Objectivity and Passion

Words: 163
Reading time: 33 secs

Martin Johnson would be a great coach for the England rugby team if he was less passionate and more objective. Objectivity allows us to stand back, coolly weigh up the facts presented to us and then make a value-free assessment of the situation before us.

Martin Johnson would also be a great rugby coach if he was less objective and more passionate. Objectivity is all very well, but to convince and inspire others you need to truly care about the team, their performance and their place in the world. Without passion all the objectivity in the world lacks the necessary spark of desire.

Both of these statements hold a kernel of truth. We have to care enough to use our time and our talents to improve the results we are getting and our efforts to improve will be better informed by a degree of objectivity.

Balancing detachment and commitment is the key to leadership enhancing any endeavour whether it be either rugby or business.

Small Acorns

Words: 423
Reading time: 1 min 25 secs

The small business that begins with one individual using a particular technical skill, be it plumbing, printing, legal, web design, or any one of a host of other talents will eventually reach a sales and profit plateau unless something changes.

What may not be obvious is that if potential new customers are not signing up they are telling you they are unhappy and it means that the business needs to do something about it. That’s a valuable lesson, because it will probably apply equally to your existing customers who have refrained from complaining with typical British reticence. You, as the astute small business owner, need to pick up on the language of silence.

Before launching into an expensive (and possibly fruitless) campaign to find fresh fields to harvest, have a look at the ground you are already ploughing.

Your current customers provide your current revenue and they need to be cared for first. And your best customers should receive most of your attention. If you want your customers to stay with you then they are deserving of some special treatment even if it results in being slightly unfair to newer, smaller customers.

This may seem obvious but many businesses just take their present customers for granted. A moment’s reflection will probably reveal that your relationship with your customers is the often only thing stopping them switching to another firm. Such relationships need worked to keep them fresh and constantly renewed. That need not be particularly expensive, or time consuming – but it is invaluable.

Being a great plumber is only part of making a living in a plumbing business. Marketing and sales skills are also needed, as are finance and self-motivation. Without those skills being appropriately exercised customers will neither be recruited, nor will they stay and the technical skill, whatever it is, will be destined to waste away from lack of use.

If you have had the nerve and the self-belief to set out in business for yourself the need to learn more about how that is done successfully will come as no surprise. These are not natural, instinctive skills and few of us have the time or the money to make all the mistakes required to learn by trial and error.
It is demonstrably easier and cheaper to learn from those who already have the proven skills and are willing to share them through seminars, like those provided by H&H Business, to add the missing ingredients of success. They are a shortcut to early success and save an awful lot of time.

Business Fundamentals

Words: 420

Reading Time: 1 min 24 secs

The vast majority of businesses begin small. Most begin with one individual using a particular technical skill, be it plumbing, printing, legal, web design, or any one of a host of other talents. Sometimes the enterprise is helped by the offer of work from a former employer, but when that dries up the business must compete in the marketplace with everyone else.

It is at this point that the single-skill approach suffers. Being a great plumber is only part of making a living in a plumbing business. Some of the other skills needed include marketing, sales, finance and self-motivation. Without those skills being appropriately exercised customers will not come and the technical skill, whatever it is, is destined to waste away from lack of use.

Now, being a great plumber, printer, solicitor or whatever is no guarantee that you will be equally talented where marketing, sales, finance and self-motivation are concerned. Some dabbling may yield partial results, but those will necessarily be limited and the enterprise will quickly hit a ceiling. Indeed, it is almost guaranteed that all or most of this skill set will not be available to you, because you have not had the opportunity to acquire and practice the necessary techniques.

However, all is not lost. Having a particular technical skill proves you have the ability to learn and master certain methods and systems in one area that can be mapped across into other functions. We all have multiple abilities that seemed tough to learn at the outset, but we now take for granted, like walking, talking, swimming and driving in most cases.

If you have the nerve and the self-belief to set out in business for yourself the need to learn more about how that is done successfully will come as no surprise. These are not natural, instinctive skills, but they can be learned by trial and error. Yet few of us have the time or the money to make all the mistakes required for such a long and wasteful study.

Despite that fact, judging by the number of businesses that are struggling at any one time, many still take that route even though it is demonstrably easier and cheaper to learn from those who already have the proven skills and are willing to share them.

More savvy members of the business community make use of workshops and seminars, like those provided by H&H Business, to add the missing ingredients of success. They are a shortcut to early success and save an awful lot of time.