Mind Set

Vision.
Without a clear vision a company will be like a ship without a destination, going around in circles with no direction. Whilst there are always details to be taken care of, the first priority of any company is to see the big picture.

Too often we get carried away with a vague idea of how the company will operate and rush head long into the set up, ploughing in our hard earned or borrowed cash without enough thought of the long term goal. This can lead not only to a cash flow problem (one of the main reasons why companies fail) but can also lock you into a market segment that is hard to get out of.

To truly understand what your vision is, begin by asking yourself what it is you want the company to look like in 10 years time. It's not enough simply say that you want to be successful, you must make it meaningful and measurable. For example : 'The salon has 4 fully qualified senior stylists, 6 junior stylists, a receptionist and 2 trainees. The salon is making £x amount per week, month and year and we have won 3 awards for best salon.'

To make it as real as possible imagine that you have achieved your goal right now, what will it look like, sound like and feel like and you can even add in smell and taste if that's appropriate.

Make this image as vivid as possible and what this will do is give you an idea of how it will make you feel to achieve that goal. If when you imagine achieving your goal it doesn't get you excited and fired up, then something is missing and you will never get there.

The most successful people have clear, meaningful goals that drive them continuously to achieve them, even when the road is not smooth.

So, a few tips on setting goals;
Make them S.M.A.R.T.:

S - simple and specific,

M - meaningful and measurable,

A - as if now, say in the present tense to see what it will be like, and make it achievable,

R - realistic and responsible (responsible includes what affect it will have on you, your team, the community you live in, society you live and also ecologically for the planet), and

T - Timed and Towards, this means give yourself a reasonable time scale to achieve it and be focused on achieving that goal rather than worrying about what might happen if you don't.

With the big picture in place any subsequent decisions will be easier to make as the question will be 'Is this in line with the ultimate goal?' This has the effect of cutting out unnecessary and time wasting tasks that eat up company resources and time.

Once you have your vision and goal, work backwards to see where you need to start in order to achieve it. It's no good saying it will all sort itself out. If YOU are not in control of your company then somebody else will be!

Values.
Values are what motivate us to do what we do, when we do it and how well we do it. Most of us are unaware of our values that operate within us at a deep unconscious level that we will have learnt from our families, society, media and so on.

If company employees, typically top and middle managers, do not have values that are aligned with company values there will be a conflict. This is not only a waste of company time but may also be stressful for the employee leading to more absenteeism, dissatisfaction and less productivity.

By understanding that it is possible to have clear company values and to align your employees' values to them, the effect is of all horses pulling in the same direction. The power that will bring to company can be seen by the rate at which goals are achieved and that the staff are a genuine part of that achievement.

Motivation.
Each of us has our own motivation for doing something and that will be linked to our set of values. Before we can align employee values to the company values we need to understand how to motivate a person to begin with. The main option seems to be the 'carrot or stick' approach, resulting in consequences for not achieving set tasks or being rewarded for achievement.

The problem is that this approach takes constant monitoring and requires an external manager to motivate. If, on the other hand, you understand what motivates that person internally then you have a far more powerful tool.

An internally motivated person will be more effective and efficient as they don't need to be constantly monitored and the bonus is that they will want to improve and will also take responsibility for their own development.

Teams.
By understanding how we are all different, with different programmes running our behaviours, we can ascertain the profile of each employee. Each job position requires a certain personality 'type' to do the job successfully. The most successful positions will be filled by those whose personality profile matches the job profile.

This is easily determined by a simple questionnaire that answers those additional questions that a CV cannot show in terms of how well suited that person is for that particular job in that company.

Communication.
A company image is also communicated by the décor, friendliness of staff, quality of products and level of service. There are many factors that make up an image and if you truly understand your image then you will know how to market yourself in the right way. An easy way to do this is imagine that you are a customer.

How would you feel as you walk in and are greeted by your staff? What does the cleanliness and décor say about the company attitude? We can get used to our environment to the extent that we just don't see what an outsider would see.

It may sound like common sense but the better you are at communicating what you want to say the more you will be understood. We think that communication is all about the words that we use but did you know that in reality 93% of our communication comes from our body language and tone of voice?

Flexibility is very important for effective communication. If you are saying something and the other person fails to understand, rather than saying the same thing over again and louder it's important to realise that you need to change HOW you are saying it based on the person you are talking to.

Sales.
With greater communication skills your sales team can quickly determine your clients' needs and strategies for buying so that your products and services can be tailored to meet their satisfaction. A happy client means repeat business and referrals.

Your business is like a baby, it needs constant attention at the beginning. Don't leave anything to chance or assume that someone else will take care of it for you. By planning and understanding where you are going you can make better decisions about what to do, how to get there and who is going with you.