FOREWORD
As 2011 unveils, the lessons learnt in 2010 should be quickly ploughed back into the system to help business organizations optimize performance and recovery.
Mistakes and procrastinations made in the exited year should be out rightly avoided whilst solid plans are made to activate strategies that would ensure desired business stability and growth.
From my experience of the past year, the following resolutions may be found imperative for most medium scale business organizations; especially in Africa and other developing economies. Most organizations will find just a couple of points particularly useful to them. The point is to resolve to do that which is necessary to bring home the desired returns to all the stakeholders - from January to December 2011 and beyond. Yes it is January 2011 already, the sun is out! Let’s make the hays.
TOP 10 BUSINESS RESOLUTIONS
(1) Shift your business focus to the Customers - Any activity that will not benefit the customer may be a waste.
Get customer requirements as an input into developing products and services.
(2) Grow the Stars within your company - Identify them, support them, reward them and give them greater responsibilities
(3) Invest more in training your employees. - Explore: e-learning, self-study, departmental based hour-a-week team training by an employee.
(4) Establish a Quality Management department - to set standards, monitor and assess customer satisfaction. Also to ensure continuous improvement.
(5) Identify your business wastes and eliminate them - concentrate on quick wins (the obvious and easy)
(6) Start rewarding teams too - Encourage teamwork and teaming using positive reinforcements
(7) Employ a Six Sigma Green/Black Belter - to infuse the required level of knowledge and professionalism in preventing& resolving business problems. More importantly, to ensure organizational effectiveness and efficiency.
(8) Invest in Data Analytics; make your business decisions based on VOD (Voice of Data).
(9) Move your back-office to a cheaper location - Departments that do not attend to customer and not the corporate office do not have a business on the expensive high street (Like Victoria Island), explore networking, internet, clouding, VOIP etc. to link your corporate office to your back office located in cheaper/remote parts of the town.
(10) Ensure the 3 level of business strategies is developed for your business. - STRATEGIC, TACTICAL and FUNCTIONAL. Ensure employee KPIs are generated from them.
