Dec
26
One of the things that always intrigues me is how people become successful.
I’ve read many books on successful leaders, attended seminars and talked with people at length.
I’ve listened to strategies and tactics, things they have done that have worked well, how lucky they feel themselves to be. The problem being, no-one can replicate those things and ensure success. Circumstances are different, contexts are different, upbringing is different.
So, to try to begin (this isn’t exhaustive) to find out what makes successful people tick, we’ve tried to dig into their psyche for a brief moment to try to understand their view of the world.
Our first interview is Miles Burke, CEO of Bam Creative, a web development company in Perth, Western Australia. Miles is also one of the team here at Creative Suit. Miles has also been recently recognized as one of WA’s “Top 40 under 40″ - which gives you a clue to his vintage.
The answers to the following questions are unedited but do provide great insight to how Miles sees himself and his world.
1: Name: Miles Burke
2: Business: Bam Creative
3: Time in Business: 4.5 years with current business
4. How many businesses have you owned? Including my first freelance attempt, four.
5: Do you plan to retire soon? Nope – I’m having too much fun!
When you started your business, did you have a specific objective and, if so, what was it? The original concept was to provide me with a lifestyle where I could afford to spend time with my young family, and to also prove to my peers that you can be successful without becoming a ‘bastard’ – we’re talking solid ethical grounds here.
How did you deal with the challenge of “you have to be different to your competitors”? The main distinction I discovered early on was that I thought of marketing and branding than ‘cool technology’. We’ve got cool technology, but that shouldn’t be a driver for a website project. The fact we’re purposely small and approachable has been a big part of our success.
What was your first setback and how did you deal with it? The first one was cash flow – as with everyone, it took a while for me to discover turnover didn’t mean money in the bank. I was honest with clients – I called a number in that first year and asked them to pay me straight away, as I needed it to pay wages and put food on the table.
What 3 things have you learnt about yourself in business that you like? I’ve learnt that I will happily put a client’s needs before my own – we’ve turned down many a project because we have believed there were better solutions to their needs. Secondly, I have learnt how to be fair but firm in management – a certainly hard skill to learn, and lastly, I have learnt when to say no, which is a very important step towards staying focussed and staying true to your beliefs.
What really annoys you about your industry? The low barrier to entry means that anyone with a basic understanding of some simple software can call themselves a ‘web business’. There is a huge leap between that and best practise systems with sound methodologies and QA. It’s heart breaking when I hear of stories where clients have lost money or faith in our industry through charlatans.
What would you change about you if you could? I’d love to learn how to better wind down after work, and to be able to better define the balance between work and life.
When someone first presents you with a ‘great idea’ how do you respond? I pick it to shreds! I have a grand idea at least daily, so it is an important ritual to pick all of the holes and play ‘devil’s advocate’. If it makes it through my intense stripping back, then it’s worth considering.
What words would describe your approach to your business? Honest and focussed. I’m committed to be as transparent as I possibly can with clients, staff and suppliers, and I am constantly honing our service offering, so we offer only what we’re exceptionally good at. There are a multitude of ‘quick buck’ offerings which we could offer, but I believe in long term gain not short term profits.
Describe one thing about yourself that most people wouldn’t know that might give an insight into your personality. I have volunteered for organisations or charities since I was a teenager. Since starting Bam Creative, we’ve consistently given at least 5% of our gross turnover to charity – meaning we’ve returned more profits back into the community than we’ve actually kept for ourselves in some years. I keep that fact low key nowadays, because with the ‘triple bottom line’ buzz words and social responsibility trends that seem to be sweeping business, the concept sounds marketing driven, when it isn’t.
What is the one thing you wish you could do to improve your business tomorrow? The holy grail of keeping enough work in the pipelines to be busy enough, to make a reasonable profit and provide all of our clients with the turnarounds which they would all love. There’s a hard balance there, with busy periods affecting our responsiveness, and quiet periods affecting our bottom line (although they are rare nowadays).
More interviews to come. If there is someone you know who you would like to discover more about drop a line to us and we’ll try to get in touch with them.
Note: all interviews will be around the same questions to build the profile list as well as deliver consistency. If there are other questions you would like asked, let us know and we’ll try and squeeze them in somewhere.
Sep
25
“Completed” Doesn’t Always equal “Done”
Filed Under Management | Leave a Comment
A great tool in a busy person’s life is the checklist. As David Allen rightly says: “Get it out of your head.” I think his analogy of visual RAM is an excellent one, particularly as I upgraded the RAM in my MacBook by a Gb and now it is running a lot smoother, thank you.
But I’ve also found that checklists can become their own enemy. Particularly when it comes to business checklists.
I joined a new company recently and the Induction process is basically a checklist of things to do. Good start. However, not so good when things are checked off that haven’t been fully completed. And the new start employee can’t be the judge of that. There is a trust level that the Induction has been completed correctly - only to be verified over the next few days and weeks when gaps start appearing in the mind of the new employee.
Personal Checklists
Personal checklists are great because the creator of the list knows the level of detail required to successfully complete their tasks. If modifications are required, they will make them on the fly and the list will be completed.
Business Process Checklists
… are a different story altogether. The creator of the list needs to have a balance of detail and yet allow for some initiative on the part of the user. And yet when the chips are down and the day’s tasks are mounting up, the easiest thing to do is just check the list. Initiative and “extra mile” thinking is sacrificed for “completion”.
So What’s the Solution?
Well, to my mind there is and there isn’t one.
There is in the sense that, along with a checklist itself, there needs to be some recognition of the value of each part of the checklist. Why it is being done, the consequences of it not being done properly versus the benefits of a doing it well.
An example might be:
Task: introduce new employee to key contacts within the company
Benefit 1: employee can get up to productive speed with right contacts quicker
Benefit 2: employee feels connected with company quicker by developing their own contacts
Benefit 3: you are interrupted less with questions like: “who do I see about this again?”
But the alternative can be disastrous, particularly with the current skills shortage here in Australia. Any disaffected employee can leave, produce less effective work and contribute an overall lessening of productivity.
All because the task of “introduce new employee to key contacts” was completed on the checklist, but it wasn’t really Done!
But how much detail will a company want to provide to these checklists?
That becomes the issue when developing corporate checklists or processes. A high level view, in my opinion, isn’t enough. A 1-page overview of the importance of the process needs to be provided, or easily accessible or the company runs the risk of poor implementation (or no implementation!).
It also provides the value of reviewing the checklists in context. Reviewing a flow chart or checklist is one thing but reviewing it with the background of its inception is another altogether.
Action:
- Grab a checklist at your work and try and follow it.
- Do you understand its context?
- Do you know who developed it?
- Is it easily accessible?
- Is there a brief explanation as to its purpose?
Could this “Completed but not Done” syndrome be causing serious productivity issues at your place of business?
Sep
16
5 Killer Tips for Managers
Filed Under Management | 2 Comments
Being a new HR Manager in the construction and engineering industry, I am finding people are doing things the hard way. Particularly when it comes to managing people. I guess I have to say I’ve been fortunate to be well managed during my career and have endeavoured to manage well, learning as I go and making small improvements.
So, I think I can be reasonably well qualified to offer some thoughts to those people struggling with getting things right with their teams.
The list isn’t exhaustive but I can almost guarantee an improvement in morale and productivity if these 5 ideas are followed religiously. Ok, let’s see how we go…
1. Plan to acknowledge people - get it into your head now that people like a pat on the back, a thank you, an acknowledgment of some kind on a regular basis. I don’t care what you want. They want it. I have interviewed people who leave our company, I have facilitated sessions on staff development and this comes up time after time. The thing is, you don’t always have to throw money. In fact, you rarely do. So stop. Throwing money is easy but ineffective. It doesn’t connect you with your staff - it actually highlights a certain lack in management ability. People know it, people will respond to it. Pay enough attention to what your team is doing and be quick to let people know you noticed something good about their effort today.
2. Create clear objectives - This may sound easy, maybe it is, but my experience is it is not done often enough. Clear objectives means being specific about what you want the outcome to be. That may mean spending time thinking through exactly what you want in the first place. I was speaking with a manager the other day who rewards performance based on hours spent at work! To me it is obvious you would reward people for what they produce - and you can only measure that by knowing what you want done.
3. Set a Quality Standard - be clear about how you want the work done. It’s not good enough today to “just get it done!” It has to be quality and people have to see the quality. Otherwise it just doesn’t count. Maybe you’re looking at error rates, re-work, presentation, longevity of the product. Whatever it is for your product, specify it with your team. They will work towards the standards set down - if they are clear.
4. Deadlines - all these things combine together to be completed within a set time frame. If it’s not done on time, what slowed it down? Was the time frame reasonable? Was the team member adequately trained? Were other areas responsible for the slow down? You have to know these things as a manager and as a competent leader. People need to know all the parameters of a job. Many times it is really a lack of management ability that causes these problems. And yet the staff are blamed for poor performance.
5 . Pick the Right Person - speaking with a colleague the other day and they were bemoaning how their work was distributed. It was given to junior, inexperienced staff first (supposedly to help them develop) and then to be corrected by senior staff. Sounds okay but the pressure on senior staff became unbearable. Times frames became short, work had to be re-done which wasn’t properly calculated into the job. Longer hours, lower morale - poorer productivity. Get the right people to do the right tasks and develop the others as you go.
Once the job is completed, go back to Step 1.
Take Action
Try these 5 rules for 1 month.
Make your appreciation genuine, work hard on clarity. You will see an improvement in your team. Over time you will also see a reduction in stress and micro managing.
That’s when management really becomes enjoyable. 
Aug
14
Lessons in Management - Openness
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"It’s a fine line between pleasure and pain." - Divinyls
When it comes to managememnt I’ve seen, and done, a lot of things I’d cringe at today. The best of intentions from a manager has had distastrous effects on their staff.
One example recently was a colleague of mine had just introduced themselves at a workshop. Now this person had the best of intentions and their heart is, I believe, in the right place. But, as this example will show, even sincere people can be sincerely wrong.
During their introduction, at a communications skills workshop, they mentioned they were looking to get a lot from the day because they experience conflict with people, his staff in particular. One of who was in the room, who he actually named as having conflict with. Ouch!
Can you imagine being in a room where your boss states publicly that they are having conflict with you? Luckily, the facilitator, asked them to re-frame (or re-word) that part of the introduction. But, to my mind, the damage had been done.
The rationale for this was openness: "We want to create an environment of openness and transparency."
I fully support such environments - when all parties are aware of what may happen, are ready and in agreement. However, I would be against this type of openness as it has the potential to paint people in a light they do not wish.
A manager’s good intentions (pleasure) has only caused embarrassment (pain) and, perhaps dealt a shocking blow to trust between the two. It is, indeed, a fine line.
If You’re a Manager …
- Being a manager doesn’t mean some rules don’t apply to your level of the "food chain."
- It is your role to uphold the rules and ensure they are abided by.
- If you’re going to be "open and transparent" in public, apply that only to yourself and not to others. You cannot assume everyone thinks the same way you do. In fact, they probably don’t.
- Listen to how staff communicate with you if they have been put in an awkward situation.
- Empathise - put yourself in their position. It will provide context.
If You’re Staff …
- In terms of "openness and transparency" try and understand what the company is endeavouring to do.
- Work with the manager, not against them and get on to their level; as well as letting them know how you feel about it.
- Clarify the ground rules. However, you don’t need to be embarrrassed by anyone and they need to know that.
- Be direct with any feedback if you have been put in an awkward situation and remain objective.You can be objective in telling them how you feel, or felt.
- If they don’t listen at first, be firm and repeat the situation and how you felt about it.
Being open is great, but it can be harmful if that openness includes other without their permission.
Oh, and listen to the Divinyls’ song, it’s great!
Jul
31
Management: New ‘Mirror’ Technology
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One of the key skills for a manager is the skill of communication. And a key skill in effective communication is to have a realistic perspective of each party’s views.
It is now possible to assess our skills before a highly sensitive meeting and then immediately after to ensure we are delivering in line with our intent.
This new ‘mirror’ technology allows managers a ‘reality check’ just before they meet with the individual or team. It is based around how the manager sees themselves when compared to the team or person they are meeting with. It often helps to soften the situation and even relieves some of the tension.
Stage One
The ‘mirror’ can be used simply by clicking a link, opening a new window and turning part of the PC screen into a mirror - allowing the manager to view themselves fair and square in the eye prior to the meeting. This ‘viewing’ is intended to help the manager see how the other party may view them and allow the manager to take steps to improve their communication by this private but effective feedback.
Stage Two
Stage two is similar to stage one. A second link is provided to allow the manager some self reflection after the meeting and to determine if they can still look themself in the eye and agree they have done the right thing ethically and in good faith. Some managers report they feel like they could have improved their performance after viewing themself in the second mirror and begin to take steps to that improvement. Others see no difference and continue on as normal. Not always to their, or their staff’s, benefit.
Trial Version
To trial the new mirror technology a manager needs to be ready to attend a sensitive meeting and be prepared to not take themselves too seriously, thus eliminating a "Them v Us’ situation. A sure way to ruin effective communication.
After the meeting, the Manager clicks on the second link, ready to self examine and, perhaps agree that there may be room for communication improvement.
Mirror 1 - A good manager will see a normal view of themselves. Image may vary if intentions and message do not match.
Mirror 2 - A good manager who delivered a clear, concise message, taking into account dignity of the other party will see a normal view of themselves.
