If you think that managing a business is easy, then I will firstly congratulate you on your undoubted current and/or future success and then ask ‘Why are you reading this course, then?
The truth is that management isn’t easy; it’s hard work. As the top manager of your own business, not only are you responsible for everything that you do, you are responsible for what your team does, whether your team is two or 2,000 people. You employ people in your business. They put their ability to pay their bills in your hands. They trust that you’ll look after them and hope that you’ll work in the best interests of the business, including them and not just yourself. That’s one heck of a responsibility you’ve taken on.
Take a look at big business: who gets all the plaudits when a company turns in its best figures since records began? Who is the subject of the interviews, who gets photographed, who gets all the ‘Well done’ pats on the back? The Managing Director/CEO; the ‘Fat Cat’ with the ‘Fat Salary’, the Boss. But, who gets fired when the end of year figures are rubbish? Who gets the chop when the team below them do something disastrous? Yep, you guessed it, the Boss. Commercial sport works the same way. Great results result in headlines calling for the canonisation of the Team Manager. Poor results mean demands for his head!
You see, when you are in charge of running a business, you can’t point at the team and say that it’s their fault. Managing a business means that somewhere between ‘some’ and ‘all’ of the buck stops with you. So, if you’re up for a challenge and you’d like some plain—spoken, common sense help and guidance on how to become a good, or even a great manager, settle—in and keep reading. Hopefully, the ride won’t be too bumpy!
Good management includes keeping your promises to your people as well as your customers.