There’s a trick to successfully growing any business. While mergers and acquisations are important, developing a proper business maturity model (BMM) is even more so. The reason? If you don’t have a good business maturity model, you won’t have the right systems and strategies in place to deal with the increased demands assocaited with your new merger or change.

Sounds pretty simple, doesn’t it? What I’m saying is that you can’t move blindly into a new business transaction without thinking about the impact it will have on the entire organisation – from the maintenance department up to the top CEO. In most cases, teams dealing with mergers and acquisitions tend to focus on only one or two parts of an organisation and forget about the others. This is a huge mistake that causes a lack of balance when your existing groups suddenly don’t know how or when to interact with the new ones. Implementing a strong BMM will give you the tools to ensure that there is proper balance between all of your workgroups.

Take a look at every aspect of your organisation. Be sure to review your organisational hierarchy, internal strategies, the way you respond to external pressure, and even your current employee and management training plans. Are each of these areas appropriately prepared to deal with a major business change – are they all part of the communication chain – or would one be left in the dark?

You should have clearly defined expectations and visions regarding how your business performs on a day to day basis – both individually and in comparison to competitors and peers. If you aren’t sure what your organisation’s business maturity model entials, it may be time to find out. Perhaps you’re the one that’s been left in the dark!

Thanks again,
Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

No matter what type of business you’re in, one fact remains true. You have customers and those customers expect to receive products or services from you in a timely and professional manner. So how do you ensure this happens? You put systems in place that allow you to monitor whether or not your employees or workgroups are properly managing service delivery.

Managing service delivery involves a number of different factors. Good service begins from day one, when your employees begin their training process, and continues daily as they learn to interact with their clients, customers, and even other internal workgroups. Good customer service involves not only making a client happy by promising results, but delivering on those promises as well. If you tell a client you’ll return a phone call in 2 hours, then 2 1/2 or 3 hours is not acceptable. Someone expecting a shipment to be delivered on Thursday may not be thrilled if it doesn’t show up until Saturday.

The process of managing service delivery involves creating workflows in which the products and services you are promising your clients are delivered – on time and as expected. This high level of service should occur both after the initial sale and throughout the remainder of your relationship with the client.

The better your service delivery models, the higher your clients will perceive the value of your products and services to be. Make sure your employees are familiar with proper customer care methods. If you can provide an excellent level of customer service your clients will remain loyal to your organisation for as long as you can provide the services they need!

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve your Management Skills”

As we move forward with our study of different management styles I thought it would be a good idea to briefly discuss the management cycle. The management cycle is akin to the backbone of an organisation. Managers make plans, monitor the results, explain the outclime, and then make changes to the plan as appropriate. Rinse. Repeat.

Every manager participates in this cycle on some level, whether he’s a part of middle management or upper management. Each person may have a different expectation regarding the outcome of a process, depending on the level of management he is at. Lower management and middle management members may each be designing processes to complete a specific part of the overall task. Upper management may only see the overall project and what they perceive to be the final outcome.

Everyone has the same goal, though – to see hundreds or thousands of pieces of information distributed in a manner that allows employees to effectively complete their jobs. Your CEOs are relying on the trickle down effect – where middle management takes information, pulls it apart, and divides it accordingly.

In short, those involved in the management cycle are responsible for creating systems in which information is properly coordinated. The end result will be a properly linked and executed strategy, no matter what the project entails. Failure to have a strong plan for sharing information will only result in disaster when something as simple as a lost piece of information stops an entire project.

What methods do you have for streamlining the dissemination of information within your organisation? Can you identify your own role in the managment cycle? Are these things covered in your management training courses?

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve your Management Skills”

The theory surrounding Transactional Analysis was developed in the 1960’s by a man known as Dr. Eric Berne. His model maintains that each person’s personality contains three distinct parts and that each of these three parts work with each other (ie. perform transactions) on a daily basis.

The three “ego-states” of our personality are that of the parent, adult, and child. Parents can be either nurturing or controlling, offering protection and love or asking the child to do what he wants. The adult maintains rational thought patterns. There are three types of children: natural, little professor, and adaptive. One is unaware of his self, the next loves exploring, and the latter constantly tries to fit in with the rest of the world.

Every single time you communicate with someone you are each going to adapt one of the above roles. A parent, for example, will speak to a child, but can speak to other parents and adults as well. A nurturing parent, however, may only speak to a natural child while a controlling parent may only ellicit what he views as a positive response from an adaptive child.

When two individuals are on the same level (ie. adult to adult) they can have a complementary transaction – one in which they are in agreement. It is often difficult, however, to formally communincate (or have a solid transaction) if both are in different states – also referred to as a crossed transaction.

As a manager you’ll need to learn to adapt to different situations. You should be able to clearly identify the type of role you need to take when dealing with each individual employee. Can you both speak as adults, or must you adopt a parental role? Are you adopting a role that will allow you to communicate effectively with your employees?

Think about your employees and the way you interact. Are you usually on the same level or do you normally have to adopt a more powerful role? Knowing the differences will have a huge impact on the development of your communication skills. Share your thoughts in the comments!

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve your Management Skills”

As you move forward on your career path you’re going to encounter many different types of people. One of the main differences between each one is going to be his method of learning, so as someone in a management position you’re going to need to recognize that different learning styles exist so that you can adapt to them effectively.

Three of the most popular learning models are the Sudbury Model of Democratic Education and those created by David Kolb and Anthony Gregorc.

The Sudbury Model of Democratic Education was actually formed as a critical response to the way our educational systems treat those with learning disabilities, the way our special education systems are developed, and the responses we take when forming an intervention. The Sudbury Model asserts that there are several unique and distinctly different ways to learn and that each person needs to find his own best method. Education is something you must participate in; not something that can be shoved down your throat.

David Kolb’s model states that education is based on concrete experiences, the ability to form abstract conceptualizations, reflective observation, and active experimentation. He believes that all four of these scientific approaches need to be incorporated into a learning process in order for it to be effective, but admits that each learner will become strong in only one or two areas.

Anthony Gregorc’s learning model is based upon his theories describing exactly how the mind works. He believes we all base our learning experiences on either concrete or abstract perception and that we each operate under one ordering ability, either random or sequential. There are four different combinations of perceptions and ordering abilities and each person will focus on his or her dominant strengths.

These theories may seem complex, but as managers we tend to focus more on whether or not our employees are visual, auditory, or tactile learners. Learning what types of learners you will be working with in advance will help you to tailor your training sessions accordingly.

Do you have a method of evaluating your employees? Do you ever wonder why some people always seem to “get it” when you train them while others don’t? Share your experiences in the comments. I’d love to hear from you!

Thanks again,

Sean

Sean McPheat
Managing Director
MTD Management Training

Click below for a:
FREE email course “Improve Your Management Skills”