Business 300

The Lord once told a story where a man, upon doing a good job with what he was given, heard it said to him, “You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much.” Whether we're the owner, manager, or a line employee, if we want to carry the organization, we must first kneel down to put the weight on our backs. We can only move up by moving down.

Instead of concerning yourself with Top-Down vs Bottom-Up hierarchy arguments, ask a much more basic question: Who are your customers and what do they want? That's what it's about, not management versus employees.

Stewardship is an understanding that everything we have, we have been entrusted with in order to be productive. And what is productivity? It's definitely not squandering, nor is it preserving, or hoarding. Productivity is an output of effort that brings value to others. This is the work of a business owner. Taking everything you own and have, and making a profit on it by turning it into value for...

The constant focus on your deficiencies is not a symptom of humility. One is tormented by his impairments when he refuses to swallow the reality of the situation. One sees his own problem, and instead of accepting the fact and improving it, a self-degrading, proud person simply laments it. The Self-Loather is an egotist because his attention is always revolving around himself. It is a good thing t...

We cannot faithfully look at a tree and hold tight to our idols of order and tidiness. A tree takes an axe to those idols, as it calmly grows with crooked branches. Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t romanticize chaos or disorder, for it does strive to hold its shape and structure. It wants order and aims for structure. But it doesn’t simply topple over when its root is introduced to...

What if you ran an ad for your business that started with: “You’ll feel good after giving us your money." That's catchy. You'd probably get people's attention. But could you say that to your customers with a straight face, and stand behind it? Maybe you think it sounds presumptuous. Or haughty. Or too on-the-nose. Maybe you wouldn't run that sort of ad because it makes you look self-se...

In the last episode, I mentioned the first 2: Data and Analysis. This brings us to the 3rd value-add: Insight. With the data collected and turned into information through analysis, now the job of finance is to delivery insight.

In all your undertakings, you want substance, not fluff. We're tempted towards fluff, but, as business owners, we really can't afford it. There's no place for it. The temptation for fluff is especially true in Finance. Fancy charts and complicated spreadsheets masquerade as substance. Irrelevant ratios and misleading statistics might give a semblance of control. It's easy for fluff to arise from F...

One of the areas where business people are tempted towards irrelevant fluff is in the area of Finance. There are so many metrics that could be tracked, so many numbers that could be calculated, so many ratios and statistics that could be presented. If it wanted to, the Finance Department could be the business BS department.  The 4 things that the Finance Department should focus on in order to...

If you have to scale back and take on roles that you previously delegated while you rebuild, do it. Yes it sucks. But sitting and moping, wishing it were not so as you wait for things to pan out on their own is not an option for you. All things considered, you have to know when it's time to scale back.

The Michelin-star rating system is a way to help us think through our business and value-offering. Not every business can or should have that expectation. Sometimes we need just a convenient and affordable gas station. There's nothing wrong with that. It's a needed business. And, if that's you, expect to be "just another gas station." But if you don't want that as your standard, if you want custom...

Business growth is more comparable to a staircase than a ramp. It's not smooth and linear. It's patterns of straight up and flat plateaus. You seek growth, land more work, and increase your sales volume. Then, you stop to build up your systems and processes, train and equip your people, and make sure the new work volume is being digested well. You start to prepare for the next growth spurt, figuri...

As we give ourselves to God, our life and work flows out as sacrificial labor as we strain to produce good things for others. This brings us back to the idea that we, the ones creating value for customers, are in a position of givers. We give of our time, strength, ideas, resources, and skills. And our work to produce value for our customer through a Disciplined Offering has eternal ramifications....

Business ownership requires discipline. Which is self-control. Those who can rule themselves can run a business. You keep your business with Attention, Intolerance, Prudence, and Discipline. If you thought your business was worth building, it’s probably worth keeping as well. Work it, and keep it.

There's a lot of work to do to build your business. Getting distracted with your shovel or being impressed with new hammer models every few hours compromises future progress in your project as you chase after a shiny object time and time again, instead of focusing on the work in front of you. A steady and stable course at a sustainable pace is what helps you get to the next layer in your wall. You...

When the potential accomplishment is in the distant future, it's helpful to set up relevant progress tracking on a daily or weekly basis where you can see the work accomplished. Instead of having 1 large completion, break up the completion into smaller chunks that you can see getting done. The reward for doing the work is seeing it get done. And the punishment for not doing it, is seeing it pile u...

A threat of pain or enthusiastic inspiration are a blessing that drive performance. But those factors in themselves are unreliable tutors if we want to consistently produce results. We need self-control and discipline to get better.

Some of us like to speak grand about the future we envision for ourselves and our business. Sure, there's a place for talk. But the proportion of talk to actions needs to have the right balance. And too many people have it backwards. They're 80% talk, 20% action. Too many words. Too little deeds.  It really is much easier to talk big and work small. And you get to pretend like you're hiding y...

It's a waste of a life to only focus on the potential future goodness. A short part of our life is enjoying the fruits of our labor. Most of it is the actual labor – the process of getting there. The mistakes we make, the clutter we clean up, the stories we live through are all opportunities for us to laugh and have fun as we work hard to build something great. It's exhausting and frustratin...

  A standard of Excellence is reliable ground to make sure that you not only continue to serve your customers in the best way but innovate new ways to serve them better. If your aim is to exceptionally serve your customers, the standard for that service is excellence. You aim to make things better. In this way, you make your competitor irrelevant. Sure, you should be aware of what they're doi...

The Specialist is focused on Executing Today's Task within a Closed framework. The Manager is focused on Equipping the Person for Tomorrow's success within a Semi-Open framework. The Leader is focused on Rallying the People to a better Future within an Open framework. The leader's focus on the Future guide's the manager's equipping for Tomorrow in order for the Specialist to perform his task Today...

Now we have the sixth and final facet. The Role. Leaders in the Open Framework are responsible to define what effectiveness in the business looks like, so that the Manager in the Semi-Open Framework has enough clarity to create and ensure the procedures and training to equip the Specialists in the Closed Framework for the task they are to execute on. The Specialist, the Manager, and the Leader. Th...

The fifth facet is the Framework.  You have to consider today, tomorrow, and the future. You have to consider the task, the person, and the people. You have to consider execution, equipping, and planning. You need a framework that can ensure your business' effectiveness and efficiency.

We're talking about the different facets to consider when structuring your organization. We covered the first facet - Function - which should be considered on the spectrum of autonomy and control. An organization needs functions who have autonomy to build, and functions who protect what is built by maintaining control. And we covered the second facet - Context - which should be considered on the s...

There are many different functions that a business organization needs. But all of the business functions fall on a spectrum of autonomy and control. And this is what the first facet of an organization structure is. You need to consider the functions on the spectrum of autonomy and control. A business operates in the world of today, with tomorrow in mind, and with the intention of beyond tomorrow i...