Business and Money Tips

(This article appeared in the Straits Times page C30 on 21 Oct 2016, watch our 1-min Better Manager video at  here )  1. Suppliers First, Customers Second We know that customers are important, but if you don't have the right goods and services from your suppliers, you have no business. That's why suppliers are more important. There are 3 things that every supplier yearn for: fast payment and advance order information. Give your suppliers the respect they need, for they are actually not suppliers but human beings 2. Employees Can Do More Without Being Told Unknown to many bosses, employees can do much more without being told. They just need to be appreciated for whatever little extra things that they do.   3. How They Feel = Morale Employee morale is about how people feel towards the bosses. If your people have low morale, examine yourself. In our course How to Be a Great Boss, we said that if you have low morale employees, either you change or you change yo...

(Note: This article appeared on The Straits Times on 5 May 2015 page 18, you can also read this at here ) Are you a good boss?  Given a chance, would your employees want to work for you?  Most importantly, are you able to make people better than themselves, or make people better for just yourself?   Make no mistake: the best bosses could also be bad bosses at times.  The key to being a good boss is  how to Be the best, and learn from the Worst .  Taken from our all-time best-seller new course  How to Be a Great Boss  and books from Robert I Sutton, there are 5 things that you have to do: Don't Crush the Bird .  Managing people is like holding a bird in your hand.  If you hold it too tightly, you'll kill it. But if you let loose, you'll lose it.  Indeed managers that are too aggressive will damage relationships and managers that are too passive and not assertive enough will get people climb over their heads.  Like s...

Many bosses think of their staff cost as an expense, and some even think that if you cut staff cost, your profits will increase permanently.   We know that whether something is a cost or revenue depends on how you make use of it. For example, my mobile phone is not a cost but a revenue generator for me because I use it to get business from WeChat, Facebook, Whatsapp, Gmail and Blogs.  Today I shall teach everyone the 5 steps that you can turn all your staff cost into profits: Step 1: Convert All Your Staff into Low Maintenance Staff Low maintenance staff are those that do not cost you money to maintain, like a low maintenance car. Common maintenance cost for staff include supervision cost, sick leave, correction of mistakes and discipline control.   Step 2: Convert Low Maintenance Staff into Winning Team Members A winning team member is one that is on the same side as you and wins for himself and the team.  One of the fastest way to make people work as a te...

It starts with your values - do you instill values of team rewards, problem solving and caring? There is no difference in managing a small team or big team, the basic principles are the same: Never Manage People like Your Children , instead care for them as if they were your children  In dealing with conflicts, always look at common interests , not different positions It's better to have weekly gathering or meetings, even if there is no issue to discuss. Fellowship is important for bonding   Whenever people become complacent, introduce competition in the team. Competition makes people better and gives the young ones equal chance of success  A good manager leads by inspiration , not instructions  Leadership is not about who has the authority, but who people go to whenever they are stuck. The problem is most managers don't know or don't care if their team members are stuck  When you have a team of high performers, you either promote them fast or they ...

HOW TO BE A BETTER MANAGER If you are like most managers, you would probably find that you are lacking in certain skills. This lack is causing you delay in your career growth. Worst of all, your boss expects you to know all and your subordinates are watching you every day.    The truth is that most managers and supervisors are promoted based on their technical skills, and yet it is the managerial and leadership skills that will make them more successful.  In this Power-packed  How to Be a Better Manager  or Supervisor program, you will learn proven strategies to improve presentation, negotiation, and how you can manage your team & boss. Focused around Asia Coaching Training coaching and training materials used in 39,871 companies worldwide since 1993, you will find the strategies you need to implement significant changes in your career.  The 4 key areas covered are People Management, Teambuilding, Leadership and Communication.  This manag...

Many managers avoid the handling of poor performers.  They are afraid to do anything for fear of losing that staff.  Some have no guts and zero assertiveness, that's why they do nothing.  Others went the other extreme and become a terrible boss and undermine the entire team.  We know that a manager is responsible for what his team does, so if his people are not performing, that means the manager is not performing . Therefore it is imperative that a good manager must handle under-performers without undermining them.  There are 4 steps to do this: Identify and Agree on the Performance Shortfall .  You need to analyse the areas of shortfall (like not hitting sales targets consistently), obtain agreement from the staff and most importantly, let the staff know how that shortfall is affecting business in the whole organization.   Reason for Shortfall : The manager should not be crudely attach blame but jointly identify the facts that have caused the ...