Archive for the ‘Performance management’ Category

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Yesterday, I discussed the impact of negative cash flow and how it can create major disadvantages to an organization of any size. The effects of a negative cash flow can range from a loss of competitiveness to placing a company in bankruptcy court.

Today, I want to talk about the impact of positive cash flows on an organization. Since Cash is King – then it becomes simple to understand that a positive cash flow creates cash. So, what are some of the effects of a positive cash flow. The following are the key impacts of a positive cash flow:

Continue reading ‘Business Acumen 101 – The Effects of Positive Cash Flow’ »

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Posted by Voss Graham on March 5, 2009 at 5:46 am under Business Acumen and Metrix.
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In the world of Business Acumen or how money is made – Cash is King. In fact, the generation of cash is the most critical element for organizations. Every small business knows this and in this economic downturn some of the largest companies in the country are learning this lesson – the hard way.

Okay, it’s time for another term definition:

” Cash Generation – the difference between the inflow of cash and the outflow of cash.”

As you can imagine after reading the definition that you can positive or negative cash flow. This becomes the focus of determining cash is King. A negative cash flow can deplete cash reserves and create a myriad of problems for any organization. A positive cash flow can build your cash reserves – which provide options to management to gain advantages in the marketplace.

What are the problems that can happen with negative cash flow? Continue reading ‘Business Acumen 101 – Cash is King’ »

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Posted by Voss Graham on March 4, 2009 at 5:30 am under Business Acumen and Metrix.
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I want to start the Business Acumen series with a basic discussion point: Sales Growth. This has become the top subject in many offices and board rooms due to the recessional impact by the economy. Every executive is focused upon increasing revenues. It has become the number one thing keeping them awake at night. While I will discuss this point, I want to share the balanced approach to looking at Sales Growth – since their are companies that are still growing even in this economy.

Sales Growth is one of the first things you should be looking at to understand the culture within the company. There are three variables for you to consider when reviewing growth. First, you can have growth; Second, you can have a declining sales trend; and Third, you can have no growth or no change in sales volume. The key is watch the trends. One year is never enough to assess the progress of a companies sales. Several years of sales (Five years is best, three is a minimum and for large public companies – 10 years) One of the best sources for public company data can be found in Yahoo Finance.

Trend showing Growth over a three to five year period. There are several questions to ask regarding a growth company. Continue reading ‘Sales Growth is the Starting Point’ »

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Posted by Voss Graham on March 3, 2009 at 5:52 am under Business Acumen and Metrix, Sales.
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Okay, after reviewing my Google Analytics I noticed that my readers really enjoyed reading about business acumen in my Becoming a Sales Superstar series. So being a believer of data and customer response levels, I decided that over the next couple of weeks I will provide more information on this vital topic.

To start, I want to define a few terms for everyone:

“Business Acumen – the ability to understand how any company or organization makes money.”

“Profitability Growth – the ability to simultaneously increase sales and profitability at the same time.”

“Financial Analysis – Understanding the fundamentals and building blocks of an organization. Then connect the dots for analyzing growth, performance, productivity and profitability.”

During the series on Business Acumen, I will share information that is important to executives, managers and sales people. The top performers understand how to calculate the information to judge opinions, make decisions regarding projects, and to evaluate performance of individuals, groups, teams, divisions and the whole company. This is serious information, yet, I will keep to my goals of making things simple and fun to learn.

Come visit during the week or everyday. You can link to the site and have the RSS feed deliver the daily posts to your newsreader of choice. Sales Managers, use this series to educate your B2B sales teams – they can use it to win more sales. Enjoy the daily posts on Business Acumen.

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Posted by Voss Graham on March 2, 2009 at 5:34 am under Business Acumen and Metrix.
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Okay, there is no rocket science involved with increasing your productivity and gaining additional time for high performance outcomes. Its all about how you handle the highest priorities. You know, the reasons you are on the payroll or driving your business. Priorities are at the pinnacle of importance.

Most people have no clue as to what priorities are. They have no lists – to do list, goals, objectives or any type of action plan. They tend to “wing it” regarding their time. They get things done based upon two factors: 1) They do what they are told to do by someone else (reaching the goals others have set). or,
2) Just doing what is fun and easy – no real effort involved.

So what separates the high performers from the “thundering herd” of individuals today? Continue reading ‘Priorities Drive Productivity and Time Management’ »

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Posted by Voss Graham on February 13, 2009 at 5:07 am under Performance management.
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If performance management sounds complicated, you’re right. It is complicated because it plays a big part in the success of an organization, and anything with a high value isn’t easy. It requires focus and commitment, and it isn’t the same for every employee. So what is the good news? Take a look at the things you can do to make the role of performance management more effective and less complicated:

  • Work closely with the company’s executive or management team to create a clear picture of what your employee’s job is responsible for and how it fits with the company’s overall strategy. Document the results and refer to the job’s key accountabilities often.
  • If possible, conduct a job benchmark to get a true, unbiased representation of the job’s requirements for success so you can coach the employee in a way that matches these job requirements.
  • Share and discuss this information with the employee to be sure you both understand the job in the same way.
  • Use a personal assessment to uncover the employee’s behaviors, or how they communicate and go about the work, as well as what motivates them to take action. Understanding this from the beginning, rather than waiting for time to tell, will make performance management more effective and enjoyable right from the start.
  • Implement 360 degree assessments that utilize questions based on the same areas measured in the personal assessments. This feedback will allow you to consider others’ perceptions and how they compare to the employee’s self-perception.
  • Rather than a project management tool that tracks assignments you have given your employee, try a system that puts them in the driver’s seat. As the employee submits their own game plan for approval, they are learning how to prioritize their responsibilities in a way that fits the company’s overall strategy.

Once you have identified the right role of performance management in your company and have found ways to integrate each area of management into one, complete process, positive results will be seen at every level in the company.

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Posted by J Block on February 10, 2009 at 4:31 am under Performance management.
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