Tips from the trenches: Part 2

This blog is a second part of the prelude to the recently published book, Diving In – Lessons learned since business school. It covers some of the core philosophies around business building and developmentThe tips and traps given here are woven into the fabric of the book. This article follows on from Part 1 and covers tips 6-10 from my experiences as a business owner.

From someone who has done it all before

TIP 6: Have a serious office culture

Following on from Tip 5 (have a relaxed office environment), a relaxed and serious office culture can exist in tandem. This can be achieved if the staff recognise that underlying the relaxed office culture is a very serious business that deals with people’s lives and livelihood. Many organisations that I deal with focus too much on the seriousness of the work they do. They don’t spend enough time ensuring that the workplace environment is warm and relaxed in order to facilitate serious work. It is a fine line for everyone to tread, but when it works, it works well.

TIP 7: Communication is king. Long live the king

‘Telling someone to go to hell in such a way that they look forward to the trip” was my late father’s definition of diplomacy. I have positioned my mortgage businesses on the fundamental principle of communication. Over the years, when I have received complaints from clients, it has generally been based around communication or lack thereof. Almost daily, I stress to my team that communication with clients, even if it is one line that says, ‘I checked on your file and the bank will give us an answer next Tuesday’ makes the client feel part of the process. It makes the clients feel that their interests are being looked after. Communication makes our clients feel acknowledged, and that they are ‘people’, not just ‘files’.

TIP 8: Give up control to gain control

One of the key drivers for growth in my businesses is that I gave up control. I gave up control of the day-to-day grind of lodging and managing deals with the banks. By doing so, I gained control of my time to optimise my skills and do what I do best, which is being front-facing to new customers.

TIP 9: The whole truth and nothing but the truth

As simple as it sounds, being truthful all the time in dealing with everybody is a challenge. Often we slip into the all-too-easy trap of stretching the truth, or shifting blame to others. This links closely with the key focus of regular communication. If we communicate and everyone knows what is happening, then the truth is self-evident.

TIP 10: Keep it simple – if its bite-size you can’t choke

We tend to overcomplicate things. I see people who suffer from ‘analysis paralysis’ – analysing something to a point where it is too hard to make any decisions. I absolutely believe in explaining structures and strategies to clients in simple terms that they can understand, and terms that can easily be communicated to my team. This keep-it-simple approach has led to the development of a very simple but effective management system called ‘Monday to Friday’.I finish every blog with “why am I writing this?”The answer is BECAUSE –

• Because I want to share the ideas, stories, anecdotes and business tips and traps.
• Because I want to pay it forward.
• Because I want to help people grow their businesses.
• Because I want managers to become better managers.
• Because I believe that I can “Give your business the EDGE”