Dear Linnea,

Welcome to this edition of Business Success, dedicated to helping business owners build a better business...today!

This month we help you get refocused on building a real spirit of team within your employees.  Too many times business owners use the word "team" loosely, or maybe optimistically, when they don't really run their company in a way that fosters real team building.  We also bring you more valuable information from guest writers Teri Milligan on QuickBooks Tips and Chris Olmsted on Employment Law to help you incorporate best practices into your business operations.  We  bring back our Tech Corner feature this month as well.  Thanks to guest writer Justin French for his timely article on a more energy efficient office.

Don't miss our schedule of Teleclasses and Webinars. Our monthly Businesses Getting Results series is open to the public as well as Advisors On Target clients.

A reminder about our new On Target Online Program!  Click on the Calendar Page on our website to see how you can receive a year's worth of Teleclasses and access to online tools for one low price!  Current On Target clients receive these benefits automatically.  However if you are not already an On Target client, the On Target Online program is a great way to get started on building a better business. 

Wishing you a renewed sense of purpose as we head into the fall,

Linnea Blair

In This Issue

Upcoming Events

Turn a Group into a Team

QuickBooks Tip

No-Match Regulations Force Employee Termination

Tech Corner - Energy Efficient Office

Upcoming Events:

Working ON Rather Than IN Your Business

Thursday, September 13, 2007 @ 1:00 PM EST 
(12:00 PM Central, 11:00 AM Mountain, 10:00 AM Pacific)

Most businesses fail or never reach their full potential because their owners spend too much time doing the work that the business does, rather than managing and growing it. Are you working IN your business, in the midst of it all and trying to handle it all and be all things to everybody?  This Teleclass will help you to see your business as a series of processes so that you can create a "the way we do it here" manual. This means developing systems, processes, documentation and team member training to ensure your business runs smoothly, consistently, and most importantly, without you.

For more info. or to register for Tele-classes, click here

Quotable Quotations

"There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company, from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else"

- Sam Walton

A team is a group, but a group in not always a team. The difference: if a collection of people shares a common office address, then it's a group. If it shares a common mission and works together to achieve it, then it's a team!

Smart business owners know that running a business is not a one-man show and that in the workplace having a team is a lot more pleasant, efficient and ultimately profitable than having a group. But good teams don't just happen. They are the result of an intentional effort on the part of the owner to create a work environment in which every person knows how they are contributing to making the business successful and are made to feel appreciated for their contribution.

The most common comparison when talking teams is to think about how a successful sporting team operates. Here are some lessons from sports coaching to help jumpstart the team-building process in your small business.

Set the vision

Sports team members share a very clearly defined goal, or vision and know that the only way they'll achieve it is to cooperate. In business this means sharing your vision and your goals with the employees, your team. Did you choose a primary objective for your business to achieve this year? Did you share it with your employees so they all know where you want to go and can get behind it? Did you involve them in working out the strategies to achieve it? Let's say your primary objective this year is to stimulate retail sales for a new product line, and you want it to be 20% of overall sales. If that information isn't shared with the people who do your marketing and selling then they'll just go on pushing the same products they always have. To win the game everyone has to be working to the same game plan.

Establish clearly defined roles

In team games every player knows what the role of their position is and the extent of their freedom to operate in contributing to a successful play. And they know what the other team members do so they don't interfere with their game. As the business owner, it's your job to make sure that every employee clearly understands the role they play in the business. That means developing a clear organization structure (who is responsible for what) and ensuring that every employee has an accurate job description. Tools such as an organization chart and team meetings provide a way for employees to see how they fit into the big picture and to sort out any time wasting overlaps or conflicts.

Make communication work to improve team spirit

Communication is the building block of an effective business team. Not just open communication, but honest and respectful communication to build regard for each other. There should be no tolerance of abusive, derogatory or sexist language in the workplace. Those just turn people off from thinking of themselves as part of the team.

Resolve conflict quickly and fairly

Inevitably, there will be occasion for conflict among team members. Ignoring a conflict can leave space for it to grow until it becomes a major problem. So instead of ignoring them, develop your conflict resolution skills and create a mechanism for them to safely bring those conflict situations they can't resolve themselves to your attention. If you don't feel up to the task of counseling your employees on how to resolve their conflicts yourself then consider bringing in a professional or do some training to improve your skills and level of  comfort with the process.

Celebrate achievements as a team

Since every employee plays an important part in the success or failure of your business it only makes sense to celebrate your achievements as a team. Match the size of the celebration to the size of the accomplishment. Be careful to be inclusive - most wins are the joint effort of many people including those not directly involved in the final sale or whatever the achievement was.

Turning the group into a team

A lot can be done towards building a team through the application of experience and common sense but it can be helped along the way by the use of a business coach with particular skills in the area. It can be very useful to employ an advisor - particularly in the initial stages - to run a review and establish just what needs to be done.

Behave like a captain

What you need always to remember as a business owner/captain of the team is that your team will look to you for guidance on how to behave. Your behavior will be a model for theirs and if you are positive, upbeat and respectful of them, then team members will tend to act the same to you and each other. Demonstrate a negative or critical attitude and the team will fall apart into a group. Strong tone at the top is essential to hold a team together.

Information for this article is sourced from RAN ONE.