Setting targets and deadlines is a simple but great way to achieve progression in all levels of your business.
John Paglia III
With 2018 already halfway complete, like many of you, our company set out 2018 with goals to achieve. Evaluating your success can be measured in numerous ways, but setting targets and deadlines is a simple but great way to achieve progression in all levels of your business. If you are not aiming for a specific target, surely you will miss the mark every time.
Be the Facilitator of Change
It is every manager’s job to be the facilitator of change. If you continue to do things the way you have always done them, how can you realistically expect change? I have even asked myself this very same question and made a goal at the beginning of 2018 to shake things up a bit. In year’s past, at our year end managers’ meeting, we would all discuss and set our next year’s goals. What I recently found was that there was a large percentage (25 percent) of goals originally set to achieve that never came to fruition. The common denominator of all of these failed goals was the lost interest from the top down. In order to reduce this self-imposed failure ratio, I have demanded myself to keep the train on the tracks by keeping the goals set from December circulating even in July.
Work Together to Find Your Way
In speaking with many of my colleagues across the industry, publicly traded companies do a better job than the private sector of holding structured weekly, monthly and quarterly meetings in order to not lose sight of a set goal. I have been told many times that these meetings can become redundant, which breeds complacency. I have sought to find an equal balance of structured meetings within our company, with increased frequency, while promoting creativity from my staff. I am a firm believer in assigning a target with a deadline, then allowing my staff to find their way to the end result. So long as the decisions that they made were timely, based around safety, strong ethics and teamwork, I generally do not micro manage the assigned task. The main point being: we all learn from each other and by giving them the freedom to find their own way, it only promotes a unique experience for all involved.
How and when you choose to get together works differently from company to company. It is important to find your balance that works for you. I encourage the facilitator to have a set and structured agenda, while requiring all in attendance to have a report back on previously assigned delegations. It is even more important to have a brainstorm session to step outside the box of recurring business and promote creativity.
You will be very surprised with the topics and ideas that will be produced. Inviting guests of your business to participate in these managerial meetings is also a great way to get different ideas and perspectives that managers will sometimes overlook. Having someone on your frontline providing input is always valuable information. When your company is flooded with business, it is very quick to forget these meetings in an effort to get the work done. I encourage you to not fall into this trap and always find the time to evaluate your business based on past, present and future conditions. Doing so will ensure that you stay on track with reaching previously assigned goals.
Hitting Your Target
All levels of management in today’s work environment needs to have comfort in “life coaching”. Human nature tells us with success of hitting a target a reward should soon follow.
John Paglia, III is a 4th generation garbage man. Before he climbed the ranks to become Florida Express Environmental’s General Manager, he had a successful career in college and professional athletics. John has been around the garbage industry since his car seat days. Currently, John is focused on growing his company and offering the highest level of customer service and prolonging the world we live in today. John wakes up every day knowing the impact professional haulers have on their community is far greater than most realize. He can be reached at (352) 629-4349, e-mail [email protected] or visit www.floridaexpress.us.