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Do Not Confuse Effort With Results
When you own a small business, you tend to operate in a vacuum where there is not a lot of outside or macro input. I have spent my whole career as a self employed individual in the manufacturing and construction industries. I was fortunate to have a few neighbors and friends who worked as executives in the human resource function for companies like GE, TRW, and Allied Signal. They would share their corporate challenges with me and I would compare theirs to mine as I managed a 50 employee company.
Most of the Fortune 500 companies have an annual kick-off meeting for their top executives. It is always in a warm location in mid January. Each year I would get a tape of a meeting or two from my friends. Then I would have my own meeting in a cold climate with my one-person board (ME).
A quote from Larry Bossidy at an Allied Signal annual event rang true for me. He said “DO NOT CONFUSE EFFORT WITH RESULTS”.
All of my business has been project orientated. Design it, build it, and deliver what the customer wanted on time and within budget. As a Project Manager, time is always of the essence. One has to work smart at all times and be stingy with how man hours are allocated. There are only 24 in a day. There will always be changes in a project, one needs to anticipate them and allow for their resolution. Constantly work with the customer to see that you are both on the same course for project completion. Above all keep your management up to date. If things are going south, identify the problems early, and ask the team for help. You don't want to report that we worked like dogs for three months but…. The customer is holding the last 10% of the contract as a penalty.
John Collins, SCORE Counselor
RISCORE's August Recipe for Small Business Success
Jamestown RI