33 Changes for the Small Company Manager

Looking back on this past year as a manager in a small  company, I see a mix of both good and bad.  Sure, my company was one of the few in its industry to NOT lose ground over the last 12 months (as my buddy Mike says, ”Flat is the new hypergrowth—right?”), but my performance, my decision-making and my execution were definitely far from perfect.

In an effort to help my company continue the double-digit annual revenue growth it became accustomed to earlier in the century, I need to make some fundamental changes in the way I act, the way I work, and the way I manage.  With this in mind, during the upcoming year I resolve to do as many of the following as I possibly can:

1. Not worry about what my competitors are doing.
2. Hire smart people who care.
3. Measure everything I do.
4. Look for new customers  for my products and services.
5. Regularly share my goals with my team.
6. Reward employees who deserve it.
7. Take a multi-vitamin.
8. Become an industry expert.
9. Lead by example.
10. Take advantage of mobile technology.
11. Get more out of people who work for me.
12. Attend fewer trade shows.
13. Come up withe new product and service ideas.
14. Buy a more versatile cell phone.
15. Stop accepting mediocre work from my peers.
16. Work smarter.
17. Use more vacation days.
18. Try a few things that seem impossible.
19. Use fewer curse words.
20. Run a leaner department.
21. Talk to more customers.
22. Get up from my desk once in awhile.
23. Diversify my marketing dollars.
24. Take walks over lunch.
25. Attend fewer meetings.
26. Schedule fewer meetings.
27. Say what I think, exactly when I think it.
28. Buy a nicer pen . . . and hang onto it.
29. Waste less time arguing with people who are wrong.
30. Keep a tidier desk.
31. Maintain a list of good ideas.
32. Bring more functions in-house.
33. Think bigger.

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