Communication is the key for any business to operate successfully. That’s not a new concept. Not all communication is created equally and neither are all team members.  How do you know what kind of motivation drives your team members? You have to get to know them first. If you’ve read our blog, Go See, Ask Why,
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In April, I was invited to be the closing speaker at Ecoat14. I can’t begin to describe how privileged I felt to present at such an event. The Electrocoat Association and Product Finishing Magazine host the show every other year.  It brings in the leaders of the top companies in our industry from all over the country to learn about
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Corporate culture can mean quite a few things. Culture can be the way your team interacts or the overall atmosphere in the work place. It can be something as simple as doughnuts every Friday or team meetings once a week to make sure everyone is doing well. There is one thing that is universal about
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When you hear about a problem with a product, the first thing that goes through your head is “Now why would they do that?” Jumping to conclusions is a dangerous way to run your business. If you really think about it, no one in your company is trying to sabotage your business. More often than
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We have a plant manager who likes to say, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t make it better.” Truer words have never been spoken. Without concrete guidelines for measuring success, how do you know you are successful?  The decision making process is drastically improved when you know the result of previous decisions. Going in
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In business, life and pretty much anything you do, a goal is necessary to be successful. Long term goals can get you started, but even long term goals fall short without short term goals to hold them up.  Without a goal, you don’t have any reason to be productive. Everyone has dreams and aspirations. Goals are
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Tribal knowledge refers to the collection of procedures and information known by certain groups but not commonly understood by others in the company. It gets passed on from experienced team members to new members of the company and is not often recorded. Tribes are a necessary part of a successful business, but each tribe’s knowledge
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Have you ever tried to give someone directions and left them alone to finish a project? How many times has the finished product turned out completely different than you envisioned? If this has happened, You probably didn’t give the worker a clear and concise set of directions. Every single person communicates differently. You may think
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By Chuck Gault, Max Coating President I recently came across a book titled Mastering the Rockefeller Habits by Verne Harnish. Harnish is the founder of Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) and knows a thing or two about growing a company. Based on the habits of John D. Rockefeller, in his book, Harnish talks about the fundamental ideas that Rockefeller
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Organizational charts are crucial for developing human resource policies and establishing managerial hierarchy. In many cases, the development of an organizational structure is the final piece that launches a small business to the next level. Most companies have an organizational chart and most of them have the President or CEO at the top, the Vice
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