Who here runs a (people) business ?

[riptides]

I also find that people do not read anymore. And it is sound bites, text messages, two page powerpoints, and conversations about off-topic BS that seems to sway the issues. In this age of instant information, they want instant results. Sometimes things really are simple, but you have to have a plan, a backup plan, you have to read and communicate.

 

[alchemysa]

I ran my own business and employed a lot of people over the years so I know there's a lot of pressure to be a people person.

It took me long time to realise that I do not want to be a leader of men. I hate being a mentor. I'm really not interested in inspiring people. etc etc. I finally accepted that what I really liked most was just working on my own. And when I accepted that, and worked out how to do it properly I was much happier and made just as much money.

Don't think that not being a people person is some kind of failure. Some people just prefer to be independent.

(And anyway I am SO glad I'm not employing people these days. It must be a nightmare to try and keep them focused and productive with so many distractions such as Facebook, twitter, email, websites, blogs, mobile phones etc.)

 

[Tractor Seabee]

The first problem is attitude toward the situation. Management is a macro function. If you get too micro you lose site of the big picture. Unless you are a one person operation the minute you hire someone, they then start to do the micro stuff so you can concentrate on the big stuff.

We learned in the military that you manage things and system but you have you lead people. The lower the level the more you lead from the front. Conversely some have a problem when they get promoted because they still want to lead from the front. You treat people like machines and that is exactly how they respond, automatons. That is probably why most senior military folks have no problem when they hit the private sector. I have quit management jobs because those above me insisted on micro managing not only me but those under me by going around me. Leading, mentoring, and training people can be very rewarding if you stay with the basic principles.

I am not sure I could deal with the modern generation though with their work ethic and me, me, me attitude.

Ron

 

[mjncad]

It took me long time to realise that I do not want to be a leader of men. I hate being a mentor. I'm really not interested in inspiring people. etc etc. I finally accepted that what I really liked most was just working on my own. And when I accepted that, and worked out how to do it properly I was much happier and made just as much money.

Don't think that not being a people person is some kind of failure. Some people just prefer to be independent.

You sound similar to my brother-in-law, and me. Now if I could just figure out the money part; especially since I have little patience with inDUHviduals, which is what I would encounter.

 

[sam5570]

the post here are very intresting to me, because i owned 2 public business's for around 20 year's. i have a gift when it comes to dealing with people and alot of exprience doing it. i can get on the same level with most people, but there is alway's that one person that is just so far out there you can't reach him or her. my business was close to the interstate so i delt with almost every walk of life over the year's. what helped me so much when i was hiring and firing people was i could spend 10 minutes with someone and get a pretty good ideal of what kind of person i was dealing with.[and yes i did get fooled more than once] right now i am helping a friend of mine who is in the same business i was in, he's been in 30 some year's now and he has been trying to hire someone for a good while now.he and i have talked about this at diferent times and he cannot grasp the fact how much the last two gereration's way of thinking has changed.when they come in for a job interview most of the time they asking if you have a managment position open and how much does it pay.[ he laughs and say's thank you for your time] what world or these people living in that gives them the idea that they can come off the street and manage people with no exprience in what these people are doing. it happen's at least once a week, i'll continue but got to go to work now. people have changed that's for sure

 

[alchemysa]

You sound similar to my brother-in-law, and me. Now if I could just figure out the money part; especially since I have little patience with inDUHviduals, which is what I would encounter.

I slowly reduced from 15 staff to just one guy and me. And I let all my clients go except for the one that gave me most of my business. I concentrated solely on them. Business experts will tell thats a risky way to go but it worked fine for me. I had low overheads and plenty of profitable work. (I did work pretty hard). I was much happier because I didn't have so many friggin staff to worry about. And the customer was happy because I was totally focused on them. I did it for about 4 years, but eventually I told the customer I'd had enough and gave then 6 months to find an alternative. It worked out pretty well for everybody. Now i just do little bit from home for pocket money.

(This is the wrong forum for this thread. Maybe someone can move it)

 

[sixdogs]

It depends on the type of business you run but you have to hire "movers and shakers" motivated people and then money-incentive their performance. Then get out of the way and get involved only if you have to. While waiting, skim the book "The Art of War" to learn how the masters of old handled personnel problems. Hiring the right people that share your core ideologies makes it a piece of cake. Learn what motivates each employee.

You are the owner of the biz and set the tone how to behave. Dress well, and demand it of others and it will be the law of the land. Fail to return phone calls immediately if not sooner and you just lowered the bar. Be rude gets rude and to forgive easily invites offense. Follow the Golden Rule ruthlessly. Be humble.

The corporate mission statement should have customer first as the first item, personnel second and the company third. A few pegs down is to have fun doing what you do. Not a Tailhook-type fun but if you don't enjoying doing what you do, you won't do it very well.

Delegate to good people. Know when you made a mistake and fix it. Level with people and tell the truth.If you made a mistake or didn't do something right, fess up and make it right the way you would want it done if the shoe were on the other foot. Demand this of the others. Keep new people around to keep things fresh and growth apparent.

Lead from a few feet above and stay a few feet away. Look at other successful businesses and do what they do. Find failures and don't do what they do. Know your customer and what they want and then do it better than the others.

Next question...

 

[Turbys_1700]

I was in manufacturing and management many years before getting into teaching...
Front line supervision in manufacturing is a very difficult job...
The most challenging position I had involved the production of furniture with the responsibility for 60 employees and 3 lead people...
I always tried to treat everybody the same and managed with a soft stick...
Never demanded that folks had to do something...
Always asked...
I treated folk with respect and understanding...
I was very successful but stressed out...
It was a 60 hour per week grind...
Those days have long since passed but the experience it gave has proven to be very worthwhile...

 

[DavesTractor]

When you hire people, you get their "hands", meaning they do things they are hired to do, whether technical, professional or labor. But a truly satisfied employee gives you his "heart", meaning his mind and his ambition, and he is worth several "hands" only employees. Nothing worse than a disheartened employee that just "does what he is told" without caring about the customers or his fellow employees. Even if just doing menial labor tasks, I want my employees to be thinking and caring about what they do. Of course this means you actually have to care about the folks you hire, pay them fairly, etc. But we have less than 20 employees, so it is manageable. As a company gets 50 or 100 or 500 employees it would be much more difficult to always keep the culture positive.

 

[mjncad]

When the first engineering company I worked for was in a near death spiral of layoffs; one of my supervisors commented to me that it was getting harder to make decisions as to who stayed and who didn't.

At first he said it was easy; high performers stayed, low performers were let go, and the average people were safe. But as the attrition boiled down to where it was nothing but high performers and average folks, then it became more difficult to figure out who stayed and who got the boot. After a while it was down to nothing but high performers and they still had to jettison employees, which made it very difficult for management to decide on who survived the cut and who didn't.