Lessons in How to Run a Business

Over the course of having a few jobs, and paying close attention to each of my bosses or managers, I’ve observed a few methods of running a business. Some of the things were great, and some were horrendous. Some of the things I saw resulted in the business continuing to make money, while I’ve also seen a couple of businesses shut down due (in part) to bad management methods. So here are a few.

“If you give something a certain level of importance, that is the level of importance it will have to the rest of the organization.”

Does that make sense? It should. If the boss says something matters (or doesn’t matter too much), it stands to reason that the employees will have the same priority - or lower. You see, most of the time followers do not rise to a higher level than their leader. So what is a leader (i.e. manager or boss) to do? Quite simply, he is to learn to prioritize tasks and let his wishes be known throughout the organization.

“Give your employees the right tools for the job.”

A very good manager told me this. In his experience, people become frustrated and will quit when they are given a job yet not provided good tools to do the job. The tool could be a real tool like a wrench or a hammer, or it could be a good projector, or it could be the proper kind of computer, or it could be a telephone headpiece, or it could be a software program. Whatever the job is, the tool(s) given to the employee should work well and help them get the job done better. If not, the employee will become unhappy and leave.

“Prepare your employees for their next job.”

More organizations are on the lookout for keeping employees “stuck” right where they are than anything else. In fact I’ve been in many organizations where I (and others) were jealously guarded. Then I worked for a company in which the boss told me (paraphrase) “I’m going to lose 100% of these employees, including you, eventually. Every one moves on to something else. So while they’re here, one of my jobs is to improve them as people and as employees.” This was a guy who genuinely cared about the lives of his people, and it showed. He was always available to give good advice when asked, and I’ve seen that he’s kept in touch with employees over the years even after they’ve gone to other companies in different states. It makes sense to me: it’s better to have your employees leave as friends who respect you than just “past employees”.

“Let your employees exercise their strengths within the company.”

This is the habit of managers who know how to assemble a great team: they put together a group of people who can do certain things, and then they allow them to do those things. Not only that, they encourage the team members to push their own limits, to exercise creativity, and to experiment. Does a boss wind up with a lot of mistakes on his hands, when he allows this sort of behavior? Sometimes. But he also ends up with a lot of innovation, a lot of energy within the company, and lot of happy employees!

“Focus on doing what you know how to do.” 

This might seem like the opposite of innovation, but what it’s a lesson taken from the book Good to Great and it’s actually a good thing to keep in mind. While innovation often means venturing into unknown territory, the majority of the time a company (and an employee) should focus on what they really are good at doing. They (and the company) will experience more success in that regard than in the occasional discoveries and innovations that come their way. So - trying new things is wonderful, but the bread-and-butter is in the doing one thing really well.

There are many things we can learn from our colleagues, and I’m always observing new lessons. The ones I’ve shared here are just a few that I’ve learned. What have you learned, in your own observations?

Stumble it!