Jean Roberts

Three issues of interest and concern to owner/managers

This article features my responses to three of the issues raised and discussed in working with small and medium business owner/managers – who need to use their knowledge, skills, observations and experience in guiding the development of their business.    These issues all apply to the day-to-day application of the difference – and relationship – between ‘Management’, ‘Leadership’, ‘Innovation’ and ‘Entrepreneurship’.

 1.    Statements/quotes presented or quoted to owner/managers as sound business wisdom    

These are statements/quotes that appear in business articles, advertisements, 30-second grabs, busy business books, power-point presentations or rapid-fire conversations.  Similarly, they appear in lengthy newspaper and journal articles written in general terms, for a broad audience.   Whether intended or not, these tend to display the speaker’s or author’s knowledge, experience or background rather than offer something of practical value for the owner/manager as listener or reader. 

Such statements/quotes lack what I call a ‘therefore’ suggestion.  

For information or knowledge to be useful, it needs to be followed immediately by ‘therefore, here’s something you can try or do to test or apply this information or knowledge, and aim for an immediate practical benefit’. 

If there is no ‘therefore’ suggestion, owner/managers can experience confusion.  Are they supposed to already know what it means, or what to try or do, or what not to do?  If they don’t know, does this mean they aren’t as responsible or successful as they had thought?  No!  It simply means that they don’t – and probably can’t – find the statement/quote useful.  Hence there’s no or little impact from the speaker or author, and more importantly, no or little benefit for the owner/manager.

My response to you as an owner/manager in this first issue is always to look for the ‘therefore’ statement.  If it’s not there, disregard the statement or quote if you are looking for an immediate practical benefit.  Certainly don’t sense a deficiency on your part! 

2.    Categorizing people according to their ‘generation’

The assumption in this issue is that a person’s birth date will be sufficient for an owner/manager as employer to safely predict the person’s values, work style, aspirations, etc.

There are speakers and writers who consistently and repeatedly apply this assumption to a variety of situations, problems or themes as though it is a universal truth – often with humour, but always as truth.  Owner/managers as employers can do themselves and their staff a disservice if they accept this assumption and apply it as a truth.

My 2008 book One Man Show – the smallest of small business features The Generational Factor (on page 38) addresses this issue.  Joseph Mayo, an early writer about personal values, claimed that our values are established by the age of seven years.  He went on to suggest that to begin to understand any person, think about where they might have been living up to the age of seven – and then think about what was going on around them locally, socially, economically, culturally, nationally and globally during those seven years.  You will then have a fair idea of their personal values that influence attitudes and behaviours.

Mayo Clinic Health Information, accessible on their website, offers an article Workplace generation gap: understanding differences among colleagues (Mayo Clinic Staff, July 6^th 2005).  This article states that ‘people of today’s workplace generations possess characteristics that derive, in large part, from the political social and economic climate of their youth’.  

The article explains anticipated behaviours of each of four generations – ranging from pre World War 2 through to 2005, and offer suggestions on how to work with our own and other generations, together with this caution:  ‘Be wary of stereotyping: not all traits apply to all members of a generation’

Advice from the Mayo Clinic Staff is to:  ‘Be aware of the differences, appreciate the strengths, and manage the differences effectively.’

Additionally, my 1997 book The Left and Right Brain Business examines the many ways in which people in a workplace act or react in a variety of roles, structures, workplace relationships and circumstances.  A workplace relationship exists when two or more people choose – or are required – to work collaboratively for a specific purpose.  They may work as individuals or teams.  The starting point is to identify a workplace relationship, and the basic components by which the owner/manager as employer can:

• establish and maintain positive workplace relationships, or
• recognise and improve not-so-positive workplace relationships.

My response to you as owner/manager in this second issue is to look for the uniqueness in every individual – because it is there.  You can take generations, workplace relationships, levels of skill and knowledge, range of experience, etc., into account when seeking and acknowledging each person’s uniqueness.  Then, when you have identified it, capitalise on and challenge the uniqueness.  You will find what I call ‘star quality’: additionally, acknowledge and protect your own uniqueness.

3.    Being told to ‘work on your business, not in it’. 

The assumption in this issue is that reference to ‘your business’ includes and covers everything you do as an owner/manager.  But not so!  There is one part of your business that you need to ‘work on’ and another part of your business that you need to ‘work in’.  There is the ‘art’ – and there is the ‘science’ – of your business.

‘Art’ is the doing of a thing.  It is necessary to conceptualise the process of deciding what you are doing – or intend to do – and how.   This requires a separation of (a) the way you operate as a business, from (b) the product or service you offer through your business.  You will need to separate and conceptualise both.    It is most likely that your way of doing business, ie your business operation, will be determined by your personality, circumstances, knowledge, confidence, strengths, abilities or comfort zone.   It is most likely that the product or service you offer through your business will be something that you enjoy, that you either know exceedingly well or are inspired to know exceedingly well, and/or that satisfies your creative urge. 

Science is the understanding of a thing.  It is necessary to understand and appreciate the practical implications of (a) the way you operate as a business, as well as (b) your product or service.  If you understand your business, you will be able to plan improvements or expansion, acquire additional resources, maintain or expand your core business, introduce appropriate technology and systems, etc.  Most importantly, you will be able to determine how you will monitor and measure progress.

My response to you as owner/manager in this third issue is to emphasise the difference and relationship between the art and science of your business.  As owner/manager, you are at the heart of your business – and this means acknowledging and accepting:

a)    your critical role in the life of your business, and

b)    your expertness in the way you operate as a business as well as the product or service you offer through your business.

Sure, you may wish to seek advice, read newspapers and journals, and use a variety of tools to understand the people who are involved with or affected by your business.  But be sure that you know – and understand – your business thoroughly.  Look for the ‘therefore‘ statements, find the uniqueness in others and yourself, and revel in the art (ie the doing) and the science (ie the understanding) of your business.

Yes, you are owner/manager – but more importantly, know and accept yourself as a manager, as a leader, as an innovator, and as an entrepreneur.

This June series has the theme of the difference and relationship between management and leadership in the journey to innovation and entrepreneurship.  The next article in this weekly series will address the critical issues of Risk and Quality along this journey.