Skip to main content

"Operating Procedures" - Do you have them?

One of my CEO coaching clients recently had to let go one of his executive team members. This can be a difficult task. Sometimes it is so difficult that we wait too long to do it.

I coached a CEO a few years ago who waited too long to make that decision. When he finally did let the person go, he commented to me that he should have let her go months ago. I too had the same challenge years ago when, as an Executive Director, I had to fire my secretary. We all can learn from other's mistakes.

You know the old saying…. Hire slow, fire fast.

Well, as the result of my new CEO client letting go of his team member, he realized that each member of his executive team had a "job description" but there were no operating procedures to help people make decisions.

In his book “The E-Myth”, Michael Gerber proposes that we organize our business like a franchise (McDonald’s®, Wendy’s ®…). He suggests we act as if we were going to franchise our business in the future. Gerber recommends we systematize each aspect of our business. By doing so, we could hand over any aspect of the business to someone else and they could run it effectively for us.

Do you have operating procedures? Written guidelines to help your people and your team make better decisions? Give this some thought today.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Building a team “Family Style”

Building a team “Family Style” I come from a big Italian family. All four of my grandparents came to America from Italy (okay my Mom's father came from Sicily!). My extended family, just on my Dad's side (including aunts, uncles, cousins…), totaled almost 100 people. So I am very well versed on the concept of working together in groups. When I look at team building I think of it as ‘family building”. Here is what I mean: 1. First, think of the group as “Family” not a team. Family in this context is a group whose members are related in origin, characteristics, or occupation. So since you are related in occupation, you qualify as a “family” I’ve always considered my co-workers, clients and other business relationship as my “business family”. I have used this concept with organizations when I have served: as president, as committees chair and on committees/teams. I find it more powerful to think “family” versus team. 2. Find ways to get people to work/play together. You build stro...
1 comment
Read more

Effective Leaders Are Other Focused

A good leader understands the key role communication skills play in their success. Effective Leaders Are Other Focused . The most important person in the conversation is the other person. “It’s all about me” is the mantra. The key here is it is not all about you... it is all about the other person . Find ways to focus on the other person in the conversation. For example, ask a question, bring up a current accomplishment of theirs (or their team/department)... ACTION Pay attention to how often you are "me" focused or "other" focused in your conversations. Keep a journal of what you notice. Here are a few questions to ask yourself: What drives me to the "Me" mode? How did I catch myself? How can I catch myself sooner? When I catch myself what can I do to shift to the "other" focus mode? (Hint - revisit this blog series for some tips...) In the meantime, if you have any successes or questions about leadership communication let me know and ...
Post a Comment
Read more

7 Ways to Say No

7 Ways to Say No Going along with my theme from my last post "Not to Do List" I though I would reprint an article I wrote on ways to say "no!" I think many people struggle with telling others “No”. The reason they struggle is because they think they only have two choices. They can either say “yes” or “no”. I try to avoid “all or nothing” thinking. I believe that there are many alternative between the extremes. So here are several different ways I share with my clients on how they could say no: 7 Ways to Say No: 1) Say NO… with a straightforward explanation – “No, I’m uncomfortable doing that!” 2) Say NO… and give an alternative – “No. I can’t do that today, how about first thing in the morning?” 3) Say NO… and clarify your reason – Help them understand your position. Explain the why. “No. I can’t help you because I made commitment to my family to not work on weekends this month.” 4) Give Preface then Say NO… – “Each year we choose 3 charities to support and I am sor...
1 comment
Read more