You probably have a horror story or two about working with an awful
project manager. I knew one such manager who routinely escorted members
of his project team to the restroom so he could launch into a red-faced
tirade about something that didn’t suit him.
Lousy project managers take many forms. Some micro-manage their
teams; others don’t manage them at all. You’ve got egomaniacs,
uncommunicative types, and just plain incompetent project managers.
What do you do if you’re stuck with a lousy project manager?
First, even when it seems like things will never get better, try to
keep some perspective. Projects end, and at some point, you’ll be free
of the person.
In the meantime, you need to take measures to spare your sanity and
ensure that your clueless manager doesn’t torpedo the project. I’ve seen
managers make decisions that tank the profit of a project, then blame
the disaster on the team.
Two other things to remember when dealing with lousy managers: 90% of them think they’re
doing everything right; and, most aren’t tracking the important details
of the project. Knowing those two things can help you keep the project
on track, in spite of the project manager.
Some HR people will tell you that your first step is to hash out the
leadership issues with your project manager. That advice looks good on
paper, but it can be a fast track out the door if your manager is
spiteful.
Instead, consult with your colleagues and mentors (in confidence)
about the impact that the project manager is having on the client
relationship. Maybe you can’t get the work done on time, or the client
is confused about the direction of the project.
Focus on project issues and practical solutions in these discussions,
not the performance shortcomings of the manager. If you do a good job
framing the issues, people will figure out where the root of the problem
lies.
Complaining about a project manager to one of your firm’s bigwigs may
be appropriate in some situations. But it’s possible they will shrug
off your opinion as a “heat of the moment” problem that will clear up
once the project wraps.
If you talk about a threat to the client relationship instead,
people’s ears perk up instantly. So focus on the client and the project
issues, and suggest solutions to the specific problems you’re facing.
You’ve also got to work directly with the manager to keep the project
on track. Be proactive about problems, and be ready with workable
solutions, including the reasons for choosing each one. Use your
thorough understanding of the client’s business and the project to steer
the conversation to a productive place.
If you can show your manager that you grasp the essential issues, you
might find that the manager allows you more autonomy in the day-to-day
project management activities.
Still, it’s possible that none of these options will help. If so,
it’s time to figure out how you’ll finish the project, stay sane, and
avoid working with that manager in the future.
Link: http://managementconsultingnews.com/2012/03/help-im-stuck-with-a-lousy-project-manager/
About Management Consulting Services Gary Simmons
With over 30 years of experience in the automotive industry, Mr. Gary Simmons
formed MCS in 1982 to provide automotive management systems, support
services and pragmatic consultations to car dealerships in the western
US.
Virtual Selling & Training Solutions
MCS Virtual Selling Solutions are a technology tool that enhance the
sales process, and are fully compatible with any sales force, and sales
message.
The Basics in the Service Drive
Treating every customer repair order as an opportunity is the
fundamental way to maximize a sale and improve the service department
profit.
Virtual Service Drive
Customer Paid Labor is the Cornerstone of Profitability
A dealership that sells 100 vehicles a month usually has 5 times that
number of customers come through the service department every month.
Active Delivery Center
CSI Booster for the Showroom or Service Drive
The MCS Active Delivery Center is a talking and Virtual Presentation
that ensures that everything that has to be said to a customer is
quickly and thoroughly covered. The program can be designed to operate
on a local computer, or over the Internet.
Auto Dealers F&I
Virtual Finance & Insurance Maximizes Profit
ServiceDriver Program Examples and Links
MCS has live demonstration links available for all major manufacturers
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Steve Wynn's Expensive Breakup
Two years ago casino magnate Steve Wynn and Kazuo Okada, who
made his fortune supplying equipment to Japan’s huge pachinko industry,
appeared to be the best of partners. Okada had invested in Wynn Resorts (WYNN)
in 2000, eventually amassing a 20 percent stake and serving as the
company’s vice chairman. Wynn had named fancy restaurants at some of his
casino hotels Okada.
“They gave the board the report without letting me review it,” Okada says. “Even criminals would be asked to sign off on the findings to ensure there are no mistakes.” In a statement, Universal called the forced sale “outrageous” and vowed to “take all legal actions necessary.” Okada says the redemption was in part a response to Universal moving to enter the casino business in the Philippines on its own and for a lawsuit Okada filed against Wynn Resorts in January. Okada sued Wynn in Nevada, demanding information about the company’s HK$1 billion ($135 million) donation to a university foundation in Macau, home to Wynn’s most profitable casino. Wynn’s Macau casino generated 70 percent of its revenue, and it’s seeking a land grant there to build a second.
Wynn Resorts says its probe—conducted by former Nevada Governor Bob Miller and former FBI Director Louis Freeh—found Okada violated U.S. law by providing free lodging and hospitality to Philippine regulators. Wynn executives told investors on a Feb. 21 conference call that ousting Okada was necessary to protect the company’s gaming licenses. Also, Wynn in a Feb. 19 court filing said Okada violated its code of conduct for directors by competing against it.
Cristino Naguiat Jr., chief executive officer of Philippine Amusement & Gaming, the gaming regulator, said in an e-mailed statement that the agency under his tenure had received no cash or in-kind payments from Okada. The Universal chief visited the gaming authority in February and told Naguiat that the $110,000 in payments referred to in the Wynn Resorts investigation as improper were for business associates’ accommodations, according to that statement. Philippine President Benigno Aquino III has ordered an investigation.
Okada on Feb. 27 told Philippine lawmakers that he’ll continue plans to open his $2 billion Manila casino project by 2013. “I will be able to prove that all of the accusations are baseless and are lies,” he said.
About Management Consulting Services Gary Simmons
With over 30 years of experience in the automotive industry, Mr. Gary Simmons formed MCS in 1982 to provide automotive management systems, support services and pragmatic consultations to car dealerships in the western US.
Virtual Selling & Training Solutions
MCS Virtual Selling Solutions are a technology tool that enhance the sales process, and are fully compatible with any sales force, and sales message.
The Basics in the Service Drive
Treating every customer repair order as an opportunity is the fundamental way to maximize a sale and improve the service department profit.
Virtual Service Drive
Customer Paid Labor is the Cornerstone of Profitability
A dealership that sells 100 vehicles a month usually has 5 times that number of customers come through the service department every month.
Active Delivery Center
CSI Booster for the Showroom or Service Drive
The MCS Active Delivery Center is a talking and Virtual Presentation that ensures that everything that has to be said to a customer is quickly and thoroughly covered. The program can be designed to operate on a local computer, or over the Internet.
Auto Dealers F&I
Virtual Finance & Insurance Maximizes Profit
ServiceDriver Program Examples and Links
MCS has live demonstration links available for all major manufacturers
Free the Idea Monkey
To survive today, companies need only two types of people:
Idea Monkeys—the people who can generate 167 new concepts before
lunch—and the Ring Leaders who can make those ideas a reality.
If
you don’t fill one of these roles, you are in danger of losing your job.
And odds are you should be, because your company cannot afford to have
you around.We don’t say that (simply) to be provocative. We say it because it’s true. As two guys who actually run a company—and have started seven others—we have learned firsthand that these are the only people you can afford to keep. Although they may not say it out loud, we see our clients are coming to the same realization.
When we present this as an either/or situation, some people hear that they have to be an Idea Monkey. But nothing could be further from the truth. We are fans of the Monkey and know we desperately need them, but as a rule they are not great at turning their ideas into reality.
One story about Walt Disney—perhaps the patron saint of Idea Monkeys—makes this point. Walt had just dreamed up another fanciful new world/product/character (what it was doesn’t really matter), and he naturally went to share his creation with his brother Roy, his trusted Ring Leader: the man who, when Walt wished upon a star, made his dreams come true.
“Walt, it is a great idea,” his brother said. “But you realize it is going to take more than $2 million to make it a reality.”
“Why,” Walt supposedly replied, “do you always bother me with insignificant details?”
You can see why Ring Leaders are so important.
The most successful companies have found a balance between their divergent and convergent thinkers—between their Idea Monkeys and Ring Leaders. The secret is to free the Idea Monkeys to do what they do best—make never before seen connections in the marketplace (Hmm, if we combined the peanut butter and jelly in one jar …)—and leave it to the Ring Leaders to figure out how to make those new products, services, and business models a reality.
Here’s the good news. If you study great companies and the leadership teams that got them there—and that is exactly what we did in our book—you will see practices that make this balance happen. You will see teams that are inspired and empowered, spontaneous and pragmatic and seriously playful. The truth is that finding the balance between the Idea Monkeys and Ring Leaders creates a culture of knowing how to take the right amount of risks, measure opportunity and progress appropriately, and have a blast reinventing the world together.
How cool is that?
Link: www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-03-05/free-the-idea-monkey
About Management Consulting Services Gary Simmons
With over 30 years of experience in the automotive industry, Mr. Gary Simmons formed MCS in 1982 to provide automotive management systems, support services and pragmatic consultations to car dealerships in the western US.
Virtual Selling & Training Solutions
MCS Virtual Selling Solutions are a technology tool that enhance the sales process, and are fully compatible with any sales force, and sales message.
The Basics in the Service Drive
Treating every customer repair order as an opportunity is the fundamental way to maximize a sale and improve the service department profit.
Virtual Service Drive
Customer Paid Labor is the Cornerstone of Profitability
A dealership that sells 100 vehicles a month usually has 5 times that number of customers come through the service department every month.
Active Delivery Center
CSI Booster for the Showroom or Service Drive
The MCS Active Delivery Center is a talking and Virtual Presentation that ensures that everything that has to be said to a customer is quickly and thoroughly covered. The program can be designed to operate on a local computer, or over the Internet.
Auto Dealers F&I
Virtual Finance & Insurance Maximizes Profit
ServiceDriver Program Examples and Links
MCS has live demonstration links available for all major manufacturers
4 Steps to Fast, Effective Meetings
How is your company’s communication?
Is it tight and efficient and aimed at driving results or increasing connection?
Or do team members talk a lot without saying anything meaningful?
Of the hundreds of companies I’ve worked with over the past 30 years, I repeatedly see only five types of communication…
What communication types are most prevalent in your culture?
Look at the chart above. Are your meetings dominated by lots of Info Sharing, lots of Sharing of Oneself, some Debating, Decision Making and Point Proving and regrettably few Requests and Promises?
You’re not alone.
We have meetings because we want to reach a conclusion of some sort. To make meetings matter you’ll want to:
1. Set the meeting’s intention in advance: what exactly do you want to accomplish?
If it’s simply to share info that is not highly sensitive (e.g. you’re fired), then send an email instead. If it’s to get everyone aligned and to allocate work, then set a tight agenda and wrap the meeting within 45 minutes (or take a break then, as people are maxing out in their attention span). The key is allow only enough Info Sharing to solicit Requests from parties who need something and Promises from those who will deliver. If it’s a company meeting/update session for the team, keep it short with segments for summary result info, current obstacles and plans to overcome them, future goals, a short education session and celebration of people/recent accomplishments.
Is the meeting’s purpose to share your thoughts/feelings? Have a one-on-one huddle for 10-15 minutes instead.
Is it to debate or point prove? How necessary is that?
2. Invite the doers, decision makers, impacted parties only.
Often meetings are too crowded because too many unnecessary people are invited. The point of the meeting is to get stuff done as a group. Get the people in the room who will facilitate that or be affected by it.
3. Have a clear meeting leader and tight time-lined agenda.
The meeting leader’s task is to keep everyone on track and drive to results. Once each key point of the meeting is mapped out, keep the focus on achieving your intention. Other topics and side conversations will be handled off line later with the appropriate parties present. Also the goal isn’t to solve detailed problems in the meeting, it’s to assign responsibilities based on Requests and Promises made. The responsible individuals will follow through post-meeting.
4. Send a recap email of all responsibilities post-meeting.
The meeting leader will summarize the Requests, Promises and details of each. Remember a vague Request (can you get me info on our top advertisers?) versus a clear Request (can you get me a report of our top 50 advertisers in the USA with spending history for the current + past 5 years in a spreadsheet by 4pm this Friday?) will help the Promise maker to succeed. The meeting leader’s job is to ensure all participants are set up to succeed in executing their Promises.
The result of the above is meetings that are efficient, effective, and keep your team happy and executing with high accountability. Further, it’ll reduce B.S., frustration, and disengaged team members.
Link: http://www.forbes.com/sites/christinecomaford/2012/02/28/cut-the-b-s-and-get-to-the-point-the-only-2-communication-types-that-drive-results/
About Management Consulting Services Gary Simmons
With over 30 years of experience in the automotive industry, Mr. Gary Simmons formed MCS in 1982 to provide automotive management systems, support services and pragmatic consultations to car dealerships in the western US.
Virtual Selling & Training Solutions
MCS Virtual Selling Solutions are a technology tool that enhance the sales process, and are fully compatible with any sales force, and sales message.
The Basics in the Service Drive
Treating every customer repair order as an opportunity is the fundamental way to maximize a sale and improve the service department profit.
Virtual Service Drive
Customer Paid Labor is the Cornerstone of Profitability
A dealership that sells 100 vehicles a month usually has 5 times that number of customers come through the service department every month.
Active Delivery Center
CSI Booster for the Showroom or Service Drive
The MCS Active Delivery Center is a talking and Virtual Presentation that ensures that everything that has to be said to a customer is quickly and thoroughly covered. The program can be designed to operate on a local computer, or over the Internet.
Auto Dealers F&I
Virtual Finance & Insurance Maximizes Profit
ServiceDriver Program Examples and Links
MCS has live demonstration links available for all major manufacturers
Is it tight and efficient and aimed at driving results or increasing connection?
Or do team members talk a lot without saying anything meaningful?
Of the hundreds of companies I’ve worked with over the past 30 years, I repeatedly see only five types of communication…
Info Sharing
Sharing Oneself
Debating, Decision Making, Point Proving
Promises
Requests
… and only two of them drive results.
Image Credit: Christine Comaford Associates
Look at the chart above. Are your meetings dominated by lots of Info Sharing, lots of Sharing of Oneself, some Debating, Decision Making and Point Proving and regrettably few Requests and Promises?
You’re not alone.
We have meetings because we want to reach a conclusion of some sort. To make meetings matter you’ll want to:
1. Set the meeting’s intention in advance: what exactly do you want to accomplish?
If it’s simply to share info that is not highly sensitive (e.g. you’re fired), then send an email instead. If it’s to get everyone aligned and to allocate work, then set a tight agenda and wrap the meeting within 45 minutes (or take a break then, as people are maxing out in their attention span). The key is allow only enough Info Sharing to solicit Requests from parties who need something and Promises from those who will deliver. If it’s a company meeting/update session for the team, keep it short with segments for summary result info, current obstacles and plans to overcome them, future goals, a short education session and celebration of people/recent accomplishments.
Is the meeting’s purpose to share your thoughts/feelings? Have a one-on-one huddle for 10-15 minutes instead.
Is it to debate or point prove? How necessary is that?
2. Invite the doers, decision makers, impacted parties only.
Often meetings are too crowded because too many unnecessary people are invited. The point of the meeting is to get stuff done as a group. Get the people in the room who will facilitate that or be affected by it.
3. Have a clear meeting leader and tight time-lined agenda.
The meeting leader’s task is to keep everyone on track and drive to results. Once each key point of the meeting is mapped out, keep the focus on achieving your intention. Other topics and side conversations will be handled off line later with the appropriate parties present. Also the goal isn’t to solve detailed problems in the meeting, it’s to assign responsibilities based on Requests and Promises made. The responsible individuals will follow through post-meeting.
4. Send a recap email of all responsibilities post-meeting.
The meeting leader will summarize the Requests, Promises and details of each. Remember a vague Request (can you get me info on our top advertisers?) versus a clear Request (can you get me a report of our top 50 advertisers in the USA with spending history for the current + past 5 years in a spreadsheet by 4pm this Friday?) will help the Promise maker to succeed. The meeting leader’s job is to ensure all participants are set up to succeed in executing their Promises.
The result of the above is meetings that are efficient, effective, and keep your team happy and executing with high accountability. Further, it’ll reduce B.S., frustration, and disengaged team members.
Link: http://www.forbes.com/sites/christinecomaford/2012/02/28/cut-the-b-s-and-get-to-the-point-the-only-2-communication-types-that-drive-results/
About Management Consulting Services Gary Simmons
With over 30 years of experience in the automotive industry, Mr. Gary Simmons formed MCS in 1982 to provide automotive management systems, support services and pragmatic consultations to car dealerships in the western US.
Virtual Selling & Training Solutions
MCS Virtual Selling Solutions are a technology tool that enhance the sales process, and are fully compatible with any sales force, and sales message.
The Basics in the Service Drive
Treating every customer repair order as an opportunity is the fundamental way to maximize a sale and improve the service department profit.
Virtual Service Drive
Customer Paid Labor is the Cornerstone of Profitability
A dealership that sells 100 vehicles a month usually has 5 times that number of customers come through the service department every month.
Active Delivery Center
CSI Booster for the Showroom or Service Drive
The MCS Active Delivery Center is a talking and Virtual Presentation that ensures that everything that has to be said to a customer is quickly and thoroughly covered. The program can be designed to operate on a local computer, or over the Internet.
Auto Dealers F&I
Virtual Finance & Insurance Maximizes Profit
ServiceDriver Program Examples and Links
MCS has live demonstration links available for all major manufacturers
Friday, March 2, 2012
MCS Perfects the Basics in the Service Drive
There are three potential areas that need to be fully understood to accomplish this:
The customer brings the vehicle to the service department for a
reason and feels that professional attention is needed. This is known as
the natural sale.
This is the most difficult sale to be accomplished. The service
advisor has to demonstrate knowledge and present preventative
maintenance service based on vehicle mileage and customer service
history.
Few service advisors have the skills or training to inform and
educate a customer on additional recommended services and present a
solution that can be managed and handled in the service department. Too
often they rely solely on the technicians to find items during their
inspections, and even then may feel nervous about a presentation to the
customer.
The success to the service drive point-of-sale is at the
walkaround. Observations made by the service advisor lead to additional
recommend service or repairs that would otherwise slip by.
Presented properly, the service advisors sale can be a lot easier than it's perceived to be.
This sale is based on the proper visual inspection of all
vehicles by the technician, with recommendations to the service advisor.
The best service managers ensure that there is accountability for both
technicians and service advisors, to maximize results from this
important area.
MCS helps dealerships maximize results from all three areas of sales potential by:
- Reviewing the fundamentals in a classroom environment
- Working with the service manager and advisors, live in the service drive with real customers
- Supplying and using virtual, talking sales presentation programs specifically designed for the service drive
This combination of methods ensures that service advisors are
educated, encouraged and motivated to make a proper presentation to
every customer every time.
Monday, February 27, 2012
MCS, a Gary Simmons Company, provides the Virtual Selling & Training Solutions for car dealerships nationwide
MCS Virtual Selling Solutions
are a technology tool that enhance the sales process, and are fully compatible
with any sales force, and sales message.
We provide auto dealers with the
following assistance:
- Talking
- Quick-loading
- Sales and training presentations
- Delivered over the Internet, or locally from a computer
- Implementation Programs
MCS associates dedicate the needed time to train
and fully explain and detail the benefits of embracing a proven technological
solution that enhances the following:
- Dramatically improve profit
- Speed up any process
- Improve customer satisfaction
The proven effectiveness and
efficiency of MCS Virtual Selling and Training Solutions are well documented
and spreading across more areas of auto dealerships, general commerce and
industry.
Our core software technology for the
automotive industry was developed by the originators of the first 'talking'
sales presentation programs for auto dealers in 1995 and it has a time-tested
heritage that has continued to evolve and improve.
Virtual Selling Solutions: Maximize
Profit
- Present the same accurate information to every customer.
- Customized to present what needs to be said every time.
- Presents your information faster with a higher degree of credibility
- Positive results every day.
MCS Virtual Presentations are an excellent tool
to develop and define the customer’s needs. Furthermore, depending on the
facts, the tool introduces 'the solution' to the customer’s needs and places
your sales representative in an excellent position to discuss how your product
or service, meets the customer’s specific needs.
Virtual Training Solutions: Maximize
Learning
- Ensures that all important material is covered
- Customized to your achievable goals
- Dramatically reduces training costs and time
- Useful tool for the experienced and new employees
MCS Virtual Training Solutions
guides your staff and management to focus on training areas that require their
expertise, and not get bogged down in the straightforward, repetitive
information that typically represents 60-80% of any training program.
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Management Consulting Services
With over 30 years of experience in the automotive industry, Mr. Gary
Simmons formed MCS in 1982 to provide automotive management systems,
support services and pragmatic consultations to car dealerships in the
western US.
With an unparalleled reputation, great vision and dedication, MCS has a proven track-record of helping over 800 dealerships in 37 states. Partnering with the most experienced people in the automotive sales and training business today, MCS foundation is based on creating a unique long-lasting solution per client that can evolve and generate extraordinary results as time progresses.
A trade secret has been that MCS associates have become involved with a dealership after the standard-type-of-consultant has "blown through the place". On-site training combined with the latest technological tools that can be used every day by dealership management, sales and service staff, ensure a personal touch and the expected accomplishment on proven results.
With an unparalleled reputation, great vision and dedication, MCS has a proven track-record of helping over 800 dealerships in 37 states. Partnering with the most experienced people in the automotive sales and training business today, MCS foundation is based on creating a unique long-lasting solution per client that can evolve and generate extraordinary results as time progresses.
A trade secret has been that MCS associates have become involved with a dealership after the standard-type-of-consultant has "blown through the place". On-site training combined with the latest technological tools that can be used every day by dealership management, sales and service staff, ensure a personal touch and the expected accomplishment on proven results.
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