What is your process for helping a local business become more visible? As a business consultant, I normally start off with a discovery session to clarify the client’s business goals. Each client’s process would be unique but generally covers the below steps. Research Phase · An initial discovery session to clarify client’s business goals · Market research and analysis that...

Does your evaluation need to be done after every successful or failed project to see if the methods used need to be changed? The short answer is “YES” Some people call them Lesson Learned Sessions. Some people call them Post Mortems. Whatever you call them – I recommend have mini-evaluations after each major milestones or iterations (versus waiting until the...

Could you give some examples of how leaders can communicate the company’s vision so that others will share it? This is an excellent question. One of the leader’s responsibility is to communicate the company vision, mission statements and goals. One-on-one meetings One of the most effective ways is to meet one-on-one with each employee. 1. Work with each individual to...

What of people who are only productive during certain times of day? Should time management be considered in terms of productivity? Absolutely! Many of us have blocks of time or selective times during the day that we are most productive. For example, many people are more creative in the morning hours. Some people like to exercise in the morning before...

Should overtime be avoided at all costs? In what situations do you recommend working overtime? In my opinion, it would be COSTLY to avoid overtime at all costs. Business Cycles In a realistic business environment, there will be both busy and slow seasons. Because of this natural cycle, it would not be a good business decision to make blanket statements...

How do you manage to stay focused at work when you know that you have big problems at home? That is certainly a difficult situation. And it would depend upon the seriousness of the problem. Difficult but not serious If a problem is difficult but not serious, then decompartmentalize the situation by doing the following: 1. Identify the tasks that...

Do you think working in shifts would be more productive for the business than using one employee for a longer more permanent duration? What does “productive” really mean? Before we can explore that questions, we need to agree upon what “more productive for the business” really means. In regards to company productions, it is the combination of cost and time....

Should communication with employees outside the working hours be allowed? Is it ok to have WhatsApp chat groups where team leaders can request specific information for other team members at all times? Major Faulty Premise One major fault with this question is the assumption that individuals “have to” answer every call, email, text message or any other communication “immediately”. Not...

In the past few weeks, several busy professionals have asked questions about how to best delegate work. This article contains the answers to their various questions. Is there a right time for one to delegate and at what point should an entrepreneur feel comfortable enough to delegate? When it comes to delegating tasks, what advice can you give to get...

How should a project manager monitor projects on an ongoing basis? The short answer is “YES” Step to Project Management Every step of the project and project management process needs to be monitored on an ongoing basis. Here are some steps to project management: Project Initiation. Project Planning. Project Execution. Project Monitoring and Control. Project Closure. Each step has its...