June 14, 2008
All mobile oil change business entrepreneurs constantly consider and think about their market mix. Should they concentrate on Fleets of Vehicles for companies or on personal cars or oil changes for employees at their offices? Well interestingly enough this subject came up in an online discussion between two oil change industry sector entrepreneurs recently and one gentleman stated;
“I have found that retail customers are much more appreciative and willing to give me referrals than commercial fleet operators.”
Bingo! That is what I am talking about right there. Get in with the average person. The whose who takes longer to get too. It is much harder to get appointments with the executive staff of a large corporation to get permission to do oil changes on their property or the President, CFO or Maintenance Chief of a large trucking company, who would be the decision maker.
Sure you need the movers and the shakers to move the ball forward and they can okay the deal on a one-time personal chance meeting. But the constant bombardment from the masses always will move the movers and shakers who understand the flow and do not want to disrupt employee productivity, by saying NO to something everyone wants, so it is all about Diplomacy.
The ART of letting everyone else get YOUR way; heck look at the way the politics of this nation work. Simple stuff, and many ask me to we move the few who are the decision makers or do we move the masses who move those decision makers? Well I say why does it matter; DO BOTH. You see just move the whole darn mountain. Consider this in 2006.
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May 17, 2008
In my practice as an organizational effectiveness consultant, the most frequent phone call I receive involves clients and prospective clients asking how to overcome resistance to change in their organizations.
Throughout my book, Strategic Organizational Change, I recommend a strategy-driven approach to planning and implementing change. Unfortunately, many organizations do not follow a systematic approach (my approach or anybody else’s) for planning and implementing change.
An Unworkable “Plan”
Most organizations still attempt the following “plan” for organizational change:
1. senior management determines that a change is needed
2. the CEO announces the change to “the troops”
Needless to say, this “plan” is inviting resistance.
Seven Essential Change Elements
In the unworkable plan above, senior management has failed to consider the following seven essential elements for successful organizational change:
1. Involve the people who will be affecting (and affected by) the change. Get their input. Workers are a valuable source of information for management decision making. Today’s workers want to be part of what’s happening. (No buy-in from these folks guarantees resistance.)
2. Communicate a good reason for the change. Human beings can change quickly when they see a way to maximize benefits and/or minimize threats. Make sure the change is seen as relevant and strategy-driven. (Busy people will resist changes that they see as irrelevant.)
3. Designate a champion for the change. A senior executive does not have to take the champion role. In fact, it might be better to find someone the workers can relate to. (Natural leaders, many times in unofficial roles, exist throughout every organization. Take advantage of their leadership ability.)
4. Create a transition management team. This cross-functional team can provide emotional support as well as practical ideas for change leaders. (Remember, no one individual is charismatic or talented enough to effectively implement an organizational change single-handedly.)
5. Provide training in new skills, behaviors, and values. If workers fear a loss of competency, they will resist change. They will revert back to the old skills, behaviors, and values when they feel threatened. (Change invariably involves a threat to one’s current sense of competency.)
6. Bring in outside help. This sounds like a self-serving comment since I am an independent consultant, but the external consultant can play a critical role. An outsider brings a fresh perspective. An outside
consultant doesn’t have an “axe to grind.” (And realistically, most senior managers are not trained in
leading or facilitating organizational change.)
7. Reward people. Remember, whatever behaviors you reward, you get more of. Rewards do not have to be in the form of cash. Acknowledgement, praise, new job assignments, or additional decision-making authority can be more powerful motivators than cash. (In every successful organizational change, people are the essential factor.)
Dr. Mike Beitler is the author of the special report “Overcoming Resistance to Change” which can be found at http://www.mikebeitler.com/overcomingresistance/
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May 3, 2008
Have you ever listened to all of the different ways we humans regard the concept of time? It is definitely a reflection of age. And I guess that’s why I find it intriguing and amusing.
We’ve all heard the common complaints of time: in childhood we’re never old enough until we turn 21, because at these ages our dreams are built on “when I’m old enough, I’m going to…” after 21, we seem to be caught in a time-warp suggesting we will be forever young. In order to prove it, we are often apathetic in making major decisions, because we have “all the time in the world.”
Depending on your activity level, time will stay suspended in this lazy state before increasing in speed as we begin to seek our place in life. For some, marriage and family decrease personal time and increase family time. This is often compounded by the career chase, for a demanding job will narrow available time even further.
It is also at this point in life when the subtle, and sometimes not-so-subtle, changes in personal philosophies will place time in a different perspective. It was at this juncture that I began visualizing my life as a gigantic whirlpool. In my minds eye it appeared that childhood existed on the outer edges of the pool where life was lazy and slow. As I aged, I found myself creeping inconspicuously towards the inner middle section and life began to fly by faster and faster.
This past year went by so fast that when New Years Eve arrived I still felt my calendar should indicate July or August.
As I viewed my parents during their early retirement years, I was sure that by having more time on their hands time would slow down, but they told me there never seemed to be have enough time to get everything done. I think the difference was our individual places in the life continuum.
Not long ago I heard an academic discussion which put forward the supposition that the impression of the passing of time had a lot to do with temperature. As children, our body temperature is warmer and time moves slowly. When we mature and reach adulthood our core temperatures drop and time seems to pass more quickly.
Similarly, time in warmer climates moves along lazily, like in Mexico for example, with the need for the afternoon siestas. But in cold, windy Chicago time flies by more quickly. Maybe this is one reason why people retire to warmer climates…and I always thought it was for the golf!
We all have been around a Type A personality who constantly checks their watch, calls-in for messages, and is always noting something in their Day-timer. When I am with these individuals my level of energy increases, or at the very least I notice I am just a little nervous. Time is suddenly in the forefront of all thought and activity.
Conversely, there is the occasion when you have a long weekend or vacation. At the beginning, you look forward to “all that time off.” Then, ironically, you fill it with so many activities only to see it “fly by in the blink of an eye.”
If time really is a creation of man, then it would hold true that time doesn’t exist outside of man. When viewed from this perspective, we should have no other concept than the moment we are in. Neither the past nor the future should mean very much because one is gone forever and one hasn’t arrived yet.
So what you do with your day really has nothing to do with how much time you have. Or does it? If conceptually, there’s always tomorrow, can that in and of itself bring life to a momentum which is unhurried, and thus, more pleasurable?
How can we as a society find a way to live happily without being so multi-tasked that we see burn-out in high school students? Where are we all rushing to and why the hurry? If, in fact, life were too short to begin with wouldn’t you think we’d find ways to slow down and enjoy it?
We are tugged daily by a barrage of advertising to purchase the next biggest, newest, fastest, thingamajig that will provide us with more time and unlimited joy, but soon we’re so bored and find the need to go do it again. Man, you get tired just thinking about it!
Many other cultures see we Americans as possessed with being in a “hurry”. They enjoy their days doing what they can, untouched by the western accomplishment mentality, no medically related illnesses like ulcers, migraine headaches or road rage.
Our medical establishment capitalizes on our rush to “Just Do It” or “Do the Dew” or “shop ’til you drop” and “party on dude!” with new drugs to relax, relieve tension and stress, but in the end we are doing this to ourselves; it’s a vicious circle. And the funny thing is, we continue to provide them with a never-ending supply of patients for their psychiatric couches and diagnostic probes.
In the end, does anyone really know what they did with their “life-time” or do the majority of us have just memory-flashes of the highs and lows of life? I think many of us are seeking to control just a small portion of our lives, and managing time seems as much out of reach as anything else.
As usual, I find myself with more questions than answers, I better hurry up and go back to school to figure it all out, right?
No matter how you look at it, it’s fun to ponder.
Keith E. Renninson is a motivational speaker and co-author of the popular parenting tool and illustrated storybook “Zooch the Pooch, My Best Friend”. Through the 1990’s with much self-examination, academic study, bicycle racing, and mountain climbing, he discovered a renewed zest of life, which included a love of metaphysics, philosophy, humor, and writing and speaking. As Keith says, “Some days you’re the pigeon and some days you’re the statue…it’s all in what you make of it.” Keith and his co-author Michael Conrad Kelley speak to teens and adults on “The Seven Simple Steps to a More Fulfilling Life.” Which focuses on how to build a Life Philosophy that works.
You can read more about “Zooch the Pooch” or contact Keith to speak at: http://www.zoochthepooch.com
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April 13, 2008
With good planning and preparation, electrical contracting companies can submit their quotes for big projects they have always wanted - or must have to grow. All that is required is sufficient lead-time and a knowledge of industry partnering on the supply side of materials and manpower. Spend the next five minutes reading the article and you will see there are options, both achievable! You will also read about a growing industry many electrical contractors are discovering to help propel them to the top with minimal financial, overhead and legal risk.
Risk and reward: You must “take it to get it”
The scenario is you have grown your business with the proper mix of office personnel and electricians, have decent cash flow, and enjoy an amicable working relationship with your materials supply house(s). You have your estimating fundamentals down and your business is cruising along at a good pace ready to advance to the next step. Your willingness to accept risk is going to place your business over the top or keep you in check. Which way do you go? Are you comfortable or are you ready to progress in the electrical contracting industry? If your answer is “no” - stop reading here. Otherwise, go on to the next step…
Opportunity
Steven Covey said it the best, “Effective people are not problem-minded; they’re opportunity minded.” Maintaining the status quo simply obstructs growth. In a 40-hour workweek, a couple of office support personnel and ten electricians in the field can easily handle a manpower availability factor of ten electricians. With overtime - in perfect conditions - you can squeeze overtime at fifteen man-days (ten at 60 hrs/week) out of your crew and still keep projects on schedule over a short-term period. Now the big knock at the door sounds and an opportunity to grab a big project presents itself. You find you have a requirement for an additional ten electricians to handle the job. Your current crew is stretched to the point of diminishing return. You have a few options; turn the work down and maintain the status quo or go with one or a mix of the remaining two below:
In-house: Focus on the people and the job
OK, start your clock and watch it good! Bid and allow lead time to advertise, drug screen, check references, test for knowledge, interview, notify your worker’s compensation insurance company, gather social security, federal, state tax withholding information, perform payroll functions and then hire to double the size of your staff before the project start date. This will, of course, take time away from getting your materials take-off list in order, ironing out job details with the GC, attend planning meetings, pull permit(s) along with other miscellaneous tasks. You decide to bring in an additional part time office employee to assist the other two already focused on their full-time functions. Also, consideration for the post-project issues must be factored in, like handling unemployment forms, adjusting your worker’s compensation insurance, letting workers go, etc. OK, stop your clock; count the days juggling schedules, whew! Next option is for those ready to throw away the pain and hassles or effectively managing human resources.
Outsource: Focus on the job - not the people
Have time to place one five-minute phone call and want to focus on job preparation, not human resource headaches? Call an electrical staffing company and have the right skill sets assembled for you with all administrative burdens delegated. The price, you ask? Slightly marked up but, it includes the price you would pay for all of the insurance, overhead, payroll, time tracking, advertising, and recruiting duties incurred. By taking on the big job, your return on investment will be surprisingly large by rolling in the known manpower cost. You will have the freedom to focus on the job and maintain your current employee base to supervise job site duties. Do you want more work without added administrative headaches? Want others to handle hiring, replacing, and termination of employees and avoid legal pitfalls with tax and insurance issues? If yes, then select a staffing agency that has licensed electricians in the office who understand what it’s like out there in the real world. Speaking of risk, multi-trade staffing firms let a “staffing technician” hire your electricians. Demand an Electrical Contractor and Master Electrician - backed by human resource experts - hire the specific electrician or electrical crew you require!
Mike Widner, Director
Strategy Construction Company
Learn more about outsourcing electricians
by contacting Strategy Construction Company at 719.574.1881.
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