Great Business Management Practices

There is a lot of research about what makes a successful business manager / CEOs. Here is my perspective on some of the essential elements which are in grained in the personality of a successful business man/ business manager.

a. Strong work ethic

Practice what you preach not only applies to life but also to your work. A good business manager not only expects his employees to work hard for him but works harder than most of his employees. Generally, he would never cut corners to success and understands that anything less than 100% is not sufficient. They do not mind burning the midnight oil for their work and also ensure that they are highly disciplined about their work. To cut it short, they worship their work.

b. People management

People management is one skill which is required in all walks of life but more so in management of a business. A business manager not only manages his customers as well financiers but also his employees. It is almost impossible to find a successful business manager who is not good with people management. He has to communicate the right stuff to the right people at the right time in the right way. He needs to know how to keep his employees motivated and aligned to his goals. Besides, he should be able to delight all the other stake holders of his business to run it successfully.

c. Great listeners

Listening is a skill which needs special mention here. Listening is not just about actively hearing all the stake holders in your business and giving their views due consideration but also about trying to pick hints from the environment. A good listener listens to words as well as trends. He actively seeks information and acts upon it.

d. Amazing analysts

Successful business manager who constantly excel are always great analysts. They are able to analyze situations and trends and able to take decisions effectively to make the most of them. They can look at data/ information/ trends/ behaviors and come to the right conclusions on what is brewing. Besides, they can add the right ingredients to make the most of that condition and ensure that the business is able to capitalize on that opportunity.

e. Risk appetite

You cannot succeed at anything if you are not willing to take risk. Only those people who are willing to lose the sight of the shore can discover new lands. That doesn't mean one needs to keep taking risks every time. Businessmen have an acumen to be able to take calculated risk and have a plan to mitigate them if they don't pay off. 

Technology revolution - Gadgets which lost relevance in the past 10 years

Technology has moved over the past 10 years at such a frantic pace that there have been a lot of gadgets which were in during the late 90s have completely lost relevance and to say the least, got obsolete . Here is the list of top 5 gadgets which come to my mind.

a. The walkman/ Disc Man -
With the advent of I-pods as well other portable memory and music playing instruments including the mobile phones itself, the walkman has completely lost relevance for the consumer. Not only are they bulky but also they use technologies which itself have become obsolete like the cassettes / CDs.

b. Polaroid cameras/ Cameras with films -
With the advent of Digital cameras which can capture/ display/ save/ delete images at a click of button, traditional cameras which recorded them on a film have completely lost relevance. The advent of this technology spelled doom for the traditional cameras almost instantaneously.

c. DVDs / VCDS and Audio CDs
With pen drives/ Portable hard disk drives and cloud technologies available, DVDs and VCDs have already started losing relevance and its not long before they are likely to get obsolete.

d. Fax Machines
With E-mails and internet accessible easily across the globe, fax machines (which were once essential devices in any office) are no longer found in even those offices which have been slow to accept new technological trends.

e. Land Line telephones
Mobile phones can do everything that a land-line phone can do plus they have extra features which are way beyond the utility of a land line phone. Considering that, it is no surprise that land-line phones are losing market share at an alarming rate.