Teik Oh

Are you ready for anything?

Apr 20 2015

If you have been running a business from before the GFC, you have hopefully recovered over the last couple of years as the global economy, while still cautious, has been picking up. For many, times are starting to look difficult again as the possibility of a double-dip looms.

The difficulty in this scenario is that like many others, you had probably implemented many disciplines at the GFC downturn which stood you in good stead, but since, have allowed some of these disciplines to slacken as business became easier in the last few years.

Once the pressure is off, it is easy to slip back into the old ways and gradually allow costs to rise once again. Making disciplines implemented during a difficult period into institutionalised procedures is not as easy as it seems when day to day survival is not such a big worry.

When the economy is good and sales are growing, it is easy to allow discretionary spending into initiatives like “change management”, but when the mood is in withdrawal, you instigate disciplines quickly. Without the proper processes of change management, some of these changes just don’t “stick” and as soon as the belt is loosened, old habits come back.

It is in this atmosphere that the business owner or leaders need to lead by example. People have to be shown what is the right thing to do, and why, and leaders need to make sure that their behaviour is sending the right message to their teams. Read More

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The New Way of Working

Apr 17 2015

Once upon a time (I’m a Baby-Boomer) when my boss said jump I asked “how high”. This just isn’t true anymore. With Gen X and Gen Y you need to really engage your workforce – and if you do, you will reap the effective and optimal performance that comes from an engaged and motivated workforce.

So what is “engagement”? It’s not just about liking where you work, it’s about being invested in the time you spend there, believing so much in the value of what you do that you provide discretionary effort – in other words, you jump before you are asked because you see that it is needed. Engagement is about making people believe that the business’ success helps them, helps others, and is worthwhile, and that its success is their success.

This week’s video lays out this “new” way of working.

So how do you engage people? Read More

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4 Myths why I can’t start a business

Apr 13 2015

Starting a business is not easy, nor is it something that should be taken lightly.

You do need to do your homework; you do need to research the industry, especially if it is not one you have previous experience in; you do need to do your strategic and business planning; and you certainly do need to look at your personal characteristics and beliefs to see if you and your family really want to make the commitment.

However I have spoken to many people who seem to me to have a viable idea for a business, but are put off starting their own business even before they delve further into its feasibility. Their objections are not about being under-prepared; their objections are often based on things that are simply untrue.

I call these the four most common myths that stop people starting their own business.

Myth 1: I’m not smart enough to have my own business:

Perhaps you’re not, but I find that doubtful. Starting and running a business is not for everyone, but I rarely find the reason as being lack of intelligence. Some people are better employees than business owners due to the way they react to the different type of responsibility, but if the question is do you have the smarts to run a business, it is more than probable that you do and you can learn the skills along the way. Read More

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How to get ready for a major event

Apr 10 2015

The episode this week is about you, the business owner, rather than being about your business per se.

I thought it would be useful to discuss how you might get ready for a major event.

Now this might be a sales presentation you have to make, or perhaps getting ready to attend a meeting, or giving a speech, or any kind of event that you as business owner could find yourself involved in. As I was about to rush off to the airport to fly to an event where I was giving a keynote speech, I found myself with a few spare minutes and pondered how I actually got myself ready for an event such as this. So I sat in front of my computer and decided to share it with you.

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Building Better Leaders at Work

Apr 06 2015

A 2014 Gallup survey found that more than 70% of Australians were disengaged at work. At the same time we know that Australian businesses invest billions in annual leadership training and leadership development initiatives. So why are trained leaders failing to engage their people?

While I only have information from this survey of Australian businesses, I have worked in other countries around the world and I can assure you that while the quanta may be different, the truth is that the vast majority of people at work feel disengaged. If this is a worldwide trend, then businesses are investing significant resources into something that is not providing them with anything like the desired outcome.

First of all, let’s look at what benefits employee engagement can bring to your company. These benefits are true whether or not you have several tens of people working for you or several hundreds, or even if you only have 2 or 3 employees. True engagement isn’t just “happy” or “satisfied”. True employee engagement means that the employee has an emotional commitment to the employer and its goals that will result in more discretionary effort. It is the difference between someone doing their job as expected or even well, and someone providing discretionary effort to do their jobs as if it enriched their own lives. In terms of service and sales, customers know the difference between someone loving what they do and someone who is competent at it, and it brings extra customer satisfaction.

Engaged employees are more productive, going the extra mile because they see the success of the company as having meaning to them. Their motivation leads to higher productivity. Studies show that offices with engaged employees were up to 46% more productive. Engaged employees lower the risk of employee turnover because they are more invested in the long term success of the company, thus avoiding loss of experience and decreasing costs of retraining and recruitment.

And if you think that’s only biting around the edges, Standard Chartered Bank found that branches with increased levels of employee engagement had a 16% higher profit margin growth than branches with decreased levels of engagement.. It actually affects your bottom line.

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Increase your sales through a highly focused marketing plan!

SMART Marketing: In this book, the owners of a small business are led through the SMART Marketing 7 Step Process to produce a marketing plan targeted at their most desirable customers. Any business can use these principles and in 4 to 6 weeks implement a plan to get them through the door! Find out how...

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