Top Five Things A Good Manager Wouldn’t Say.

Are you a good Manager? The question that marks out the men from the boys, and success from failure. A fantastic team can be decimated by the sole person in charge getting it hopelessly wrong by insulting, demotivating, annoying and frustrating their staff. But are you one of those Managers? How would you know? Lots of people have worked for a bad Manager, and they always seem so oblivious as to the effect they have on their staff; that or they think that somehow that’s a good thing. So as a trip down memory lane for those who have been unlucky enough to work for a bad Manager and those who wonder if they are a bad Manager, here’s a list of the top five things a good Manager would not say.

1. “Don’t bring me problems without solutions”. Now on the face of it, the initial context behind this seems correct; don’t come whinging about an issue without first having considered a solution. This makes sense initially as it supposedly gives staff the option of being more independent. However, there are some problems that absolutely have to be resolved by a Manager, or reported immediately. What if your server is hacked? What if there’s a theft? What if there’s an impending problem that can only be resolved by senior management? This mindset, however well intentioned, has the ability to dissuade staff from reporting major issues when they absolutely need to be reported because they’re scared of looking like a whinge-bucket. 

2. “You’re lucky to have a job in this economy”. Wow! Nothing says “I’ve got you over a barrel” more than this sentence. It might be meant as “there are bigger issues facing some people”, but it simply comes across as dismissive, arrogant and inconsiderate. Yes, people starving in warzones is worse than missing an important family event due to workload, but to dismiss this concern with someone else’s bigger concern just shows how little you care about your employees.

3. “Your pay is your bonus”. No, your pay is your pay. A bonus is not pay. If they were ways of talking, then pay would be the same as “good morning”, whereas a bonus is “Dave, you’ve done a fantastic job and I’m immensely proud of you”. Can you imagine putting in 100%, doing a fantastic job only to get no feedback at all? It’s utterly demoralising. Now, I appreciate some companies cannot afford a bonus if things are tight, but if that’s the case, say so! Tell them that it’s the case, unfortunately, but you’d like to integrate them in the plan to get the company to the point where it can pay bonuses. To refuse one so blankly when they’re financially viable simply says to the staff “hey, don’t put in any more effort than you need to do to avoid getting fired. The extra input won’t be recognised”.

4. “It’s not my problem”. This is never a valid response, unless the question is utterly frivolous. If someone’s got a problem with IT and that’s not your game, then pass the message on to IT. If it’s a regular occurrence and it interrupts your work, then set up a system to send problem reports on more efficiently. Never respond to an issue with “not my problem”, as this simply says “I can’t be bothered to help you. You’re on your own, loser”.

5. “It’s not my fault”. Ok in context, I should point out that this doesn’t apply when it genuinely isn’t your fault. However, in the battle up the greasy corporate pole, admitting that you’ve blundered on something is seen as admitting that you’re weak and feeble. However when something’s clearly your fault, passing blame onto others simply screams two things: “I’m unreliable” and “I’ll screw others over to protect myself”. Sometimes when something happens, you need to step back and think if it actually was you. If so, admit it, fix it and make it clear that procedures are in place to ensure it wont happen again.

Top 5 Ways To Demoralise Your Staff.

Most people will be able to tell you of a part of their working life where every single day was a chore, where every day was constantly cleaning up other people’s mistakes, and whenever they needed help or support from management, they were nowhere to be seen. Unfortunately, many of the managers responsible for these are totally unaware that their actions are even causing a problem at all, let alone stoking resentment. So, here’s our top five ways to demoralise your staff, in the hope that you’ll recognise ways to avoid it.

1. Having Double Standards. You want your staff to be punctual, yes? You want your staff to be respectful? You want your staff to go the extra mile? Well then you will need to do the same. Every time you take an extra long lunch break, or take liberties because you’ll get away with it, your staff will remember. So, you’ll understand why they get annoyed at you when you pull them up for doing exactly what you do. Your staff need to look up to you, and you need to be a role model. If they see you taking liberties, why on earth wouldn’t they?

Five Regrets of New Businesses

Lessons are always learned after the event; which is precisely the moment we call “too late”. However many mistakes you’ll make when starting your business (which will be a few) you will always benefit from learning from the mistakes of others who came before you. So, lets explore the five regrets of new businesses:

1. If You Think You’ve Done Enough Marketing, Then You Probably Haven’t. Marketing is one of those things that is going to take up the majority of your time. It will be a mixture of convincing people that, despite the fact that you’re new and thin on case-studies, you know your stuff and worth working with. However one massive thing that people tend to do is start a campain when they start up that is simply inspired. However, when work starts coming in and records need to be kept, they can forget to keep the momentum up. The problem is that when the momentum slows down to the point when you notice it, it is difficult to swing it round again. Not impossible, mind, but difficult enough to take up far more of your precious time than is necessary. When planning your marketing strategy, don’t forget to factor in keeping the momentum up.

Top Five Things New Business Owners Wish They Knew Before They Started.

Ask anyone who has started a business “what do you wish you knew before you started”, and no doubt the answers will vary depending on who it is, and what sector. However, for those who are looking into taking the brave step into the world of working for yourself, then the answer they will give you is “everything”.

So, I’ve summarised a list of top five responses, in no particular order, I’ve received from people when I’ve asked them this question. So, let’s see:

1) Just How Important Cash-Flow Is.  As obvious as it might seem, and despite the fact that the phrase “cash-flow is king” has been drummed into our collective minds repeatedly, nearly all of us underestimate how much of a worry this is. As having regular cash flowing through your business is as important as regularly having blood flow through your body, you always need to make sure that you don’t run short. Even with a full order book and a promising future ahead, some businesses have gone bust purely on this issue, such as Red Letter Days, which had to be bought out by Dragon’s Den investors Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis.