Borrowed from this article. Six actions to take in January to improve your business in 2014. I have mentioned these many times before in talks and blog posts here and in my other blog.
- Better define your role in your customers' businesses
- Evaluate Your Staff
- Invest in your staff*
- Evaluate your services (anything new added, or old to stop offering?)
- Change your culture (or fight to maintain your culture)
- Evaluate your customers (fire some, profile the best ones)
Define your role by being clear and concise on your benefits, values, outcomes that businesses, especially small businesses, can expect and generally receive by utilizing your services versus your many competitors.
Your talent is your business. Investing in your employees shows that you care about their personal development - even if they leave you. Yes some will leave after you train them up. Guess what, Sparky? Some would have left you anyway.
The reason there is a managed services space is due to a lack of talent. If you don't have the talent on hand, what will you do? It's kind of like the NFL. Without a star quarterback and a good hands receiver, your season ended yesterday.
Culture is vital to a service provider. It is a top down, lead by example, intangible thing that sets companies apart. The difference between good and great is culture (or purpose). 2013 was a year where my clients were struggling to develop a culture or to scale while maintaining the culture that had delivered their success. I even gave a keynote about it in 2013. Employees stay - not just for money - but for purpose and recognition and achievement. Culture ties into talent.
Fire some customers, especially the no margin pain in the asses. You'll feel better - and so will the employees that have to deal with them. One good customer is worth a handful of PITAs.
It's a new calendar in two days. If you do what you did yesterday, expect the same results. (Expecting anything else is the definition of insanity.)
