Operator Error Is Why Most Businesses Fail
Q: I am thinking about starting my own business, but statistics show that most new businesses fail. Why do you think most businesses fail?A: This is the column that probably gets me kicked out of the entrepreneurial chapter of the Priory of Scion. I look silly in those long robes anyway, so here goes.A thousand apologies to my entrepreneurial brothers and sisters, but. I think the more important question is: do businesses fail or does the entrepreneur in charge of them fail? I have to be honest and tell you that I think most business failures must be laid at the feet of the person in charge.Sure, there may be contributing factors to the demise of a business, such as a huge chain store moving in next door, a down economy, the lack of qualified employees, new government regulations, the failure of a strategic partner, etc., but any entrepreneur worth his salt should see such things coming and make adjustments to weather the storm.And the truth is sometimes the storm can’t be weathered and you have to abandon ship. Is that a business failure or an entrepreneurial failure? I think the coin flips both ways.Many of the world’s corporations today suffer from low employee morale and productivity, which lead to poor-quality products and services, and higher costs. This is because managers today in most corporations lack the listening, feedback, and delegation skills needed to enhance employee commitment and improve productivity.

Successful organizations today must have managers who motivate and inspire their employees, not beat them down. Successful managers must see themselves not just as bosses, but as performance coaches. A manager must be able to provide employee training, help employees enhance their careers, and mentor them to become the best they can be.

A company’s workforce must be nurtured and developed. It’s not enough to throw training at employees and hope for the best. Yet this is what many organizations do. For example, employee training and development is not tied to the organization’s business objectives. It is often conducted in a vacuum, unrelated to problems facing the organization. As a result, employees don’t receive the training they need to perform adequately.

In many organizations, training results are considered less important than the activity itself. Organizations pump out training courses and are satisfied as long as employees attend. Whether employees retain anything, or can apply what they’ve learned to the job, is immaterial. It’s the activity, not the results, that count.

Coaching is a philosophy in developing people. It’s based on the hands-on experience and on-the-job knowledge of you, the manager, not textbook or theoretical training conducted by training professionals.

Unlike training professionals, you must be focused on the company’s business objectives. As a coach, you need to make sure that employees receive on-target training relevant to those objectives. You are also accountable for the performance of employees being trained. Thus, for you it’s results that count, not the training activity. No more training just for training sake.

Coaching also means breaking up training into small units that last only a few hours. This eliminates launching a tidal wave of information at employees that they forget as soon as they step out of the classroom. But coaching isn’t just about training. It’s also about developing the full potential of employees, helping to identify and grow th

selves not just as bosses, but as performance coaches. A manager must be able to provide employee training, help employees enhance their careers, and mentor them to become the best they can be.

A company’s workforce must be nurtured and developed. It’s not enough to throw training at employees and hope for the best. Yet this is what many organizations do. For example, employee training and development is not tied to the organization’s business objectives. It is often conducted in a vacuum, unrelated to problems facing the organization. As a result, employees don’t receive the training they need to perform adequately.

In many organizations, training results are considered less important than the activity itself. Organizations pump out training courses and are satisfied as long as employees attend. Whether employees retain anything, or can apply what they’ve learned to the job, is immaterial. It’s the activity, not the results, that count.

Coaching is a philosophy in developing people. It’s based on the hands-on experience and on-the-job knowledge of you, the manager, not textbook or theoretical training conducted by training professionals.

Unlike training professionals, you must be focused on the company’s business objectives. As a coach, you need to make sure that employees receive on-target training relevant to those objectives. You are also accountable for the performance of employees being trained. Thus, for you it’s results that count, not the training activity. No more training just for training sake.

Coaching also means breaking up training into small units that last only a few hours. This eliminates launching a tidal wave of information at employees that they forget as soon as they step out of the classroom. But coaching isn’t just about training. It’s also about developing the full potential of employees, helping to identify and grow t

n conducted in a vacuum, unrelated to problems facing the organization. As a result, employees don’t receive the training they need to perform adequately.

In many organizations, training results are considered less important than the activity itself. Organizations pump out training courses and are satisfied as long as employees attend. Whether employees retain anything, or can apply what they’ve learned to the job, is immaterial. It’s the activity, not the results, that count.

Coaching is a philosophy in developing people. It’s based on the hands-on experience and on-the-job knowledge of you, the manager, not textbook or theoretical training conducted by training professionals.

Unlike training professionals, you must be focused on the company’s business objectives. As a coach, you need to make sure that employees receive on-target training relevant to those objectives. You are also accountable for the performance of employees being trained. Thus, for you it’s results that count, not the training activity. No more training just for training sake.

Coaching also means breaking up training into small units that last only a few hours. This eliminates launching a tidal wave of information at employees that they forget as soon as they step out of the classroom. But coaching isn’t just about training. It’s also about developing the full potential of employees, helping to identify and grow t

hat count.

Coaching is a philosophy in developing people. It’s based on the hands-on experience and on-the-job knowledge of you, the manager, not textbook or theoretical training conducted by training professionals.

Unlike training professionals, you must be focused on the company’s business objectives. As a coach, you need to make sure that employees receive on-target training relevant to those objectives. You are also accountable for the performance of employees being trained. Thus, for you it’s results that count, not the training activity. No more training just for training sake.

Coaching also means breaking up training into small units that last only a few hours. This eliminates launching a tidal wave of information at employees that they forget as soon as they step out of the classroom. But coaching isn’t just about training. It’s also about developing the full potential of employees, helping to identify and grow t

yees being trained. Thus, for you it’s results that count, not the training activity. No more training just for training sake.

Coaching also means breaking up training into small units that last only a few hours. This eliminates launching a tidal wave of information at employees that they forget as soon as they step out of the classroom. But coaching isn’t just about training. It’s also about developing the full potential of employees, helping to identify and grow the personality and performance strengths that will make them better employees.

For many managers, training and coaching employees is just another task to be added to their already overflowing agenda. For this reason most organizations view employee development as an activity irrelevant to the job they must accomplish. They see it as an investment of their time with no return. This way of thinking is wrong. Because coaching will create employees who are confident and ambitious, and this will give you a tremendous return on your investment, which will in turn get results.

In traditional organizations that were part of the Industrial Age, professional trainers were people skilled in learning theory, program design, delivery, and were responsible for training. But in the new organizations of the Information Age, managers are ultimately accountable for employee performance, productivity, and the training of employees.

Successful coaching begins with performing the task of the manager-trainer better. To do this managers must have both knowledge and experience in the subject they are teaching. You have to convince employees that you know what you’re talking about. And employees want to know that what they’re learning comes from real-life situations, not books or company reports.

To learn, employees must pay attention to what is being taught. One of the most effective ways to keep employee’s attention is by using diversionary methods such as games or exercises. Employees are thus learning without making any special effort to concentrate on the learning process. Always conduct your training in plain, intelligent, and understandable language.

Training must be tied to a frame of reference that employees can understand. The new material must be associated to something the employee is familiar with, such as an experience, a related topic, or a mastered proc