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Is good good enough?

Most of us would be content to have a good life, a good relationship and run a good company. But why is it that more of us aren’t running GREAT companies?

Running a great company and having a great life are just, well, more inspirational and in my mind worth striving for. So what would have to happen if we didn’t want to settle for just Good?

Here are 4 of my tips for focusing on Greatness - it’s not a definitive list, more a starting point to challenge your thinking.

1. Check your ego at the door

After 5 years of research, author Jim Collins (’Built to Last’, ‘Good to Great’) discovered that typically, the people running Great companies had learned to ‘check their egos at the door’.

Often when we think of great companies we think of big personalities. However, these companies tend to remain great only whilst those egos remain at the helm.

Companies that can sustain greatness for the long term have phenomenal leaders who are often the most modest and humble. They are “we” not “I”, they put the company’s success above their own, have unwaveringly high standards and are results focused.

They constantly credit successes, pointing to the amazing team or individuals who are responsible or to plain good luck. They look in the mirror only to apportion blame; bad luck is never a contender.

2. Who not What

Another finding from the research was the specific focus that truly great companies placed on their people, and here Collin’s pointed out that this was more than just having strong benefits and a positive culture. The main distinction between good and great was having the right people in place before they knew where they were going.

For illustration, picture a bus - the right people get on, the wrong people get off, then you decide where to drive the bus! The rationale behind this is that everyone is on the bus because they are motivated to work with everyone else on the bus and they believe in the team, irrespective of where its going. That way if the bus needs to change direction nobody is going to get off. Thus you have a company with fantastic people and maximum flexibility to adapt to change.

Don’t compromise, if you don’t see the right applicant for a job, keep looking.

3. ‘Yes’ men get off here please…

The people you want on this bus need to be self-motivated requiring only minimal management (they may need mentoring and some skill development, but not managing!). They will be challenge thinking and enjoy debate, but once a decision is made they will all get behind it. Not your typical ‘Yes’ men.

Great companies don’t carry poor performers, and whilst they don’t just hire and fire, they do ensure that the dead wood gets off the bus, even if this includes senior management or family members.

4. You don’t need to be a workaholic

Great companies are run leaders with passion for their jobs, the company, and the people they work with. More importantly they also love their family and life outside the office. They don’t need to spend long hours in the office because great companies have employed great people that the leader can rely upon.

Interesting but what have you learnt? If you have a business, what will you do to make sure it becomes more successful, great even?

Some questions to ask yourself:

1. Do I trade on my ego or do I put the business needs first? How can I ensure that I always maintain the highest standards at work?

2. Have I got the right team in place? If you are not sure ask yourself if you would be unhappy or secretly relieved if a member of your team handed in his/her notice? Would you hire the person again if they applied for another job in the company?

3. What can you put in place to encourage debate? Do people speak freely and have ideas or do they wait to be lead?

4. What time do you leave the office? If its 10pm, plan to start leaving at 7pm, if its 7pm start leaving at 6pm - put the balance back into your life!

These are only a few ideas to start to strive for greatness, but from small steps….

admin Business

Many people are keen to know about the ‘business sales’ market. It has become a popular phrase these days and refers to a marketplace where a person can go to sell or buy a business. There are several reasons for selling a business. One of the main reasons to sell a business is to cash in on the fame and reputation of a company that has already established a name for itself in the market and is a financial success. Sellers of financially successfully companies usually have a lot easier time selling their business.

When you buy an already established company you can gain an advantage over your rivals. Any new entrepreneur can purchase an established business and get a well maintained organization. By purchasing an established company, compared to a startup, one does not have to work as hard for building up the goodwill of the company. He or she will only have to organize the company properly to maintain the ongoing success of the company and gain sufficient income.

A person who purchases an established company will get the existing clientele of the company along with the history of company’s operations. Thus, he or she will not have to start from scratch and create a brand new set of customers for the company. By purchasing an existing business, a person will also get a fully trained staff and thus will not have to search for brand new employees and pay to have them trained. A person who has decided to buy a business needs to acquire proper information about the history of the company. This plays a crucial role in the success of the business. The track record of the company will help the new owner to profit from the sales of the products or services. The previous relationship of the firm with the employees and vendors help him to operate in a much smoother manner.

By buying an existing company, an owner can get an existing team of suppliers to provide the merchandise needed for supplying goods or services to the company. The existing employees of the company should also be aware of all the aspects of the company’s operations, saving the new owner the time it would take to train new staff.

It is recommended that a person who wants to purchase an existing company should consult with a lawyer. An experienced lawyer can help in discovering the hidden pitfalls of a deal. He can also draft up a proper set of deal terms. It is also recommended that a person buy a business for which they have passion – as passion is one of the major requirements for the success of any endeavor.

A person who has the passion and diligence for a business should consult with a professional business broker. Brokers can provide information of profitable businesses for sale in the area. To find a broker one should browse an online directory of business brokers. Check the reputation of the broker before deciding on their service. One should follow all the steps carefully and should always seek the assistance of professional experts before purchasing a business.

admin Small Business

In comparison to previous website applications, the current web scene is more dynamic than ever. The gauge is designed through the use of ASP.NET which displays visual data that is intuitive as it is interactive to the user. Gauges are now also being used to determine data on a computer program or network scale. These gauges act as “monitors” of the stored data, which the digital dashboard compiles in a panel. These digital dashboards then act as the one stop center for all the compiled data, visually presented as such. The data analysts could then use the dashboards to collect specific data and create reports based on those data.

Of course not all gauges are created equal. Some of these digital dashboard gauges consist of several designs using different programming languages. Programming languages act as “scripts” for a computer to follow. Basically computer programmers type them in a way that computers could understand and execute several commands. They are used in a variety of applications on the web, making up for rich and varied content. ASP.NET is one of them.

ASP.NET is the successor to Microsoft’s ASP web technology. Translated as Active Server Page.NET, it uses the .NET framework also created by Microsoft. This allows for even more variety to the data visualization experience. It also supports other programming languages such as C# and C++. Being a Microsoft “invention”, and could also be run on other Microsoft web development packages susch as Visual Studio. One should note however that it does not have backward compatibility with ASP, but it can work alongside it.

Being a new version of ASP, ASP.NET allows more freedom for programmers to create even more dynamic gauge presentations. Manipulating the programming language within the ASP.NET framework gives rise to different shapes, colors and textures on the resulting dashboard gauge. Aside from this, it also allows for a “preview” what the end result would look like. This type of “previewing” is called as WSYIWG or What You See Is What You Get. On the upside, the developer has control over the end product, but some WSYIWYG versions need expert knowledge on markup language to get it to work effectively.

ASP.NET gauges could then have the distinct advantage of being edited immediately if the preview isn’t to the developer’s liking. It allows for easy monitoring on the data visualization part, to see if the components are readable and understandable. Then it also allows for easy exporting of files across different programming suites that support the framework. One would not need a lot of different software packages in order to create one gauge specific to a dashboard. In this sense, a company choosing the right programming language package also saves a lot of money for their other needs.

There are a lot of available suites on the market that caters to a company’s specific data management and data visualization needs. These suites are tailored to fit all types of budgets and come bundled with features. They are not created equal of course, and programmers have their own preferences when it comes to their suite of choice. Also, there are other available suites on the market using different programming languages as their base. Programmers could also opt to use the programming language that they feel suits them best.

admin Computer Software