None of us like to throw away money, but we do so unknowingly every single day. (I’m including myself in there because it’s ridiculous to think that because Meridian teaches this stuff, we have it perfect!)
What all owners want is to make money easily without hassles, even with a bit of fun. They want to see every day operations getting better and smoother each day at their company. They want to:
- Grow sales faster
- Get people doing the right things all the time
- Get more efficient
- Make customers happier without sacrificing margins
- Move projects along quickly within budget
- And more…
As I discuss visions of smooth, profitable operations with business owners, I ask them to do a healthy reality check of where they are right now. Often what comes into conversation, even in highly successful companies, is the realization of some sort of communication breakdowns. In just the last week I’ve heard woes of:
- Sales people quoting wrong pricing
- Dispatch troubles, including inter-company transfers
- Projects stalled or behind schedule
- Office staff griping about schedules and tasks
- Owners feeling tugged at from all directions
To fix where money is going down the drain, I begin asking questions and digging down into the root causes of consternation and waste. And this is where it gets uncomfortable.
You see, it is the leader who is fully responsible for not only getting the right people on the bus, but making sure they are effectively communicating and working toward the common goal. As a leader, your communication, what you say and don’t say, how you share or don’t share information, how you set goals and hold people accountable or don’t, is the model. It all starts with you.
Losing money from wrong pricing? You’ve allowed a system that doesn’t function correctly. Missing bulk plant transfers or inventory problems? You must not be tracking and controlling it. Projects stalled or behind or over budget? Did you ask for enough details up front? Did you understand the risks and hurdles? Are people waiting on you for approvals?
Or is your office staff griping? Do they feel left out of the loop or conversely, micro-managed? Do you allow a culture of griping? Have you set a culture of catching people wrong or right? Are you feeling tugged in all directions? Have you left a void on your leadership team – like maybe you are the entire team because no one else takes responsibility?
Sorry to be so hard on you, but you may be understanding that ultimately you drive the bus. The lack of communication or the dysfunctional communication costs you a lot of money and you’ve created it.
OK, enough torture and self-condemnation. The good news? It is all entirely curable.
Before I share the cures, let me give you hope by sharing with you the details of one of the worst situations I saw. It was a family that flat out had zero communication. Everyone was mad at everyone else. People blamed other people and other departments for every dropped ball. Stuff was being covered up. It was a mess.
Now for the hope – a year later they were functional, more profitable, moving in a positive direction, and had virtually eliminated blame from their vocabulary.
How did they shift? Glad you asked! What I had that family do is exactly what you can also do to drive out costs, stop throwing away money, and ultimately feel a lot better at the end of the day. Here is the formula:
- Carve out one hour to dream (yes that is the right word). What does a highly effective, highly efficient operation look and feel like for you? Take time to savor just how good it would feel to be hitting growth and profit goals consistently with joy. If you like to write, make some notes.
- As you hold that rich, vivid picture, ask yourself one question… “How will we get there and what needs to change?” Don’t be afraid to start with yourself. Ideally, you must go first. Apologize for the current state and take responsibility.
- Communicate the vision to your team, expressing your appreciation and need for them to achieve that vision. You can’t do it without them, so you tell them you are enlisting their help.
- Ask for their ideas about what they see needs to change to get to that excellent vision. How would they do it? Actively listen and acknowledge.
- Start working to get “there” to that glorious vision including setting up communication channels. Create department and company meetings on a routine schedule. Set up mandatory one-on-one meetings with supervisors. It’s amazing how much gets done when there is healthy communication on a daily and weekly basis.
- Celebrate success! When you hit small wins, celebrate! When you hit big wins, celebrate even more! Create a culture of gratitude for success, enjoying each other and serving others.
No matter how many years you’ve been in business, how many generations, today is the day you get to see the vision, cast the vision, and achieve the vision. You’ll take money you were throwing away and repurpose it to family and employee wealth creation, maybe even change-the-world legacy building. How do I know that? Because… that is exactly what happened to the “dysfunctional” family I described earlier. Now they talk with each other, and it’s about where to invest and help and serve. Now that is fun!
