5 Questions Great Managers Ask (and they aren't hard!)

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By:Martin Haworth

Remember the Pareto Principle. Aka the 80:20 rule. Well, here's something much, much easier! Answer these questions every day. Consider your responses thoughtfully, or with your team maybe. Or with your coach, or trusted friend.
However hard we try, we seem to make life more difficult for ourselves; more challenging; more complex. Yet it needn't be so. try out these five questions with a regularity; a discipline and you will reap rewards. You will certainly reap rewards.

1. What do my customers want?
Getting inside the head of your customers is a recipe for success. Taking the role on of one of your customers or clients and seeing from their perspective helps structure a sound and growing business. Better still, ask them what they want, need, what irritates them and thank them for their insights.
Take complaints as a real positive - for knowing what went wrong, gives you information you can correct and grow stronger on.

2. How do I get the best from my people?
Enjoying the benefits of truly 'turned on' people in your business, makes a huge difference. Finding out what they need to be successful for you can be more challenging. But wait! Have you asked them what they need to do their best for you? Be sensitive and responsive to their needs.
This simple step will provide you with all the people strategies that work. Many solutions will be very easy to do and can build belief and trust in you as a manager. The bigger challenges can be solved by using your people to have a positive and constructive input. It will be worthwhile - for everyone.

3. How can we make best use of our resources?
What resources? People, goodwill, reputation, location. USP, and more... Well, make sure first of all that you understand what they are. Ask your customers and people what you represent to them - and then do more, much more of it. Then review those things that you can do less of, save resource costs on.
Focusing on what you are best at and dropping things that don't create value for you can be very value-creating.
4. What wastes our time?
It's a simple question, but with an easy answer. What value is created when I spend time on this activity? If your challenge is to make £100 an hour profit for your organisation, is what you are spending your time on doing just that? What things do you and your people do, which does not?
Try stopping doing things, some of which you may have done for months and years, when little or no value is created and switch to more things that do. Stop some things and start others - simple as that.
5. What do we need to change?
Constantly reviewing where you are in your business and making small course adjustments, like the autopilot of a jumbo jet, will maximise your performance. But whilst leading the cultural shift can develop autopilot-mode, the first steps are for managers to spot-check all they do manually. Doing this will encourage your people to start to do it themselves. Remember, the best time to review, review, review, is when you are successful.
And then be very challenging and honest about yourselves.
Build it in, make small but significant changes regularly, once you have evidence of drifting off course. That makes for a consistently healthy & growing organisation and reduces the need for cataclysmic change.
Are you up for this refreshing challenge?
What better way to start your new focus on your business, organisation or team?

About the Author

© 2005 Martin Haworth is a Business and Management Coach. He works worldwide, mainly by phone, with small business owners, managers and corporate leaders. He has hundreds of hints, tips and ideas at his website, www.coaching-businesses-to-success.com. (Note to editors. Feel free to use this article, wherever you think it might be of value - with a live link if you can).

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