The Team Management Knowledge Share
At Team Management, our role is to provide client businesses with management expertise at a level appropriate for their specific organisation, at an affordable cost.
Below you will be able to click through some of my free content to help you get a feel about who I am and what I do. If you're interested in getting in touch about potential partnerships or even to discuss some of my posts below, I'm only a phone call or email away.
Why Management Is More Important Than Ever Right Now
In today’s post COVID-19 society, people are looking for reliable leadership that can guide them through the crisis and into economic recovery. And, just as it is for our society in general, such is the same in today’s post COVID-19 business world. Throughout the global supply chain, workers are looking to management to steer them out of the crisis and to much smoother waters where business operations and supply and demand actually make sense again. This is where management becomes more important than ever and why the UK business world needs highly trained and effective managers.
Streamline Business Operations
Management is a major factor in the success, profitability, and sustainability of any business. While your workers might be the first line of service that your customers see, it’s your management team that ensures the workers have the direction and resources they need to do their jobs. Managers ensure that business operations are functioning properly and that any improvements to streamline those operations are both addressed and implemented in as little time as possible.
Meet Regulations
With the COVID-19 crisis affecting all aspects of today’s businesses, effective management can help bring a business out of the economic slump and into a thriving economy. New regulations created by the COVID-19 crisis have made running a business more difficult than ever and workers need management to help them implement and carry out those regulations to ensure their safety and the safety of the customers.
The Team Management LTD Difference
When you want a management team that can help your business grow and become sustainable in today’s post COVID-19 business world, choose the only management training resource that can make a difference. Team Management LTD has knowledge and experience in a wide range of general business aspects and can provide your management team with creative and workable business strategies that improve the organisational culture, performance, profitability and sustainability of your business or organisation.
Team Management provides a number of services including:
· Management Involvement To Support And Enhance Existing Management Performance
· Management Training And Coaching
· Management Mentoring
Contact Team Management Ltd
To learn more reasons why management is more important than ever right now, contact Team Management Ltd today and speak with a management training professional who can answer any questions you might have.
If you enjoyed this article, please feel free to share it on your favourite social media sites.
The Wonderful World of Work & the Importance of Communication
For most people, the need to find a job and go to work is a matter of little choice – work is an enabler – the trade-off for time and individual skill(s) is money and, with money, life choices can be made.
The more skilled and valuable we become within the work-place, the more we are able to earn and the greater choices we have going forward.
If we accept the reality that, for most of us, we are going to have to work for the majority of our lives, then good sense would suggest that making the best opportunity of work so that it is somewhere we are able to achieve a good work/life balance, earning a fair wage, and enjoying being part of a successful work-team, is a very worthwhile objective.
The good news is that this is very achievable… but it does require effort!
XYZ Ltd provides an abundance of opportunity - opportunity that must be worked upon and very often without any formal-structure or direction telling you what you should be doing or how.
Such suggestion may seem strange to start with but I would simply like to highlight something that we all know from experience, and that is that we are far more likely to be successful in achieving a goal if we are doing so by choice, rather than under instruction.
Where individuals – and collectively as a team – are keen to progress, then I am able to help with work/career progression and enjoyment of the journey, providing guidance of how to think and act when presented with the many challenges that work will offer, and how to use learning experiences to help create a companywide-culture that makes XYZ Ltd a great place to work and a great place for customers to visit.
Where do we start?
A good place to start is by making it personal – let me to ask the question to you directly: what do you want to do with your working life?
Now it may be that the answer is that you have never really given it too much thought…
This reminds me of the quote in Alice in Wonderland where Alice asks the cat for directions, the cat replies ‘that very much depends on where you want to get to’ Alice replies ‘I really don’t mind too-much’, to which the Cat responds, ‘in that case it really doesn’t matter in which direction you go’.
Now, if you really don’t mind what you do, who you work with, where you work, or how you are treated, then lack of ambition or direction is just fine.
However, one small point to remember is that what you are trading in work is ultimately your time.
If you consider the fact that your time is the same wherever you choose to use it, and that time will pass regardless of whether you decide to do something or nothing, does it not make good sense to at least enjoy as many aspects of your time-invested as you reasonably can, and most certainly whilst at work since so much time is invested at work?
From my experience, the primary reason for inactivity is not lack of want, but rather lack of knowing what to do, or the confidence to at least try.
For those who are keen to learn and have an ambition for betterment, then what I am able to provide is some direction, guidance, and encouragement, that is all – nothing formal: progress is your decision and your choice.
Getting started
Following on from the question of where do we start, and having made the decision of wanting to at least see what progression opportunity is all about, it is perhaps a good idea to begin with a subject area that is central to everything that we do both as individuals and as a team, and that is to understand the power of COMMUNICATIONS and the ability to communicate effectively, both inside and outside the business.
As a business, XYZ Ltd has been trading since 2016. It is a sales organisation – we operate within the very competitive leisure industry and the product that we compete with is as a trampoline activity-park complimented with a cafe.
The business idea would have started with a business-plan in place, and whether formally documented or loosely contrived, it provided the original blue print of what was to be created, and what is now XYZ Ltd.
Four years on, the business is fully operational, but how pro-active are we in ensuring that the best is made of the opportunity that has been provided?
"My view is that much of what happens at XYZ occurs without too much forethought – people who know of the business book to come and use the facilities and, as a team, we try to ensure that the experience of the park is a good one."
The real success (or failing) of the business is mostly attributable to how well we are able to communicate with our customers - not just in getting them to the Park, but their whole experience of the Park.
If this is correct then the obvious question to now ask is ‘how well do we communicate?’ and this needs to be answered from two perspectives – individually and collectively as a team acting for the business.
I will offer an answer to the question: individually our communications skills are perfectly average, and as a team collectively our communications are also perfectly average.
Consequently, as a business I would suggest that at this time we are just average.
Whilst there is nothing wrong with being average, the opportunity to be better than average both individually and collectively simply requires effort, focus, and persistence – but it can be done!
For those who are still interested and are committed to self-improvement, I will provide direction and guidance on the subject of communications and I absolutely guarantee that as you improve your understanding of communications and ability to apply such understanding, you will find that your work-opportunity and value will improve exponentially…
And the best bit of all is that there are no exams, no tests, no qualifications.
Whilst you are part of a team, your individual learning is completely at your own speed and level of understanding, you will benefit independently and you will also progressively contribute more to the team.
Making the effort - what is the likely return on investment?
This is a very valid question - the return on investment will be proportionate to the effort put in and the more you focus on improving your communicational skills the more you will realise the opportunities that communications can offer.
"Understanding that small insignificant actions can make very significant differences and, in such knowledge, thinking and moving into action for ever better results has this great tendency to deliver."
The return on investment?
The realisation that if you can communicate effectively, you can achieve just about anything you want to achieve – you set your own limits…
Management Consulting, Mentoring and Training – ‘Buyer Beware...’
Decisions, decisions, decisions... in a world of constant and fast moving change, decision making can often be made without due consideration, the consequences of which can unfortunately, on occasion, be disappointing to say the least.
The business world has changed very considerably over the last twenty-five years. A truly global world market has re-defined the need for competitiveness. Small, specialised entrepreneurial businesses are now replacing larger in-efficient organisations, maintaining their efficiencies by engaging experts to provide knowledge and experience as required, rather than on a full time employed basis.
The difficulty for business owners when looking to engage an expert is the ability to determine who it is that can bring real value and experience to their business – how can they be sure that their ‘expert’ truly is just that? Worryingly, Professor Hertz in her book ‘Eyes Wide Open’ (2013, P.83) notes that a Cranfield study shows that, of companies that had used management consultants, two thirds considered the advice they had been given to be at best useless, and at worst actively harmful.
Recently, The Sunday Times (Business – 21st Sept 2014, P.12) reported on the many pitfalls of using inexperienced or simply second-rate mentors for your business. The difficulty is in how you can identify the good from the bad, especially when you are putting your trust in the expert to be able to help you succeed with your business.
Unfortunately, there is no easy answer. Finding the true experts can be difficult, but making the effort to find a competent and capable trusted business advisor to provide management support and experience can bring very real benefit and advantage to your business, just ask any of our clients...
The Team Management business team is made up of highly qualified and highly experienced individuals who have run businesses, worked in businesses, and continue to be actively involved in businesses on a day-to-day basis. Most importantly, they understand management, they understand people and they know how to communicate effectively.
Whether you have a need for consulting, mentoring, management training or would just simply like to a better understanding of how we may be able to help you create a safer, better and more valuable enterprise then please make contact with us, we would love to hear from you:
info@team-manage.co.uk
Management Training – ‘Make It Real’
In a previous article I made comment with regards to ‘buyer beware’ when engaging the services of consultants, management trainers and business coaches, especially the ones who have never actually been ‘hands-on’ involved in managing a real business, or better still businesses…
As a pro-active external manager working with a number of retained clients I have the very good fortune of being able to see business both as an outsider looking-in, as well as, as considerable experience of an insider looking-out.
This can be extremely useful; it can also be extremely frustrating...
One thing is for sure, whilst a good consultant, trainer or coach can provide direction and wisdom, they cannot make their audience move into action, action is a choice and unless there is a determination and willingness to influence future outcomes, then meaningful change will not occur.
There is a surprisingly wide gap between good intention and willingness to change and, the actual momentum of change and I for one believe that closing this gap is the responsibility of the consultant, trainer or coach who must not only have the wisdom of what needs to be done but also the courage of conviction to on occasion to become actively involved, leading by example to ensure that progress really can be made.
The fear or excuse of ‘non-active engagement’ being defended on the basis that such involvement could be construed as acting in the capacity of a shadow director is most unlikely unless such engagement moves from being part of the management team to a controlling role – Section 251(1) of The Companies Act 2006 describes a shadow director as being a person upon whose directions or instructions the directors of the company are accustomed to act.
If the consultant, trainer or coach becomes concerned that such a position maybe arising, then my advice is to act with conviction and ensure that your contributing role at the company is professional and open to scrutiny, do not loose sight of the fact that in our capacity as external experts, the customer has every right to expect expert help in improving their business performance...
‘Tell me and I will forget; show me I may remember; involve me and I will understand’ - Chinese proverb
At www.team-manage.co.uk we are on your side.
The E Myth – Reality
It is a long time since I last read Michael Gerber’s The E Myth and The E Myth revisited. Both excellent books discussing the adventures of the entrepreneur and, the reality that disappointingly, not everyone ends up quite as successful as Sir Richard Branson.
The original book, The E Myth was first published in 1986 – before any of us had mobiles phones, flat screen televisions, or even desktop computers, a time when to be an entrepreneur was a choice made in order to realise personal ambitions in a world of growing opportunity.
Today, the world of work has not just changed, it has been transformed; in less than 30 years the world of work has become a truly global market place in which even the simplest of business can become a global competitor (it doesn’t get much easier than a coffee shop...) in which everyone of us can become entrepreneurs, even global entrepreneurs, very often without too much thought or concern, think EBay!
However, the reality of entrepreneurialism is far from simple, business failure rates are high and for those who do succeed, it is often a result of hard-work, long hours and much stress, commendable for sure, but my contention is that most often, success does not need to be such hard work.
From my many years of experience having been involved in many businesses, my argument is that most often lack of knowledge and limited breadth of experience is the primary cause of under performance and the need for excessive hard work, in order to remain competitive.
In today’s increasingly competitive world, it is far more effective to work smart than it is to work hard - it is more fun and it is also more sustainable.
At Team Management we specialise in business management and leadership, we work with you to help you become more effective, to work smarter, not harder.
We help our clients to understand their businesses better so that they can become better managers, better leaders and most of all, more successful business people.
At Team Management we talk business but we also love to listen. Please contact us we would really pleased to hear from you:
Business Planning – Management and Profitability
Running and managing a business provides many opportunities, challenges and risks, and when all goes well running a business really can be a great adventure. The question is how do we really know when all is going well and that a business really is succeeding?
This may seem like a strange question, but unless a business has a stated plan of expectation in place, how can it measure its success? Most businesses don’t plan and apparent success is determined by a number of factors – year-end stated profitability, cash-flow liquidity, order-book activity or any number of other subjective measures.
Business planning is a far more accurate and reliable means of measuring success, whereby management take the time to consider what their future ambitions and expectations for the business are over a given period and to then create a financial model that will provide an invaluable source of information that not only provides for future outcomes to be anticipated, but also the visibility of actions required in order to make plans into reality.
Team Management are experts in business planning - working with your management team, and listening and discussing their ambitions and expectations, we are able to create a simple but accurate financial model for trading supported by relevant business strategies and tactical support to provide the best opportunity of operational success.
Working with your team we provide periodic (typically monthly) management trading reports and analysis to identify opportunities for improvement, along with advice as to how such improvement can be implemented, the result of which will not only be a better and more profitable business, but success in knowing what you are striving to achieve and the satisfaction of achievement.
Planning the future strategy of a business is the most important task of management, making it happen is so much easier when there is direction. Businesses that plan are not only more successful, and more profitable - they are also more sustainable.
Business Planning – Working towards a successful 2025
Team Management Ltd is a business about business, helping business owners and business teams to better understand and manage their businesses and, by doing so, create stronger, more sustainable, profitable and valuable businesses.
There are many established companies providing support service to business and demand for such support will likely increase for the simple reason that very few people are business experts; most entrepreneurs have a core skill that becomes a business as opposed to a business expert who sees an opportunity and exploits it.
In the UK 98.8% of all businesses are classified as small or medium sized enterprises (SME’s) and growth in the number of registered companies has risen from 1.5m in 2000 to 3,896,755 at March 2017.
What should be further reminded is the fact that National statistics show that whilst the number of new businesses created increased from 383,000 in 2015 to 414,000 in 2016, the number of business cessations increased from 283,000 to 328,000.
The Companies Act 2006 adopted a ‘think small first’ approach recognising the undisputable fact that small and medium sized businesses make an essential contribution towards the UK economy not just in terms of financial added value, but also social value, creating employment and community contribution.
As can be seen from the above noted statistics, whilst starting a business is easy, making a business both successful and sustainable is somewhat more difficult…
Interestingly, a headline topic of 2017 has been the disappointment of UK productivity – or more simply stated ‘added-value’ represented by employee output achieved per hour in the work place which remains static at the same level as before the financial crisis of 2008, for which a pre-crisis trajectory would have shown an expected 20% improved performance by end of December 2017.
1994 Nobel Prize Winning Economist Paul Krugman stated that ‘productivity isn’t everything, but in the long run it’s almost everything.’
A simple response may be that if your competitors are only performing at the same level then it doesn’t matter, but such comment is outdated and naïve – competition is now global and even if productivity output is comparable, wage rates and operational costs in the UK are far higher than many of its overseas competitors.
However, for companies with a pro-active management team who are determined be better than average, there is very real opportunity to achieve outstanding results even during tough economic times.
The process of improvement is rarely difficult, the challenge is moving from where the company is at, to where it needs to be and this is almost always a case of educating senior management to think pro-actively, to plan and to create a future as opposed to working hard today and worrying about the future when, and if, it arrives.
As a company, Team Management have the expertise to work with the management of companies of all sizes and types to improve everyday performance, profitability and company value.
Why not make 2018 the year that makes the difference?
Contact chris@team-manage.co.uk it costs nothing to talk.
Wishing all reader’s, a really great 2018
2. Office for National Statistics – Business demography, UK: 2016 – 21st Nov 2017
3. Financial Times – Four theories to explain the UK’s productivities woes – 23rd Oct 2017
Find out more
Get in touch for your free* no-obligation consultation now!
Get in touch for your free* no-obligation consultation now!
*Free face-to-face consultation for businesses based in and around the surrounding Essex (UK) area and virtual consultations.
*Free face-to-face consultation for businesses based in and around the surrounding Essex (UK) area and virtual consultations.