Lack of Operations Manuals Stunting Your Growth?

Lack of Operations Manuals stunting your growth?

CONTENTS:

1. Do you lack functional Operations Manuals?
2. Use a SYSTEM to write your Operations Manuals!
3. Yes, but my people just don't/won't write stuff down!
4. But people WILL write stuff down - if ...
5. Call to Action.

1. Do you lack functional Operations Manuals?

Great businesses depend on systems, not people.

That's because you can duplicate systems, but not people.

If your business can't duplicate salable results, it won't survive. Duplication is Nature's Survival Law.

If your organization lacks Operations Manuals, your growth and success will be limited due to lack of a duplicable (documented) system.

2. You can use a SYSTEM to write your Operations Manuals!

Extraordinary people don't build great businesses. Ordinary people produce extraordinary results using a duplicable system. That's how you build a great business.

The faster you develop good Operations Manuals the faster you will have a great business!

3. Yes, but my people just don't/won't write stuff down!

You will hear many excuses and attitudes for why people don't write Operations Manuals.

"We just don't have enough time."

"It's not my job man! You hired me to be a [manager, programmer, accountant, engineer, whatever]. I'm not a writer!"

"I hate to write. Who needs it!"

"Whenever I feel like writing, I lie down until the feeling goes away."

"It's different here. Things change too fast. The minute we write something down, it's obsolete..."

These are typical objections people express. But, one of the most UNexpressed fears is:

"If I document my job in an Operations Manual, I can be replaced! I'll lose my job!"

No wonder so few organizations have Operations Manuals!

4. But people WILL write stuff down - if ... and only if they can realize a benefit!

Let's face it. You can grow your organization ONLY if you can promote and/or replace your employees. Thus, you and your team can MOVE UP only if you can replace yourselves.

And you can do this by documenting your positions in well-organized Operations Manuals.

"Mike! Are you saying that by writing stuff down in Operations Manuals we'll receive more raises, promotions, and vacations."

Absolutely!

These goodies are not available without your company's growth and prosperity!

Did you know most business start-ups fail while most franchises succeed. Successful franchises use a documented management system ... in short ... Operations Manuals!

"But Mike, our company is not a 'franchise!'"

Neither is mine.

But SMS has a documented management system, including about 13,000 pages of Operations Manuals.

When anyone or I want to know how to do something, all we need do is pull a manual off the shelf. What could be easier? There's near zero "tribal knowledge" here.

We can relocate on a moment's notice with minimum hassle.

I know of many companies that wanted to move from California.

Suddenly, they were faced with hiring many new, inexperienced employees in another state.

Suddenly, they were faced with writing (insufficient) Operations Manuals literally as-they-packed!

Believe me, displaced employees were less than cooperative! And those who moved with the company inherited enormous problems due to poor - or no - documentation.

So, here's my advice. Start now!

Develop a set of Operations Manuals where you collect information that governs how your company's positions function.

At SMS, we have at least one 3-ring binder for every position on our Org Chart.

Develop your Operations Manuals in a standard format containing at least the following information for each position.

ACCOUNTABILITY - Specify the position's accountabilities.

STANDARDS - Specify the standards for the position. Include the policies that define / limit the position's authority and the position holder's general conduct.

WORK INSTRUCTIONS - Specify how the position's work will be performed.

GENERAL INFORMATION - Provide information about your organization, your products and services, your competition, etc. Include other material that enriches the position holder's understanding of the working environment.

INTERFACE - Describe how the position interfaces with:

• Its superior position.

• Its subordinate positions.

• Peer position(s) with frequent contact.

• Non-peer staff positions with frequent contact.

• The "Outside World" (customers, vendors, etc.).

You can design your manuals to have five sections each as follows.

POSITION SECTION

COMPANY/PRODUCTS SECTION

POLICY SECTION Company-wide policies:

SYSTEMS SECTION Action plans, sample forms, flowcharts, scripts, collateral materials, etc.

LOGIC SECTION Explain the principles behind the position's work.

5. Call to Action.

To review, your Operations Manuals are collection points for information that governs functioning of positions on your Org Chart.

I sent you this eZine to give you an outline to ease development of your Operations Manuals.

As you've probably guessed, developing Operations Manuals is a big task. I've done it often for many clients. If I be of assistance, just send me an email.

Together, we can document what you want, how you want it, and when you want it. We will discuss various creative approaches before the project begins.

Mike Hayden
Principal/Consultant
Your partner in streamlining business. For more information,
Email: mailto:info@seniormanagementservices.com
Website: http://www.SeniorManagementServices.com (c) 2003 Mike Hayden, All rights reserved. You may use material from the Profitable Venture Tactics eZine in whole or in part, as long as you include complete attribution, including live website link and email link.

About The Author

Mike Hayden is Founder/CEO of Senior Management Services and the Documentation Express in Silicon Valley, California. Mr Hayden is the author of "7 Easy Steps to your Raise and Promotion in 30-60 Days!" The book that smart bosses want their employees to read. ISBN 0-9723725-1-2. More articles at http://www.SeniorManagementServices.com/pvt-information.html

Mike@DocumentationExpress.com

In The News:

---

Fi-Tek Launches Integrated Wealth Management Solution on .NET Platform
CNNMoney.com - 19 hours ago
Fi-Tek, LLC, a wealth management solutions provider for the financial services industry, and the Northern Trust Company today announced the release of ...
Wilmington Trust Promotes Leaders in Investment Management ... WELT ONLINE
Fi-Tek Launches Integrated Wealth Management Solution on .NET Platform International Business Times
all 30 news articles

Maktoob Business (press release)
Service Industries in US Probably Contracted at Faster Pace
Bloomberg - 2 hours ago
The Institute for Supply Management’s index of non- manufacturing businesses, which make up almost 90 percent of the economy, fell to 42, the lowest level ...
Manufacturing activity falls to 26-year low Chicago Tribune
ECONOMIC REPORT Global manufacturing gauges collapse in November MarketWatch
Manufacturing index drops to 26-year low Washington Post
CNNMoney.com - Bizjournals.comall 720 news articles

Market Resolve Appoints Elizabeth Burns Executive Director of ...
MarketWatch - 3 hours ago
The company's management consulting services provides operational reviews and assessments, as well as implementation solutions, and its proprietary software ...

Power Medical Interventions, Inc. Announces Executive Management ...
MarketWatch - 10 hours ago
a leader in developing and commercializing Intelligent Surgical Instruments(tm), announced today a change to its executive management team. ...
NovaMed Acquires Multi-Specialty Surgery Center in Pennsylvania MarketWatch
all 14 news articles

Leading Australian Hotel Management Schools Join Laureate ...
MarketWatch - 8 hours ago
BALTIMORE, Dec 02, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School (Pty Ltd), owners of Blue Mountains Hotel School and the ...

The First Book About Marketing Resource Management
MarketWatch - 13 hours ago
Marketing Resource Management shows how strategic marketing goals can be translated to marketing operations, where to start and how marketing resources can ...

Niemann Capital Management Expands Management Team with Seasoned ...
MarketWatch - 14 hours ago
Founded in 1991, Niemann Capital Management is an innovative investment management firm distinguished by its tactical or active asset allocation methodology ...

FrontRange Solutions Eases Software License Management With New ...
MarketWatch - 15 hours ago
Andy Burton, Vice President of the Infrastructure Management Group at FrontRange Solutions, commented: "For the vast majority of organizations, ...

Introducing Systagenix Wound Management, a New Global Force in ...
MarketWatch - 14 hours ago
Systagenix Wound Management, formerly the Professional Wound Care Business of Ethicon, Inc(2)., a Johnson & Johnson company, is focused on achieving further ...

Motive Announces Industry First to Simplify Management of WiMAX ...
MarketWatch - 15 hours ago
2 /PRNewswire/ -- Motive, the leading provider of digital life management software for broadband and mobile data services, now part of Alcatel-Lucent ...

management - Google News

Feedback - Make it Descriptive

Have you ever heard yourself say to a team member - "You're really great" - "You're a star" - I think you're brilliant" - "You're doing a great job!"It's got to be a... Read More

How to Coach Your Employees - 5 Simple Steps Anyone Can Do!

Want to get more from your people, but you don't know how? Are you up for a small challenge and prepared to do things a little differently? If so, we have five changes... Read More

Implementing Change

There are different reactions that individuals experience during time of change. Understanding the emotions of an individual may better help them get through the period of unexpected change. A possible reaction is anger... Read More

Accountability Equals Meeting Success

Leslie was the new manager of the group. She was replacing Tom, a well respected manager who was retiring. Once she arrived, she made it one of her first priorities to sit down... Read More

Employee Orientation: The 90 Day Difference

Why do some new managers succeed while others fail? It all depends on the first three months ? the critical time when the new hire is learning the ropes. The new manager's boss... Read More

Keys to Feeling Powerfull In An Uncertain World

Life has always been full of uncertainties. Over the last several years with downsizing, bankruptcies, scandals, crime, the economic environment, and the threat of war, people are feeling power-less, fearful, and stressed about... Read More

How To Delegate for Fun and Profit

Ah, the wretched pain of delegation. It comes easy to some people. But others ? you know who you are ? would rather undergo a double root canal than hand over a task... Read More

Customer Focus - Just 5 SimpleThings You Need to Think About

You can boil down the difference between successful businesses and the rest in how they work with their customers, in just five areas.So, what does this mean? What They WantSelling what your customers... Read More

Innovation Management ? Raw brainpower versus experience

Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as idea selection, development and commercialisation.There are other useful definitions in this field, for example, creativity can be... Read More

Is ISO 9001 2000 Right For My Business?

Firstly you should decide your own reasoning behind considering ISO 9001 2000 registration for your business.Is the number of registrations in your market sector increasing?Are your competitors seeking registration?Are your customers asking about... Read More

Weaknesses of Wishing

When you're starting a business, you might wish for a lot of things, like having more than enough customers or not having to do marketing. But wishing is weak willed, having no momentum... Read More

Does Your State Like To Keep Your Workers Compensation Secrets Hidden?

Workers compensation secrets are hidden deep within piles and piles of bureaucratic mumbo jumbo. They are sometimes used as high priced paper weights for over worked government workers who may or may not... Read More

Five Steps to Better Employee Management

Hiring employees is a huge responsibility. Before hiring anyone, be sure to carefully analyze your needs in terms of extra assistance.Once you've gotten through the hiring process, there's still much more you must... Read More

Delegate Tasks to the Right Person

SELECTING THE RIGHT PERSON: To whom should tasks be delegated? Selecting the right subordinate to do the work is an evaluative process, and managers must be able to identify individuals both capable and... Read More

Leadership in Troubled Times

Leadership in Troubled Times The first task of a leader is to keep hope alive. - Joe Batten Leading an organization can be challenging, even when... Read More

Managing YOUR Expectations

I sit on the board of an organization and at the last meeting found myself speaking with another board member named Standolyn Robertson. Standolyn is also a business owner and our conversation was... Read More

Top Ten Tips About Communicating with Your Employees Effectively

Communication is the basis of who you are as a manager/leader in business. The rules are simple and the good news is that you can learn them and develop your skills...and it's quite... Read More

Increasing the Return on Your Training Investment

Insightful leaders and organizations recognize that training is a valuable tool for personal and professional development and therefore set some sort of an annual training budget.Most everyone I've ever talked to has been... Read More

Ten Secrets of Super Successful Meeting Planners

Whoever said that being a meeting planner was easy, lied! Rather, it should be classified under the tough and demanding job category. But, along with being tough, it's also fun, exciting, exhilarating, stimulating,... Read More

Performance Appraisal - Ten Stupid Things Managers Do To Screw It Up

Performance appraisals aren't fun. But a lot of the time they are agonizing because managers do really dumb things, ending up destroying a process that is important to everyone (or should be). Appraisals... Read More

Eliminate Performance Anxiety Forever

You've had many years of training in your craft as a performer, singer, actor etc. but if you still feel haunted by the ravages of Performance Anxiety your career may be in serious... Read More

A Tricky Supervision Challenge

Many managers believe that treating their team members as responsible adults will assure excellent results. The truth is that while this usually is effective, some people need much firmer limits than others to... Read More

Turbo Charge Your Career With The Most Powerful Leadership Tool Of All: The Leadership Talk Part 3

To develop and deliver a great Leadership Talk, you must understand that every Talk has three important parts. (1) Audience Needs. (2) Strong Belief. (3) Action.(1) Audience needs: The first step in putting... Read More

Christmas Carol Coaching - Help to Get Ahead at Holiday Time!

I've always been fascinated by situations where art imitates real life and right here is a perfect example, which links Christmas and business & personal development.If you want to read about a serious... Read More

The Narcissist in the Workplace

To a narcissist-employer, the members of his "staff" are Secondary Sources of Narcissistic Supply. Their role is to accumulate the supply (in human speak, remember events that support the grandiose self-image of the... Read More

Character: Is It Necessary In Leadership? (Part Two)

In the first part of this two part article, I talked about the importance of character in leadership. After all, the best leadership involves the people bonding with the leader in deep, human,... Read More

Making Change Work

Shaky FoundationsWhilst over 60% of businesses will be looking to implement some form of business improvement initiative over the next 18 months, less than 1 in 4 of these change programmes will achieve... Read More

Five Ways to Turn Resistance into Opportunity

Resistance. It isn't something people cherish or enjoy encountering. We experience resistance everywhere at work:People don't like that idea.People don't want the work flow to change.Someone doesn't agree with the feedback they received... Read More

Keep Your Good Workers by Building Good Leaders

A recent report from the American Hospital Association's Commission on the Workforce asked healthcare workers key questions about the performance of their front line managers. The study concluded that an employee's decision to... Read More