Being an authoritative manager means being a leader of leaders, encouraging the leaders below you on the organization chart to think, rather than simply doing what you tell them to do. There are six characteristics that mark an effective leader of leaders:

 

• Competence
• Collaboration
• Compassion
• Commitment to vision
• Communication

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Depending on personality, business owners tend to have one of four management styles: 

• Permissive
• Neglectful
• Authoritarian
• Authoritative

 

These styles are delineated by a balance between warmth and control,[i]

 

A permissive manager exudes warmth, but no control. He allows his employees ... << MORE >>

It may seem relatively clear to you that as the President or CEO of your company, you are the leader of it, but in reality your company likely has many leaders. The trick is to get all of them pulling in the same direction.

 

Ask any business guru, and you will get a list of characteristics or traits that define leadership, usually by making a comparison between mere managers and true leaders. As ...

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As of this writing (February, 2011), the United States is beginning to emerge from the biggest recession since the Great Depression.  Many employers have had to freeze salaries, cut staff, and make other cost reductions over the past two years. Those people whose jobs are spared end up stressed beyond their limits as they try to do more with less.

 

Several recent surveys point out how ...

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There’s one hidden expense I want to make sure you think about:  missed opportunity costs. These costs don’t appear anywhere on your financial books, but they are important to consider as you manage your business, nonetheless.

 

If you are just beginning your business, you are likely beating the bushes, trying to find more and more customers to order your products or buy your services. You may be unable to imagine a time when you will have ...

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As the creative genius behind your company, it’s possible you have things you like to do better than math. You may prefer focusing on developing new products or finding new ways to market your existing products.

 

But if you are going to run a business, you have an absolute duty to keep track of your finances. Even if you hire a bookkeeper or an accountant, it’s still your job to have an in-depth knowledge of the financial ...

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Your first collection call should remain cordial. After all, everyone forgets to pay a bill now and again, or runs into a temporary cash flow situation. The first reminder call is simply that:  a reminder that payment to you has been overlooked. Make the problem known to the client, and be sure to ask when the customer thinks he might be able to pay you. If the customer makes it clear that cash is a problem, explore setting up a payment arrangement. It’s better to ...

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If you are managing multiple customers with complex projects, you may need to create a “tickler” file to remind yourself of key upcoming accounting dates. A tickler file is simply a filing system set up to mimic the calendar, with a slot for each date. You might have one file for each month, with dividers for days 1 – 31.

For example, if you intended to bill Mr. Jones for a progress payment on August 10^th, you would simply put the project sheet into the ...

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When you own your own business, particularly if you are starting out part-time while keeping your full-time job, you may find there are not enough hours in the day to get everything done. In the rush to build your network, order raw materials, provide quality service, train employees, and develop new products, it can be easy to forget one of the most important basic tenets of business:  people don’t pay bills they don’t receive.

 

 

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It may be true that there’s no such thing as a free lunch, but what if I were to tell you that you can get lunch in return for something that has no value to you?  That’s almost as good as free, right?  The reason this works is that something of no value to you may be of great value to someone else. Your trash may be someone else’s treasure.

 

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