The importance of small business planning

Starting your own business is a lifelong dream of many.  Whether the reason is not to work for a boss, doing what you are passionate about or claiming financial independence, the vision often does not extend beyond opening the doors of the business.  Where should the growth of the business take it in the next few years?

No one gets rich without having a clear idea of how to accomplish it.  Success in any field needs a structure.  Yet the lack of planning in new businesses is ridiculously high.  You can temporarily get away without a plan if you run the business on your own (even if research has shown that only 7% of unwritten goals reach fruition).

However, the moment you employ other people, you run into problems.  You need to communicate to them what the business is trying to achieve, and how the jobs fit together into an integrated whole.

You also want to communicate clearly to potential clients that you have set up your business with the intention of growing it.  You need to be able to demonstrate that your business with its current team can get the job done, and that policies and procedures are in place to ensure this.

What unfortunately often happens is that early business success makes us think we don’t need a plan.

If there is not a plan with a clearly defined direction and guidelines, you become so task orientated that you lose sight of your goals. There may be a vague goal that revolves around increasing productivity, but without actionable steps it does not mean much.  You will not have significant growth in your business.

Ultimately, business failure comes down to one thing:  lack of knowledge.  Setting up a clear plan with actionable steps helps ensure that you and your employees know exactly where you are heading and how to achieve it.

A small business needs to be far more nimble and flexible than a big business.  Create your plans keeping this in mind.  If necessary, get outside help or hire people with the right knowledge to guide you in setting up a business plan.

Henry Ford said:  Before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success.  What are you doing to get ready for your business to flourish?

Feel free to contact Virtual Productivity Solutions for advice and guidance in setting up a business plan.

Ways to Address Workplace Conflict

Ways to Address Workplace Conflict

Conflict can be defined as a disagreement between two parties.  This disagreement stems from a perception of a threat to their needs, interests or concerns.  And because it is perceived, emotion is involved.

Conflict can occur between two colleagues, between a manager and a staff member, or between the company and clients.

Some causes for workplace conflict could include:

  • Poor communication channels
  • Unclear policies, procedures and rules
  • Unclear job descriptions
  • Unclear reporting structure
  • Operational changes

Most of these causes can be addressed to minimize conflict.  Yet conflict is a normal occurrence in any workplace. Conflict leads to a decline in productivity.  This is a crucial problem that needs to be addressed without delay.

Some ways to address conflict I have found useful are listed below.

Conflict between two colleagues

  • It is best to focus both parties on the goal.  This can be done by discussing the matter with both parties.
    • Allow each party to state their problem in about 5 minutes or less in front of you and their colleague.  They are not allowed to interrupt or restate their position until they have stated the other person’s position to their approval.  It forces them to look at the other person’s side.
    • Ask each party what they see as the ideal outcome for the conflict.  Which steps would they like the other party to take?  Are there any solutions or better ways to work so that this conflict does not occur again?
  • Another method is using a group meeting for them to air their opinions on how to reach a goal, and then having other people give input into achieving that goal. Often the conflicting parties will gain a more objective perspective this way.  They could even realize that they were not as different as they had initially thought.

 Conflict between yourself and your manager

This type of conflict can sometimes be rather obscure (sensed, rather than outright conflict).  One way to avoid this conflict is by open communication.

It is your job to let your manager look good.  It is essential that he/she be updated on any progress made, problems experienced, etc. Discuss your feelings of conflict with your manager.  Ask for suggestions from his/her side on how you can solve the problem.

It is essential to take the differences out of the emotional sphere into the rational by focusing on the goal or end result the organization wants to attain.

Conflict between the company and clients

It is crucial to actively listen, because someone who initiates the confrontation is not necessarily objective or rational. No one can argue with an emotion.

  • Recognize the emotion.  When a person is upset, they appreciate it if other people can understand what they are feeling (eg. anger, disappointment, feelings of hurt or rejection, etc)
  • Accept the emotion.  By listening actively, you can communicate to the client that their feelings are totally legitimate, and that you understand and accept that they feel that way.
  • Probe the emotion.  Sometimes the issue raised with your company may have its origin nowhere you’d expect to find it.  Probing the emotion diffuses the emotions and opens the door to reason and logic.

While conflict is a normal occurrence in the workplace, it can have a detrimental effect on productivity.  Therefore it is preferable to find the quickest informal resolution to the conflict you can, in order to maximize productivity and save the costs and unnecessary time of a formalized conflict.

What methods do you use to resolve conflict in the workplace?  Please share them below.

11 reasons why we procrastinate

Procrastination is putting off tasks that you can do today.

Confucius says:  Do not do today what you can do tomorrow.

In running a business, this is a very sad state of affairs!  The results:

  • Missing opportunities to get new clients and build relationships
  • Customer dissatisfaction
  • Missing deadlines
  • Missing out chances to take your business to the next level
  • Less profit (if you’re lucky enough to even make a profit while procrastinating!)

A blog post on how not to lose employment states: “Making up lame excuses, even when there may be the slightest reality in it, will never justify the work undone.”

Do you procrastinate?

  • Do you often wait until the last minute to start a project?
  • Do you often put off making a decision about something?
  • Are you waiting for “the right time” to make that dreaded phone call, confront a lazy employee, or to prepare for your sales presentation?

Procrastination leaves us with an uneasy feeling of doom somewhere in the future.  Our productivity levels are impacted, because we cannot focus on the tasks at hand, knowing there is something we should do but we are avoiding.  Yet at some time or other, we are all guilty of procrastinating.

We know that procrastination is something to avoid, so why do we procrastinate?

Some reasons we procrastinate:

  • We feel overwhelmed (often because of an overload of information/details)
  • We get distracted
  • We think the task is more difficult than it is
  • We think the task will take more time than it does
  • Fear of success. If you complete it successfully, will you be able to keep up the momentum?
  • Fear of failure.  What if it is not good enough?
  • We’d rather be doing something else.
  • We hope if we wait long enough, the problem will go away.  The project will be cancelled, the employee will suddenly become productive, etc.
  • We want to do it perfectly.
  • We don’t want to assume responsibility.  After all, if I don’t do something, I cannot be criticised for it, can I?
  • We claim to enjoy the last-minute adrenaline rush.  We claim to thrive under pressure.

Can you identify with any of the above reasons?  Are there additional reasons you procrastinate?  Please share them with us below!