Business plans, marketing plans, and the care and feeding thereof

Oh dear, it's nearly March. In fact your BAS report, if you do it quarterly, is due tomorrow. So how are you going against budget? Against your business plan? And your marketing plan?

We had a Board meeting this week, and the subject of marketing plans came up. Realistically we haven't revisited ours for a couple of years, and it's something we're going to do very soon. Since we last wrote one Web 2.0 has come into its own with a whole new raft of marketing options such as Twitter and Facebook, and a real advancement in internet pull technology. Watch out! We'll come up with great new ideas for helping our members.

But this is about you. How are your marketing and business plans? When was the last time you looked at them? If you're a small business owner, they're probably the last thing on your mind. You're too busy with everyday work and satisfying your clients; you know you should revisit them at some point and see if they're still relevant, but really, there are more important things to do. Right?

Wrong, actually. Your business plan and marketing plan should drive what you do, and should be revisited on at least an annual basis. Maybe you're servicing different clients to last year. Maybe your main competitors have changed. Maybe the tenor of your business has changed. Whether you're a restaurant owner or in retail, or a service provider such as an accountant, dust off those plans and see how they compare to what you are actually doing these days, both financially and figuratively.

If you need help setting plans and goals, or working out just what it is you want to achieve, we have members in the Forum who can help you. And if you don't have a business or marketing plan, then you definitely need to talk to these members. These people coach other business people, and can help you realise a lot about yourself and the business you're in. We have a range of business coaches from large organisations to one person operations, and these coaches could help you turn a blah year into a great profit year, or help you take your business to the next level. Most of them don't charge for an initial chat (I can't be sure as I haven't asked all of them), but what have you got to lose? Any fees are a business tax deduction, and it's a win/win situation. You get the guidance to build a brighter future for your business, and in return you're giving business to a fellow member, which is what we're all about.

Check out our directory for consultants and business coaches who can help your business soar: http://www.rydebusiness.com.au/directory/business.html

In addition, we have some excellent workshops planned for this year to get you motivated and get your business flying. Stay tuned!

OH and S Gone Mad

I was chatting to my neighbour this morning, who recently scored a job with the big multinational company I left in 2000, which is now domiciled in Macquarie Park. He's a technician in the maintenance and repair department, and he told me some horror stories about the company's OH&S policies. These include:

• Because they have a lino/vinyl floor, he and his colleagues are not allowed to have chairs with castors on them, in case they roll back unexpectedly and cause an accident to the user or a colleague. So he's on a chair with fixed legs and can't move about his workspace adequately. He also can't get close enough to his desk to comfortably get his knees under and work or use a computer. He has a sliding keyboard tray, but the mouse won't fit on it and has to go on the desktop itself. So when he needs to use the mouse he has to slide the keyboard in and reach uncomfortably forward. He complained to OH&S but they told him he was working at the appropriate ergonomic workstation. He managed to find a chair with castors last week, and the OH&S people told him it was against the rules. He complained that because of their OH&S procedures he was getting back problems trying to use a chair without castors. The argument continues.
• His department has recently taken delivery of a small crane, the type used to lift engines out of car bodies. Because it didn't come with an instruction manual - as he says, it's obvious how you use it! - OH&S won't let anyone use it until a work instruction has been written and signed off on. Having worked for them myself I know this could take weeks or months. I do understand why you need a work instruction, it's Cover Your Butt material for management. In the meantime however, four employees have to risk their own backs lifting heavy objects together.
• One of his colleagues made a joke to OH&S about putting plastic blades in the Stanley knives used at the facility so workers don't inadvertently cut themselves. OH&S actually considered the idea until it was pointed out it was actually a joke. Like airport personnel, the OH&S people take jokes very seriously.
• In the kitchen areas, all drawers containing sharp knives have to be labelled as such. Even so, one employee recently cut herself on a sharp knife reaching in for a teaspoon so now sharp knives are banned completely. Heaven help anyone wanting to cut up a tomato for a salad lunch, or cut a birthday cake. Honestly, does the management consider all employees to be dolts or children? Are they so terrified of a lawsuit? (And that's probably another post in itself.)

I'm glad I don't work for this organisation any more. My neighbour, after only six weeks, is so frustrated at the overwhelming and overweening nanny state the company's OH&S procedures have produced that he is now looking for another job.

Are my neighbour and I alone in thinking this company's procedures have gone overboard? How far is too far with OH&S? When it starts to interfere with how people actually perform the tasks set them - as it is in my neighbour's case with his chair and keyboard setup - it's not a workable situation. I think it's OH&S gone mad. How about you?

Musings on Meetings

The business year is well and truly up and running now. Some of us were lucky enough to have a few weeks off in January; some (like yours truly) got about ten days' grace before the phone started ringing and the emails coming in. My diary is now filling up with meetings, which led me to some musings this morning.

There are pros and cons for meetings. Many experts advise meetings should replace email dialogue especially if it's an internal dialogue in your own company. Employees should leave their desk and talk to the other person face to face rather than email back and forth. It can often resolve an issue or question far more quickly. I have a personal theory on why people email internally rather than just chat. Firstly, there is a paper trail showing you asked the question should your supervisor bring it up. Secondly, it's a time thing. You might wander down the corridor to see Person B about that issue, but instead of a quick answer Person B gravitates to a range of other subjects and while you murmur that you need to get back to your desk, you can't get away. Until someone else distracts Person B. We've all come across co-workers like Person B, and they are a menace in meetings.

So how do you run a meeting to time when you know one of the participants is in love with his or her own voice? If you are the person calling the meeting and providing the agenda, put times for each agenda topic on the agenda, and stick to them. Make it clear that your meeting will only run for a set period of time. Ring a bell if you have to, when there is 60 seconds to go on a topic. You'll have allocated the most time to the most important topic, naturally. If it looks like you need a LOT more time for that topic, you may have to sacrifice less important agenda items and perhaps cover them by email or a video conference on Skype or vidcon software.

When I worked in the corporate world years ago we had a monthly marketing meeting for which one and a half hours was allocated. It never ran less than three hours. I dreaded it each month. The minutes of the previous meeting would circulate at least a week or two beforehand so everyone could read them and note anything they wished to bring up in particular, but participants in the meeting persisted in reading through them aloud at the meetings, every word. And THEN adding new information verbally. Time and again I suggested we get rid of the Ceremonial Reading of the Minutes but the marketing managers still insisted on reading them rather than just concentrating on new developments. I hope your meetings, gentle readers, run better than those did.

Does scheduling a meeting near lunchtime or at the end of the day make it run quicker or more effectively? Not always. Those marketing meetings in the last para started at 11am and no lunch was provided because they were supposed to be concluded by 12.30pm. The sound of rumbling stomachs could be heard over the Ceremonial Reading of the Minutes by 1.30pm. Likewise I try to avoid scheduling meetings for the end of the day; people are thinking about getting home around fiveish, they are tired, and if they have had a stressful day the last thing they feel like is participating in a meeting which may load them with more actions and more stress. Their attention won't be on the meeting and while the meeting may run quickly, it may not be effective as people might not participate as fully as they could; the less they say, the sooner they can get away.

Do you have any tips for effective and swift meetings you'd like to share? Write your comments below or email me an article for an upcoming Intercomm.

Survey for small business owners

Macquarie University (in association with the University of Wollongong) is currently undertaking a research project on sustainable performance in the small business sector, particularly those small businesses involved in service industries, and is seeking the valuable input of small business owners in a survey. The aim of the research is to improve the current understanding of performance measurement practices in this area and highlight areas for improvement in terms of the development of relevant and unique performance measurement frameworks for small service businesses.

Most performance measurement tools have been developed using large corporations' data as sampling material, and this information is not always appropriate or applicable to small businesses. The survey will ask you about your current performance management practices. If you have up to 20 employees we encourage you to complete the survey, as the resultant research and findings may be of assistance to your business. The link to the survey is: http://commfac.uow.edu.au/limesurvey/index.php?sid=46112&lang=en

Dr Vicki Baard of Macquarie University is running the survey and can be contacted if you have any questions about the research. Her email address is Vicki.Baard@efs.mq.edu.au and her phone number is 9850-9192. Background information on this project is available on request.