|
|
|
Affiliate programs. Are they for you
This article may be freely distributed if the bylines remain intact. Affiliate programs. Are they for you Affiliate programs can be a brilliant way to start in the world of online marketing. An affiliate program is simply a way to earn money by...
CRM
The story of the emperor's new clothes is a fairy tale about men who fooled the emperor into believing that they had made him a beautiful suit of clothes. In fact they had not made anything. The emperor went out in public wearing nothing but his...
Excelling with Online Marketing
Do you want to build a successful online business?
Then start using online math and use Microsoft Excel.
I’ve written an e-book this year that sells at a profit. In fact, I’ve written 2 e-books that sell at a profit (I’m thankful to all my...
How to Beat the 80/20 Rule in Sales Performance - Part 1
Business executives and sales managers frequently bemoan "80/20" performance on their sales teams, where approximately 80 percent of sales are produced by approximately 20 percent of salespeople. Why do salespeople perform so differently? What is...
How to Select Good Sales People
Learning what to look for when you're hiring can save you time, money and aggravation.
If you’re looking for good salespeople, and particularly if you’re trying to qualify candidates by phone, there’s an emotional intelligence protocol you can...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Responsibility Diffusion
Responsibility Diffusion
As a family business expert dealing with growth and profitability issues, I receive many requests for interviews from writers and editors preparing family business articles for newspapers and magazines.
They generally expect me to blame the usual line-up of culprits that prevent growth and profitability, issues such as: cash flow; insufficient capitalization; product quality and reliability; customer service; management infrastructure; communication; management alignment; employee empowerment; planning - just to name a few!
Having worked closely for more than three decades with family businesses, in my opinion the most critical impediment to successfully growing any kind of business is responsibility diffusion. And the larger the business grows - the larger the problem becomes!
With family businesses, responsibility diffusion can occur because of the overlap of roles between family members who work in the business and those who do not. Family dynamics that can influence responsibility diffusion include:
Family dynamics and responsibility diffusion
Fear of causing hurt feelings
Sibling relationships defined by birth order, gender and education
Lack of knowledge or understanding about some segments of the business
Lack of formalized communications, meetings and infrastructure
Fear of being disrespectful
Lack of training in working together as adults thereby creating a tendency to revert to parent and child roles in making decisions
Perceived lack of economic parity gained from the business by family members
Examples of the influence of responsibility diffusion abound in almost every element of a business. In recent years, many business experts have focused attention on the level of "service" a business provides to both its internal and external customers. "Service" assessments of a business can provide an interesting platform to discuss responsibility diffusion because the discussions can cascade into so many crucial elements of a business. Some elements of "service" include customer service, customer care, customer relations, sales, and business development.
"Poor service" can be measured by many factors such as a reductions in new customer acquisitions, reduced repeat business from current customers, demands from customers to reduce price because of service related issues and most generally, a high level of frustration by the customer constituency.
In the operational assessments we conduct, we find that there is almost always a direct correlation between service issues, other problems associated with responsibility diffusion and the lack of a system for ensuring accountability throughout the business.
To underscore the last point and to better understand how dramatic the results can be, consider the dilemma now faced by the larger computer companies. Because of the high number of complaints, the larger computer companies are now rated lower than the airlines in terms of customer satisfaction. While a customer may not have an option in selecting another air carrier in a particular market, they do have options when selecting a company to build a computer for them. According to a highly recognized consumer consultant, generic or "white box" computer companies now account for over 60% of new computer sales!
To better understand responsibility diffusion, consider a one-person business. Quite simply, when something doesn't get done or done correctly, only one person is involved in the chain of responsibility. Oh sure, one can try to blame it on bad luck, poor timing, etc - but most likely it can be attributed to poor judgment or poor execution - maybe both! Founders of successful family businesses understand this concept better than anyone because they fight the battle of responsibility diffusion on a daily basis.
As the business organization grows, the excuse mechanisms that cause responsibility diffusion seem to grow even faster! Both Europe and North America are seeing much more emphasis on corporate social responsibility as our largest corporations exhibit some shocking evidence of responsbility diffusion - Enron, Arthur Andersen, World Com, Sunbeam, Im Clone, Investors Overseas, IBM...
Symptoms of responsibility diffusion
Here are some symptoms that could indicate your organization might be infected with responsibility diffusion:
1. When employees routinely do not show up for work on time - is it because of "traffic", problems with the car, etc. Or do they admit they did not leave home early enough?
2. When work assignments are not completed on time, do you hear things like: "I would have finished the work on time but I had a bunch of phone calls that I had to deal with"; or "There were other fires I had to fight." Or do your people admit they did a poor job of scheduling their time.
3. When you ask why a particular goal or objective was missed, do you get a lot of "its not our fault" reasons why the goals were not met. Or does someone admit that perhaps he or she and their people did not work hard enough (or smart enough) to get the expected results?
4. When a competitor wins a bid on some business project, did you lose the bid because your price was too high; your quality of product or service was higher than what the customer wanted to pay; the competitor "bought" the business. Or does someone admit they failed to do a proper job of salesmanship?
Getting the picture? Listen carefully when explanations are being given! Remember the old saying that - "success has many parents but failure is always an orphan"?
One of the reasons responsibility diffusion is so pervasive is that when something comes off the track, the assignment of responsibility is often used to embarrass, shame and humiliate individuals.
Management sometimes uses the assignment of responsibility like a club to ensure organizational compliance and in doing so they create an organization of lemmings.
I like the notion put forth by Henry Ford: "failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently".
Family business owners, managers and employees in successful businesses tend to shoulder and incorporate responsibility as part of the process of continuous improvement. In this environment, responsibility is considered a positive notion instead of a negative consequence. When using this approach, responsibility diffusion can be minimized and sometimes even eliminated!
About the Author
Don A. Schwerzler is the Managing Director of the Family Business Institute - a special resource for family-owned and closely held businesses (http://www.family-business-experts.com
|
|
|
|
|
| free online sales training articles, sales & selling processes ... |
| Free online sales training and selling glossary: sales techniques, selling skills and methods, free online from AIDA to modern selling methods. |
| www.businessballs.com |
|
| Sales Training International, classroom training, online sales ... |
| Sales Training International is a Houston based sales training, customer service training, and sales management training and consulting company offering ... |
| www.saleshelp.com |
|
| Waterhouse Group - Sales Training Programs: Consultative, Value ... |
| Sales Training and Consulting by Waterhouse Group - Your solution for Consultative Selling and the Complex Sale. Customized sales training courses and ... |
| www.waterhousegroup.com |
|
| Sales training consultancy - UK sales training, sales staff ... |
| Sales training courses, sales consultancy and sales related products. |
| www.salestraining.co.uk |
|
| Professional Sales Training Courses & Sales Coaching Programs ... |
| Need a sales training course or professional sales coaching program to improve your sales and thicken your skin? Industrial Ego Sales offers help for sales ... |
| www.industrialego.com |
|
| Sandler Sales Institute;Sandler Selling System:sales training ... |
| Provides sales management training and program. Offers international and domestic franchise for sales training, coaching, and sales management techniques. |
| www.sandler.com |
|
| Sales Management Training - Selling Seminars - Reinforcement & ROI ... |
| Sales management and sales training programs focused on creating a lasting return on your investment, not just a temporary increase in sales. |
| www.brooksgroup.com |
|
| Professional Corporate and Leadership Training from Dale Carnegie ... |
| For 94 years, business professionals have turned to Dale Carnegie's powerful books and winning interactive seminars to help them reach new levels of ... |
| www.dalecarnegie.com |
|
| Sales Training |
| We always have things to learn when it comes to sales and marketing. You'll find the best sales tips and advice in this resource of valuable information ... |
| marketing.about.com |
|
| Sales Training, Sales Management Training, Corporate Sales Training |
| Sales Training - Sales Management Training - Selling Skills Certification Programs. Follow a proven sales management process based on research of over ... |
| www.thesalesboard.com |
|
| Miller Heiman Sales Training: The Sales Performance Company |
| Sales training, process and strategy for outstanding performance. For nearly 30 years, Miller Heiman has helped thousands of companies, their salespeople, ... |
| www.millerheiman.com |
|
| Sales Training Camp offers sales training and sales coaching ... |
| Slife Sales Training, Inc. brings the top sales training to you at a reasonable price through sales seminars, keynote speakers, a free Sales Tip of the Week ... |
| www.salestrainingcamp.com |
|
| Sales Training, Sales Consulting & Sales Seminars |
| Sales training with Perpetual Development is intense with a focus on results - Sales training consultants offer a variety of sales consulting delivery ... |
| www.perpetualdevelopment.com |
|
| Sales Training America: Corporate Training Seminars and Custom ... |
| Offers sales training seminars across the US. Other training seminars include leadership training, management training, customer service training, ... |
| www.salestrainingamerica.com |
|
| Sales Training, Telephone Sales Training, Sales Management Training |
| Sales Training through public courses, also on-line sales training, sales recruitment, psychometric testing available, telephone sales training with ... |
| www.salesxcellence.co.uk |
|
| sales training and business development - free online sales help |
| Provides sales training and management courses, covering presentation skills, public speaking and negotiation techniques. Offers range of free reports and ... |
| www.salessense.co.uk |
|
| Sales training: choosing the right course/seminar |
| Practical advice on how to choose a good sales training course. |
| www.teamtechnology.co.uk |
|
| Sales Training International Ltd - Sales Training, Management ... |
| Providers of bespoke sales training courses, covering subjects from human resources to leadership and selling skills. |
| www.salestrainingintl.com |
|
| Sales Training Home Page: Sales and Sales Management Training Firm ... |
| CPSA offers acclaimed sales training and sales management training workshops and seminars throughout Canada. |
| www.cpsa.com |
|
| Sales Lead Generation Seminars and Sales Training Courses |
| Sales Lead Generation Seminars and Sales Training Courses showing how to write compelling prospecting letters, create a dynamic sales presentations, ... |
| www.leadersinstitute.com |
|
|