3 Mistakes made by business in creating their Operational Manuals
An operational manual is a tool created by the business owner, administrator or other person that details how to do
English: This image shows the life cycle of a task by using a state machine flow diagram. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
the tasks and jobs necessary to operate the business.
Every task within the business from answering the phone to cleaning the kitchen area to paying or collecting money can have a detailed process to be followed. When you get clear on the way things are to be done it is simple to manage the business regardless of who works in the business.
There are three mistakes many business owners make in writing their manual. These are:
- Thinking that it is unnecessary and never writing one. This is especially true of one man bands but if you ever want to hire someone, you need to have the process that you want them to follow written down.
- Making the processes so complicated that no one can follow them or implement them
- Never reviewing and updating when new equipment, people or services or products are added to the business.
A simple operations manual is written as follows:
Task or Job Title
Who does this task
When do they do this task
Why is this task necessary (the purpose of the task)
How the task is to be done (the measurables)
Where to go for more information or support in doing the task
Keep it simple. Have any staff review it often. And as a business owner, remember the more working in the tasks you can delegate to others, the more time you have to grow your business.
To your operating success
Roberta Budvietas
5 Keys to Solving Your Problems
This blog is for written for business people who want to grow and prosper but this message for problem solving also applies to life. And the method works for all people.
English: Mimi & Eunice, “Problems”. Categories at the source website: IP, Law, Money. Caption: This was inspired by lawyers. Transcript: Eunice: My job is to solve problems. Eunice: But if the problems get solved, I’m out of a job! Mimi: That’s a problem. Eunice: I ain’t solving it! Esperanto: Minjo kaj Eŭniko, “Problemoj”. Kategorioj en la fonta retpaĝaro: IP, Law, Money. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Step one is to figure out where you want to move to. What does the solution look like.
- If you need more sales, how many more sales could you cope with? What will life look like with those more sales?
- If you need more money, how much more money?
- If you need more staff, how much more staff do you need? What will they do for your business? (if personal this could be friends, contacts or even partners)
- If you need more time, how much more time do you need?
Step two is looking at your current situation and getting clear on why you want to move from this current place.
- Define what is the pain and why you want the pain to go away. Does it relate to where you want to be?
- Define the parameters that are keeping you in the current situation. Be sure you have the clear picture relative to where you want to be so that you can truly see the point you are at now and the point you are trying to get to.
Step three is defining all the paths that you could take to get from where you are now to where you want to be.
- Figure out all the possible ways of arriving at your destination. Brainstorm, brainstorm, brainstorm. Remember that no idea is too small or too silly to move forward.
Step four is to figure out the constraints on each path. Is it money, time, energy resources or something else?
Step five – GOYA. In other words take action and stop sitting and wishing and hoping. There are several sayings that I could give here but I will let you tell me your favourite saying in the comments below.
And always remember that when you have stated the problem clearly and know what it is you want to happen, you are nearly 89% of the way to eliminating the problem. The biggest obstacle to solving problems is the to and from of steps one and two. Once you take the time to define these two positions, everything else falls into place and you have the ability to move forward and achieve miracles.
And the timing that works best – as soon as you think you have a problem. Problems rarely go away on their own.
To your success in business
Roberta Budvietas
7 tips about Business and Time
Time is one thing that either there is never enough of or there is too much.
Funny thing though, there are only 24 hours in each day.
There are only 60 minutes in each hour and there are only 60 seconds in each minute. You and I have exactly the same amount of time each day.
Managing Time
When you are two years old 10 seconds can seem like an hour if you are waiting for something you want and an hour can seem like an eternity when sitting in the waiting room at a hospital waiting to hear about an operation on a loved one. And when you are on a deadline, there never seems to be enough time.
In business we often have only so much time. Time to make things happen, time to get things done so here are 7 tips for managing time in your business.
- Plan your day. Decide what you need to accomplish in a day. Decide who to contact. Decide what you will do and then set up the circumstances to support you in doing it. Do your best to achieve your objectives but should things fail to work out, accept that you did your best and that the world goes on.
- Keep your word. If you tell someone that you will do something, call them at a particular time or complete something by a certain time then set it up so that you will be able to do that. Create alarms for important deadlines. Most diary programs allow you to set reminders. Most mobile phones can be set with reminders and alarms for important things. And if when the warning comes up, you know you will be unable to meet the time frame, then quickly send a message or make contact and tell the other person what is happening. Apologize but no grovelling if you have truly done your best. Stuff happens. It only becomes a problem if you never succeed in keeping your word.
- Do Your Best. People trust people who try hard. You may sometimes miss the mark or fail occasionally but if people know that you did your best they will forgive you failing sometimes.
- Treat People Respectfully. If you treat people respectfully and realize that they have their own opinions which might differ from yours but that the difference makes neither of you wrong or right. Take nothing personally.
- Remember that sh*t happens. And because it does, always have some contingency plan in place. Oh and remember to ASK for help when things look like they are going wrong.
- Work out your time frames and then double them before committing to a client. Because stuff happens, work out your time frames, double them and then deliver well in advance of the promised time frame. Your clients will be delighted.
- Only take on work you know you can do. One of the greatest challenges for many people is to say NO. If you know you lack the resources, the energy or the time to take on a project or meet a client’s expectations, then say no. In the long run everyone wins and you have less stress.
In business, when you can be on time, on budget and deliver as promised then you can sleep easy, your stress levels go down and opportunities open for you.
When you fail to manage your commitments of time then you will end up stressed, anxious and upset and your business will suffer the consequences. The best way to manage time is to make commitments that you know you can keep. And if you make the commitment, then keep them.
If you have any other time tips, please share them below and if these tips were of value to you, please share them with your friends
Roberta Budvietas
Passionate and Purposeful about your success.
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Guest Blogging with Jon Morrow
