Business Management

Any contractor working with early stage companies wants to see their clients take off. When you’re lucky enough to sync up with a fast-growing company, your client might have 10 employees when you start, and hundreds a year later.

Here are some guidelines for contractors looking to scale their business with a fast-growing client.

Most of the time, managers assume that, provided their people learn the appropriate skills, and develop the relevant experience to do their jobs, they should satisfactorily complete their tasks.

Competency Versus Relationship (Nepotism)

Every business hires employees based on some mixture of the candidate’s competency and how good/bad the relationship is with the candidate. Unfortunately, in a family business the default or predominant method of hiring is relationship. While the intentions are good, there is not only an increase in the usual business risk, but also a risk of damaging family relationships.

Bold and creative maverick leaders tend to deliver great innovations and breakthroughs. At the same time, they are highly disruptive, disturbing to work for and definitely not team players. In business, we can’t live with them and can’t live without them, as many who encountered Apple founder, Steve Jobs, have attested.

While terminating employees is one of the more unpleasant tasks that owners and managers have to carry out, it is a necessary part of doing business.

If you're not careful, however, mistakes committed during the firing process can come back to haunt you by way of legal action. Learn the most common mistakes made when giving workers the boot.

Helping people deal with emotions is a key leadership skill, especially in times of crisis. Your tone may effectively quell negative emotions or promote beneficial emotions, and improve camaraderie, trust, and team performance.

Do you ever get frustrated in team meetings that some individuals seem to dominate the discussion, or that people are reluctant to put forward what they really feel? It is likely that others in the team feel the same frustration.