Management Rules
Back in the 90’s when I was studying for a management degree I was taught a very basic principle for management. I referred to it as the POSDIC rule. Following is how I interpreted and applied this rule:
Management is very much like story writing. First of all start with a summary, like any good story you need a summary to introduce your audience and build excitement for what is to come. Following that summary you lay out some steps of how things proceed. Then you need to wrap up with a conclusion to bring your story to a successful and exciting end.
PLAN….In management we refer to the story as a PLAN. All good managers start with a plan, thus the P in POSDIC. Once you have a well thought out, well defined PLAN, you can move on to the O.
ORGANIZE… now it is time to organize according to the plan. Figure out what you need to do when; build a timeline, spell out expectations, know what you want to achieve and when. But also think about and organize for the consequences if any part of the plan is not rolling out as you expected. Once you are organizes you can move on to the S.
STAFF…Almost anything and everything we do in life requires the support of other people. Staffing to achieve your plan is very important. You need to hire the right people with the right skills sets to achieve your plans. Never be in a hurry to hire someone to fill a hole. Make sure your hire will help you achieve the plan. Once staffing is in place you can confidently move on to the D.
DIRECT…It would be really easy to staff an operation and walk away, but that is not management. All people, no matter the skill set, will require some direction. It may be as simple as providing them with a job description and a list of goals or as detailed as supplying them with a step-by-step procedure. Most importantly providing your staff with direction is part of the management job. Provide clear and concise direction and your staff is better set for success. Then you can move on to the I.
INFORM-Keeping everyone informed is the next ideal step. Letting staff now how they are doing, are they meeting objectives, falling short, or exceeding expectations. Informing the staff of how things are progressing as well as any superiors you may have be it customers, investors or owners, will only serve to help you move on to the C.
CONTROL-Maintaining control is the most important of all of the above. Why? Because if you do not keep control, things can spin out of control very quickly.
Although this may be a simple strategy to employing your management skills it is never as simple as it seems. At any time and any step above, things can and will go off track:
If your plan was not as well thought out as it should have been it will be very hard to organize, staff, direct, inform or control. It may be time to reassess and reformulate the plan if you do not have control.
Maybe you lack organizational skills and you forgot to organize a particular part of the plan. Step back and re-group, one thing that is very important in management is admitting when you made a mistake and correct it as soon as possible. After all we are human and we all make mistakes.
If you fall off track by selecting the wrong staff, which can be heart-breaking and detrimental to current staff and the employee you may have to release, address it quickly. We have all hired that person we thought were ideal; their references were great, they wowed you in the interview, they had a strong work history. Then they start and they break up with their girlfriend/boyfriend and their world falls apart. They start coming in late because they stayed out drinking the night before, they call in sick and 60 days in they have missed more work than an employee that has been with you a year. If you write the person up twice and it does no good, cut the cord.
The scenario can spell itself out in one-hundred and one ways and we have seen or heard about them all. Your business is not the place to be sympathetic. As much as we want to help everyone out unless you are in the psychology business, it is not your place. You need to look out for your business first for the good of you and all of the other employees. A troubled employee can be the rotten apple that spoils the rest of the bunch real fast.
So you understand the trend is the same, no matter where you are along the management process; in the planning process, organizing for the plan, staffing the plan, directing the staff, informing the staff or controlling the outcomes, you will almost certainly have bumps in the road. It is important to navigate the bumps and get yourself back on track as soon as possible.
Learning management tools and rules such as these will be sure to help you become one of the best franchise owners in the 2015. Cottage Inn employs this and many other management tactics to make sure Cottage Inn is a success. Let us help you become a successful Cottage Inn franchisee and one of the best in 2015 and beyond!