THE “SEVEN Cs”: PARTNERSHIP DANGER SIGNS - The 5th C: Control IssuesWritten by Dorene Lehavi
A series of articles exploring seven critical areas that can indicate a partnership is in trouble. The 5th C: Control Issues When control is in picture it is a lose/lose proposition. First, it is an illusion that anyone can control a person or a situation. The need to control is born of fear, lack of trust and insecurity. A person who feels it is necessary to control is robbed of a sense of well being. In business, control or attempt to control can occur in many venues. The attempt to control can go on at top between partners or anywhere else in organization where two or more people work together. It may be between a group of managers, or between a CEO and direct report. It can be a manager and team for whom he or she is responsible. It might be an owner CEO and stock holders, or a member of board of directors. Family members such as siblings often attempt to control each other, or a father hands business to his son, but won't let go of reins. When someone attempts to control, they expend enormous mental and emotional energy to hold things within boundaries. Controlling behavior is constrictive and confining. It takes its toll on one's ability to function in a healthy, stress free and creative manner. In business where desirable goals are growth, expansion and creativity, this constricting behavior imposes loss of these elements and seriously affects bottom line. Here are some ways in which this loss is manifested: 7 WAYS CONTROLLING BEHAVIOR EFFECTS THE BOTTOM LINE *Unhappy, controlled employees do not work to capacity. *Unhappiness breeds stress, illness and costs in sick leave and lack of productivity. *Increased turnover is costly. Often businesses do not calculate enormous costs around turnover such as costs for advertising, loss of revenue until a new person is hired, trained and moved up to level of prior person, as well as a compensation package. There are higher taxes for Workman's Compensation when a business has employees leaving. *Loss of clients who liked that person may leave. *Projects that were left unfinished may never get completed. *Demoralization of employees left behind. *Overall lower level functioning when top managers and CEO's stifle atmosphere by controlling behavior An example of controlling behavior is Lance, who was promoted to manager of a department in bank where his expert financial skills earned him recognition. However, no one thought about or realized his people skills were not developed. He had never had any training in how to be a manager. Now faced with his new challenge his previous level of self confidence diminished to zero. But since he didn't want anyone to know it, he remained hidden a lot in his office, didn't interact in a personal way with his team members, and micro-managed them by requiring them to get his ok on everything they did, even ordering paper clips. The result was a demoralized, low functioning team made up of disgruntled members who felt devalued and lacked motivation to be creative and productive. This type of control, as in all controlling behavior, besides debilitating to individuals involved, negatively affects bottom line of business.
| | Organizing Your Office for Maximum Efficiency Written by Kate Smalley
Do you have stacks files piled up all over your office? Are you constantly rearranging project deadlines? Have you been passed over for promotions or projects when you knew you could do job? Are you costing your company time and money because of misplaced files or documents?If your answer is "yes" then it's time to get organized. The Cost of Being Disorganized Being disorganized eats up time, which equals money. For example, if your secretary wastes precious time going through her work to get to her work, he or she can lose (conservatively) 30 minutes each day. If his/her salary annual salary is $30,000, time wasted will cost your company about $1,500 in lost productivity. That translates into about 25 cents per minute. Or relate that to your salary: If you gross $90,000 each year, your time is worth 75 cents per minute. If you lose 30 minutes every day looking for your work, you’ll cost your company $4,500 per year in lost productivity. Disorganization also can undermine your company’s credibility. In business, first impressions are important. A work environment that is poorly organized and cluttered, will project a negative image to your existing and potential customers. Tips Easy Ways to Get Organized Realize that you didn’t become disorganized overnight, and you won’t undo it in a day. But here are some strategies to help you get started: Get a good desk. This doesn't necessarily mean an expensive desk, but one that is right for your personal work habits, business activities and other daily needs. If you regularly refer to books, manuals or publications, a desk with an upright hutch would make sense. Or if you use a computer and have ample floor space, consider an L-shaped desk. You can keep your computer on one section and still have a large workspace on other. This configuration allows you to avoid juggling two priorities on same desktop. Mange your time better. One of simplest ways to make better use of your time is to rethink how long tasks will actually take, and schedule accordingly. Envision yourself completing a task from start to finish and what actions you must take. Until you get more accurate at estimating, add 25% to time you think you'll need to complete a certain task. Another way to realize actual time is to time yourself while you do different things, such as paying bills, balancing checkbook or going to post office. You might be surprised to find out how long things actually take. Make notes on how long each task takes so you can remember to allow ample time.
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