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Success in business depends heavily on competent people management skills. With a little effort you can learn and improve these skills. It may be a plus to have a intuitive affinity for dealing with people, nevertheless there are numerous things you can do to facilitate the process. Relationship Building: Begin by memorizing the names of the staff. Talk to people; make eye contact during a conversation. Be respectful, and be sure to listen to everything the other individual says, irrespective of whether you are in agreement or not. Paying attention to what employees have to offer is one of the most critical talent management skills in your arsenal. Be sure to welcome any contributions from your team members.

Keep your word: Don’t make promises you can’t fulfill. When a promise is not kept, it can destroy trust, and individuals won’t give you their best if they don’t trust you. When you say something or make a promise, do be sure you can keep your promises or it would be better not to give your word at all. The truth is, when your people can’t depend on you, your employees can’t be relied on to be committed when you really need them. Encourage feedback: Feedback must be a two way process. Human Resource management skills mean being open to all feedback. If you can establish approachability and openness, you prove that your co-worker’s views count, your views will be respected in the same way. Bona Fide discourse in addition promotes fresh ways of thinking, ways of achieving the goals of the company, and improves the team dynamic. When your co-workers have a voice, each employee takes an interest in the results. Communication is fundamental: People management skills come down to the same thing – good communication. Keeping an open door policy, use listening techniques, remember to welcome feedback , and encourage all your team members to express themselves. Staff must be inspired to speak with each other not just with you. The sharing of thoughts is crucial in the creative process, when the staff communicate effectively, it’s easy to root out any issues at an early stage, allowing corrective action to be put in place to prevent further problems. Some time is needed, yet the rewards are worthwhile. By promoting a good team dynamic and demonstrating good listening skills, a successful business can be yours.

What is web conferencing? And why should proprietors of medium and small-sized shops want to know about it? (Suggestion: Web conferencing can decrease the cost of traveling and grant your office workers more profitable time.)

Why don’t we start out with an explanation and summarization of web conferencing. Web conferencing is a technological system that utilizes the advantage of the world wide web to make video conferencing within reach for everyone. By using instant internet capacity and easily manageable devices like headsets and web cameras, it makes the former, expensive type of video conferencing outmoded.

At this point let’s elucidate the reasons web meetings could be important for your operation. All companies have meetings and conferences. The tiniest one-man shops still have to get together with their customers and vendors. Internal meetings are more common in larger organizations, where teams of employees periodically come together to settle problems and make plans. Whether the meeting is large or small, the attendants are frequently removed geographically across cities or around the world.

Travel and related expenditures usually are extensive when participants from different locations get together in the same room. Your business travel costs obviously consist of food, hotels and airfare, among others. You can cut out travel expenses from the calculation when you take advantage of a web conference service rather than an airline.

Specific travel expense is only the beginning when it comes to calculating the actual cost to your business. Don’t neglect to count the cost of unproductive time in airports, on airplanes and in cars when you make your calculations.

Now that the returns and savings are clear-cut, now is the time to move your business into the present century by employing web conferencing for your next gathering.

Here’s a special sweetener. GoToMeeting, a highly regarded provider of web-based conferencing services, is currently offering a free 30-day trial to all new customers. And with this GoToMeeting Promo Code you get $10 off the subscription fee following the 30-day trial. There’s no justification not to try it out in your company.

Gas rates are soaring and this is making company budgets are squeezed thin harder than previously. As the global economy lumbers along slowly and credit stays hard to come by, intelligent directories see that additional accounts must cut. Company directors everywhere must make more than a couple weighty priority judgments to reduce expenses. One of the best plan to cut company expenses is to cut down on unnecessary travel allocations, and the secret is web conferencing calls.

Internet conference calls permit business people to converse with others virtually in a appointment in another town, in a far off state or even more significantly in a distant shore. Your every day web conferencing employ state of the art networking technology. Because that they usually conducted on almost any computer, they just make additional use of existing company outlays. Just from going to the Internet, may an executive lead a international presentation from just about any place offering Internet access. Its not just convenient, it has huge potential to reduce big travel thousands.

Advancements in digital technology make online conference calling so easy for participants to exchange information and presentations in real time. Conference participants can see and hear as though they were really there, even if theyre really thousands of miles across the earth. The look and sound of the audio, video and presentation can be very accurate given the best in digital encoding.

Clearly most businesses can increase profits by utilizing online conferencing rather than spending thousands flying out a team on a big trip. A business shouldnt spend on meals, hotels and even transportation costs. These trimmings quickly add up. Any dollar saved becomes higher efficiency for your business. Most everyone knows that some organizations are opting for web conferencing calls to reduce budgets on needless business journeys.

One of the best places to start in creating a quality management system, is at the bottom. Don’t start writing mission statements and policies. Everybody is all for baseball and apple pie, until you throw a dollar at them. Don’t start with procedures that tell who is responsible for this and what they are authorized to do about that. I like written procedures, but they still don’t get to the heart of day to day operations. No, I believe you need to start creating your quality management system with good old fashioned written work instructions.

Work instructions read like cookie recipes. They usually include a list of supplies (ingredients) for a particular job, plus detailed guidance on how to do the work (oven temperature and baking time). Work instructions are needed for all those mundane, day-to-day jobs that must be done correctly, in a certain order, without mistakes or else! There are no specific requirements for written work instructions in most quality management systems like ISO 9000 2000. Not because work instructions aren’t useful, but because they vary so much from one company to the next.

Use your written work instructions to train operators, supervisors and managers. Use them for testing and for internal audits. Use your work instructions for breaking down jobs, making improvements and rolling those improvements out to all shifts and divisions. In short, use your work instructions to make sure the work that must be done, gets done right.

About the Author

Rodney Robbins is a long time quality and safety manager with a creative streak and a bottom line attitude. You can learn more about his products at http://www.lulu.com/rodneyrobbins including a novel, cartoons, a business tip booklet and soon, audio programs on creating impressive quality management systems that work.

We’ll all been there. Ballplayers call it a slump. Some call it a lull or a funk. These are the times when you don’t seem to have as much energy or passion for your work. You can’t seem to get as excited (or excited at all) about the tasks in front of you. You are less productive, and you don’t feel as good about your work either. Beyond that, the quality of your work you are getting done may be slipping as well.

This situation can be caused by many things and it can affect both individuals and teams. Regardless of the reasons for the situation, there are specific, predictable ways to get past the funk. When you apply these suggestions (and some of them you can apply within one minute of finishing this article) you will lift both your spirits and your productivity, and begin to give you your rhythm back.

Since there’s no reason to wait any longer, let’s get started!

Get started. Action is the most important force we have. Taking action, whatever it is, will make a big difference. Often our energy is drained by procrastination. Lou Holtz, the longtime football coach said, “When all is said and done, there is a lot more said than done.” Stop talking about it or thinking about it and get started. Do something. Do anything. Get started!

Fake it. Dale Carnegie taught us that if we “act enthusiastic, we’ll be enthusiastic.” This is a fundamental truth. If you don’t immediately take action, you can begin by getting yourself excited about the task. If you are having trouble getting excited about the task, get excited about getting over your slump. That will motivate you and help you get going.

Start small. The first actions we take don’t have to be large. We may even feel a bit daunted by what is in front of us. In fact, the size of the project or obstacle in front of us may have been what caused the slump to start with. The size of your actions doesn’t matter. Take a small step right now.

Think big. While you may start small, you can still think big. Having a big vision can help motivate you and get you excited. It can be incredibly helpful to have a big vision.

Set a goal. Of course the “think big” suggestion is related to goal setting. But you can have a big vision without truly having a goal. Again, at this point the size of the goal is less important than having a clear endpoint that is something you really want. I didn’t make this the first suggestion, though you could argue it should be. Why didn’t I? Because sometimes people procrastinate in setting a goal! You need this step, and if you can get that clear focus at the start, all the better.

Get some help. Sometimes a task is easier if you have someone to work with. Get a co-worker to share the load on your project, and offer to help them in return. Ask a neighbor for a hand. Their helping hand or their camaraderie may be what stimulates you, or maybe it is the accountability that comes from another person saying, “I’m ready, where do we start?”

Get some advice. Talk to someone who knows about your project or task. Ask for the benefit of their experience. Get their ideas about how to proceed. Their advice will be helpful, and you will likely feel some support for your actions.

Have a daily plan. Do a little bit more each day. A big effort today is great, but if it isn’t followed up tomorrow you might find yourself right back where you started emotionally and psychologically. Have a daily plan and work that plan. Consistently work on the task or project and you will find your energy and enthusiasm growing. Soon your slump will be a distant memory.

Set a reward. Maybe you will reward yourself with your favorite dinner, or a night out, or a new CD. Pick something commiserate with your task and something that is motivating to you (or your team). It won’t be long until you will be enjoying the rewards you set for yourself.

Johnny Cash wrote and sang a song called “Get Rhythm,” and the last chorus goes . . .

Get rhythm when you get the blues
Hey, get rhythm when you get the blues
Get a rock ‘n’ roll feelin’ in your bones
Get taps on your toes and get gone
Get rhythm when you get the blues

All of these suggestions come back to that musical advice. When we get into a rhythm, we get out of our lull and into greater joy… and productivity.

Go ahead, get rhythm today!

Kevin Eikenberry is a leadership expert and the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group (KevinEikenberry.com), a learning consulting company. To receive a free Special Report on leadership that includes resources, ideas, and advice go to www.kevineikenberry.com/leadership.asp or call us at (317) 387-1424 or 888.LEARNER.

A menu is the foundation of any restaurant; Guests will support or avoid a restaurant for its food. Starting with a preliminary menu is a simple and basic approach to restaurant development. Begin with a menu, and you are light years ahead in the restaurant development process. A menu will tell you and your Guest what you are trying to be as a business, and greatly enhance your chances for success.

I view a menu for content, image and pricing. Content (the actual items on the menu) will dictate service staffing needs, level of culinary experience and type of management required. Who will be doing the cooking, do they have experience in this type of food, and how much are you paying them?

Image is how the Guest will perceive the menu. Menu image helps define the targeted clientele and which other restaurants this operation would be competing with. Are the content and image of the menu appealing to your desired clientele? Pricing helps determine a potential restaurant’s competitive placement. Is the pricing for the type of food offered competitive with other’s in the market area, and does it permit the ability to manage a profitable food cost? Pricing sets the Guest’s expectations in terms of food and service quality. This perception will, in turn, help define appropriate staffing levels. The budgeting process can now begin. Analysis of menu content, image and pricing will tell prospective restaurant operators whether their concept is appropriate for a certain market area.

With a preliminary menu in hand, a prospective operator can target a location that will be convenient and appropriate for their desired clientele. Once a site or facility is selected, sales volumes can be projected based on number of seats, menu pricing and the competitive business analysis. With projected sales volumes, how much an operator can spend to acquire, remodel or build a facility is determined. Leases and/or purchase agreements can now be negotiated.

With a clear menu, competitive analysis, sales forecast and development budget, financing can realistically be sought. A business plan can be derived which, if taken to potential investors will demonstrate what type of return they can anticipate on their investment.

Any restaurant business plan must begin with a menu. A proposed menu provides the basics for many questions that must be answered during the restaurant development process. It creates an image of the restaurant, identifies targeted clientele, and defines the proposed restaurant’s competition. A preliminary menu allows a sound basis for business budgeting, tests potential profitability, and dictates the development dollars required for a facility. Most importantly, beginning the business planning process with a menu maintains the focus of ownership on the importance of food and the impact it has on the success of the restaurant.

Written by Monte Zwang of Steele Development Corporation, a consulting firm specializing in business development and financial strategies. You can reach Steele Development by calling 206.878.9666 or online at http://www.Steeledevelopment.com.