your Strategy for Success?
Why not request a risk free trial and see just how we have helped many other companies improve their success.

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Posted in Profiling Behaviours Values and Attributes, Recruitment, Team | 164 Comments »

The hazards of the Traditional Recruitment Process

October 2nd, 2009

Recruitment is traditionally a risky process and in the current economic climate getting it right is all the more important. Taking a few minutes to read this will save you time, unnecessary costs and the disappointment of getting it wrong.

The Problem

In the very early stages of recruitment, when you interview a person you see what the candidate says they can do, their qualifications, skills, experience and background. At this stage it is possible to find what they have done or are doing for somebody else. The information is easy to access. This is what most companies base their recruitment decisions upon simply because that’s all they have ever had to work on.

For example many companies operate on the following basis:
“I am looking for a technical person who has xyz skills and in front of me is a technical engineer with xyz -therefore they must be right for the position.” So why don’t new recruits always work out?

The reason is quite simple: At this stage companies buy the interview style of the person, the ‘game face’ if you will. You generally don’t get to see the real person until they have been with you for a few weeks at best.
People generally like people that remind them of themselves, and we have continually found that people often recruit people who are like themselves. This can be OK if the interviewer honestly understands their own strengths and prejudices they bring to the interview or work place. All too often interviews are conducted on gut feel, interviewer’s bias, and instinct, candidates are rejected or recruited. Most people concentrate on how likeable a candidate is rather than how suited to the role they are. If the right candidate ticks all the boxes then an offer is made and all being well they join the company some time afterwards.

The Dreaded First 3 Months

Over the next few months from commencement of employment, and this is generally anywhere between three and nine months, the natural behaviour is observed and experienced.
If this is as anticipated, then all is well. However, if not, there are a number of issues that come to light.
Some of these may include the realisation that the behaviour of the individual is not suited to the role. The person jars with the position and the people around the position, are not fitting into the team, don’t have the right attitude, respond in inappropriate ways when the pressure is on, etc. .

Tension in the workplace, increased stress, loss of opportunity, loss of time, finance and management investment, and a negative effect on the rest of the team can and does occur – all too often. This naturally leads to loss of focus within the team and ultimately if we are lucky they may leave, if we are not, then we may lose people who are more suited to the role and the company. Either way the costs are dramatic.

The initial few months (3-9) in a company can be the most expensive in terms of recruitment fees, management time, training, team integration and development. Many experts calculate that this initial period is the most expensive time in terms of investment for a company. Getting things wrong at this stage is costly in many more ways than just the recruitment fees.

10 Minutes to a Solution

Our detailed behavioural assessment helps ensure that these issues are minimised. In just ten minutes you will see the real person not the interview face. You and your staff will know what they are taking on before any of the expensive management time and investment has been potentially wasted.
The behavioural assessment ensures that you know the ‘How’ a person is likely to operate before they join.

No one would build a house without at least getting a survey so why would you risk employing anyone without finding out a little more about them.

The behavioural assessment is no substitute for a proper, well thought out selection process, interview, or anything else that would be considered due diligence. It is a reliable and consistent method to ensure that you know what you are likely to experience before its too late and the person is made an offer.

It is important to note that our behaviour assessment is not, and does not evaluate intelligence, values, morals or skills. Our behavioural assessment accurately identifies a person’s natural and adapted behaviour in their current role and those they are likely to bring to the role.

How does it work?

Once a person (yourself, a member of your team or a potential new employee) is identified we will provide a link full instructions and password for the individual. The profile only takes 10 minutes to complete. The full results a 20 page detailed report will be available within 24 hours.

The content of each individual report includes detailed information on the following:

General Characteristics
Value to the organisation
How to best communicate
How not to deal with the individual
Ideal environment
The Individuals perception of themselves and others on them (under pressure and stress)
How they are adapting to their current role
How to best motivate them
The keys to managing the individual
Potential improvement area’s or blind spots
Their likely contribution to the team

If you would like to trial out this powerful technology you can do so without risk by contacting us.

Let us prove to you without any risk to you specifically how we save many companies time, money and motivation – take the risk away from recruitment allowing you to make fully informed decisions.

To find out more about how advanced profiling can help you and your team please contact me

Howard D’Silva or one of my team on 01908 488260 or simply press reply and we will contact you.

Or contacting me directly Howard@resultsuk.co.uk I look forward to hearing from you.

Posted in Profiling Behaviours Values and Attributes, Recruitment, Sales | 328 Comments »