Lack of Focus White Paper FINAL

8/4/2019 Lack of Focus White Paper FINAL

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Lack of Focus Costs Managers both Professionally and Personally



1Lack of Focus Costs Managers both Professionally and Personally

Copyright B2A 2011 ©





Executive Summary

This white paper explores the cause and effectof a lack of focus on primary corporateinitiatives among managers, and how they canregain focus even during periods of heavyvolume and minimal staffing. These findingscan be translated into helping managers bothin and out of the workplace.





Contents

Executive Summary ........................................................ 2

Introduction .................................................................... 4

Challenges ...................................................................... 5

Foundation of the Challenge .......................................... 6

The Solution – Achieving Greater Focus ......................... 9

About Us ....................................................................... 11

Additional References .................................................. 12





Introduction

Focus. Some people have it and some peopledon’t. For such a short word, focus packs realpower. Steam rising from a boiling pot isunfocused, and fades into the atmosphere. Steamsurging through a turbine is focused; it willgenerate electricity and propel locomotives. Thisillustration makes a powerful point, if you aren’tfocused and if your business isn’t focused, yourefforts are going to diffuse into nothing. To make adifference, you have to become focused.

Unfocused managers stay busy most of the timedoing things that seem urgent, but at the end of the day feel as though they’ve accomplished little. They find it hard to explain to others – clearly, concisely and persuasively – exactly what they do day-to-day.

These managers may have good products or services, bu t they haven’t found ways to turn theminto profit. If this sounds like you, or someone you know, a lack of focus is costing you a greatdeal personally, professionally and financially.





Challenges

The challenges managers face today are more varied and complex than ever before. Thesechallenges have changed drastically in recent years and are having an impact on the lives of managers and their ability to succeed in their roles. At the heart of the problem is the lack of time managers have to focus on primary initiatives. These issues may be related to tasks,objectives, people, business, or self.

Many new restaurant owners or franchisees discover they love being an owner operator butoften quickly learn that they can't be in the unit overseeing every operation at all times. This isespecially true as single unit operators expand. Since hourly employees typically need oversight,guidance, and sometimes redirection, many owner operators often turn to unit managers tohelp them keep the unit operating at maximum efficiencies. It's this "point man" who oftenwields the knowledge and power which significantly affects a company's bottom line. Naturally,you want talented and motivated managers at the unit-level. Managers often oversee theirlocation ’s operations, keep an eye on its financial state, and of course, keep the hourlyemployees on task and in line.

In focus group discussions with multi-unit location executives the desire was to provide themeans to help managers maintain and heighten theirfocus on guest or customer satisfaction. The exchange of information in this viral age combined with one badreview of a restaurant can spur widespread detrimentaleffects. This ultimately may lead to significant damage tothe entire brand, not just the unit, both publically andfinancially. Managers are finding themselves unable todeal with these issues directly due to the overwhelmingdemands of their position.

When Red Book Solutions examined the current work conditions and challenges faced bymanagers throughout the United States, the problem of a “lack of focus” began to appear assomething of an epidemic. Time and time again, we see otherwise-talented managersoverwhelmed by their roles. Lack of focus has become very common in managers, oftencascading down and affecting entire teams and customers alike.

The manager can't be expected to do everything, especially if tasks are not well outlined andprioritized. In the day-to-day pressures of managers, it is not uncommon to simply lose focus onprimary initiatives. Hard work persists, but it is often misdirected. Many managers find itdifficult to grasp the basic nature of their job description. Over time, the result of hard work failsto benefit the business, the manager, or the people they lead.

Red Book Solutions works with managers on a daily basis and has observed commonalitiesaround the challenges managers face. Some of these difficulties are not new, but, whenconsidered together, they paint a picture of challenges within the managerial environment thatcan be actively remedied.





Foundation of the Challenge

We surveyed independent and franchise managers to find out what their primary initiativeswere and what a lack of focus on these initiatives meant to them, both on a professional andpersonal level. Table 1.0 looks at the conclusions gained from this survey in terms of professional and personal costs due to lack of focus on company initiatives.

Table 1.0 Lack of Focus on Primary Initiatives Conclusions

PRIMARY INITIATIVELACK OF FOCUS

PROFESSIONAL PERSONALEmployeeSatisfaction/Retention

Re-training of staff andhigher labor costs

Loss of opportunity foradvancement

Personal Development Manager performance Longer hoursCustomer Service Losing customers to

competitorsJob loss

Customer

Loyalty/Retention

Loss of repeat business Decrease in income

GuestSatisfaction/Experience

Decrease in sales Job loss

Organization Incomplete and missingtasks

Increased stress levels

Communication Customer service issues Increased stress levelsBrand/Market Share Lack of brand

recognition and firsttime customers

Job loss

SalesObjectives/Increase

Sales

Less revenue Lower bonus andpossible job loss

Costs Waste, theft, overstocking

Poor review, job loss

Safety Fines, damage tocompany reputation

Loss of opportunity foradvancement

Quality Customerdissatisfaction and lossin sales

Lower bonus

Work Orders/FacilityUpdates

Accidents and higherinsurance premiums

Decrease in income

What is causing this loss of focus?From our findings we have concluded that the top three factors contributing to a mana ger’s lackof focus are, work and information volume, ever-changing job demands, and the inability toprioritize effectively. Here we explain why.





Work and Information volume has become staggering.

In a 2010, MetLife survey, 40% of employees said their workload had increased in the past 12months.

Today’s managers deal with a tremendous amount of information and interruption fromvoicemail, e-mail, ringing cell phones and endless meetings, to evening and weekend workschedules that leave little time to stop. Day-to-day work is packed with a multitude of job

challenges, ranging from issues associated with customers and employees to issues withoperations, people, and technical details. Soon the volume of work dwarfs the amount of timeavailable to complete it and the volume of information dwarfs the ability to understand it.

For managers, these pressing forces not only are becoming more profuse, they are alsobecoming more direct and personal; just take a look at Table 1.0. The consequences of amanager ’s actions have an impact that reaches far beyond them. In fact, these consequencesaffect their subordinates, customers, owners and, more importantly, the brand name.

Job demands change quickly and often.

Employee turnover is a hefty problem i that has plagued the hospitality industry for many years.In the lodging business, turnover rates have been shown to be about 60 percent annually forline-level employees, and about 25 percent for managerial positions. This concern is evengreater in other hospitality contexts such as quick-service restaurants, where employeeturnover is typically in excess of 120 percent ii.

What is necessary for success in a managerialrole today could be radically differenttomorrow. Mergers, acquisitions, competitivethreats and a host of other factors can result inmajor shifts in what would be considered themost important tasks that a manager must

accomplish in any given month, quarter, oryear. Managers must develop the ability torespond immediately to these changing circumstances, and they must do so in a way thatremains consistent with the direction of the business.

These demands create an environment that is both mentally and physically taxing. Managersfeel intense pressure and have very little time to think strategically —reactive versus proactiveactions. Time and energy must be spent in the right places, accomplishing the right things theright way. As a result, it has become clear that a lack of focus differentiates successful andunsuccessful managers in t oday’s workplace.

The Focus Factoriii

Focus is a thinking process. In the average business day ones focus changes hundreds of times,often from moment to moment, and to a highly varied range of topics. A manager’s work hasbecome more complex and challenging, which leads to two primary effects on one’s day -to-dayfocus:

Focus is pulled in too many different directions, for very short periods of time

Focus is forced outside the current work environment for long ,sustainedperiods of time





Today, our focus changes so rapidly to keep up with current tasks that our primary energy isspent on that change in focus.

One analogy given for this phenomenon was that of a camera and a high-speed lens focusing ona running athlete. The lens’ primary energy must be spent on changing constantly to follow themoving subject. In contrast to this “action shot” is the “p ortrait shot ,” where the primary action

is not to focus on the change but to focus on the depth of the subject. The objective is toachieve the maximum amount of clarity. Therefore, the camera takes more time to focus thelens to ensure the most accurate depiction as possible.

For a manager, the opportunity to operate in the “portrait shot” mode is rare. Decision -makingwindows are brief and as mentioned before, information load is massive. The reality of operating in the “action shot” mode means that , over time, many managers simply lose touchwith what they are doing, why they are doing it, and moreover, who they are doing it for.





The Solution – Achieving Greater Focus

How do we restore a manager’s ability to focus on primary initiatives - the things that will returnthe greatest impact to their businesses, consumers and selves?

We do this by creating tools that proactively and consistently reinforce, strengthen, andorganize the focus in a manager ’s work life to do the right things right.

43% of Americans categorize themselves as disorganized, and 21% have missedvital work deadlines. Nearly half say disorganization causes them to work late atleast 2 or more times each week. iv

In surveying 1,000 middle managers of large companies in the U.S. andU.K., 59% miss important information almost every day because it exists withinthe company but they cannot find it. v

15% of all paper handled in businesses is lost according to the Delphi Group, aBoston consultancy, and 30% of all employees' time is spent trying to find lost

documents. vi Executives waste six weeks per year searching for lost documents. vii

These alarming statistics reinforce that achieving more effective focus through planning andorganizing is absolutely necessary. Using the right process at the right times helps us tounderstand important matters in greater depth. Asking questions like, “What are we trying toaccomplish as a comp any?” and “What are the most critical initiatives to execute our businessstrategy?” should be at the core of a manager’s focus. Managers must have a clear andcomplete understanding of strategies and how each strategic objective fits into the largercompany game plan.

The best way we have found to manage and maintain focus in the face of interruption,disturbance, and hindrance is with a simple tool: theManager’s Red Book ; more comprehensive and deliberatethan a checklist but with a familiar look and feel for theuser. Employ tools around key management initiatives,including: Priority and Time Management, Task andCompliance Management, Team and CommunicationManagement, Key Metric Variance and Corrective Action,Crisis Management, and Training and StandardsReinforcement. These tools act as coaching devicesenabling managers to focus their energy effectively to increase performance levels.





Table 2.0 Better Manager Building Blocks

The Manager’s Red Book helps to provide flow for a manager’s productivity . It incorporates the

power of simple checklists to keep one focused, force minds to be task-oriented, and drive theirday to obtain the expected results from their unit. The Manager’s Red Book also provides a day-to-day journal to record important events such as new promotions, results and effectiveness, orstaff issues that must be kept in a timely manner. Reference and history keeping has never beeneasier to access. The Manager’s Red Book keeps everything in one location instead of beingspread across aimless files and clipboards.

Employees working for focused managers will find greater clarity and a more welcoming,productive work environment. Everyone will be able to coordinate their activities successfully,which in turn reduces the number of tasks and leads to fewer distractions.

In today’s world where there is so little time to think, we must introduce more intentional waysto restore focus on the things we deem most important. A lack of focus has an impact on morethan just you. The end result: Restoring focus helps managers get things done right, increasingemployee and guest satisfaction levels that directly relate to the bottom-line of anyorganization. Stay on track and see performance improve; make good managers better.





About Us

Red Book Solutions has more than 20 years of experience as a trusted and valued resourceemployed by the top multi-unit franchisee brands across every industry. The growing ranks of 100,000 managers are living the benefits our products provide. Every business has certainstandards they know must be met – every day, everywhere – in order to achieve their Vision andMission. Red Book Solutions gets your people to live the standards that you believe in. Wefound that when a manager has a clear road map, they are well prepared and enabled to workthrough most issues that impact their performance. At Red Book Solutions, we “make goodmanagers better.”

4550 S. Windermere StreetEnglewood, Colorado 80110

Phone: 1.800.526.9635www.bettermanagers.com





Additional References

Barner, R.W. (2000). Executive resource management: Building and retaining an exceptionalresource team. Palo Alto, CA: Davies-Black.

Finkelstein, S. (2003). Why smart executives fail and what you can learn from their mistakes.

New York: Penguin Group.

Smith Travel Research, Tracey, J.B. and Tews, M.J. (2002). Hospitality Compensation andBenefits Survey. New York: American Hotel and Lodging Educational Foundation.

Tyler, Kathryn (2000, June). Scoring big in the workplace. HR Magazine, pp. 96-106.

i Woods, R.H., Heck, W. and Sciarini, M. (1998). Turnover and Diversity in the Lodging Industry.East Lansing, MI: American Hotel Foundation.

ii Tracey, J. Bruce and Hinkin, Timothy R. (2006, December). The Cost of Employee Turnover:When the Devil Is in the Details. CHR Reports, Vol. 6, No. 15.

iii Hargrove, R. (2003). Masterful Coaching. San Francisco: International Coach Federation.iv Von Bergen, Jane M. (2006, March). So many reasons to neaten up… Boston Globe.

v Accenture (2007). Wall Street Journal, May 14, 2007.

vi Von Bergen, Jane M. (2006, March). So many reasons to neaten up… Boston Globe.

vii Esselte survey (2004, August). Fast Company Magazine.

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Lack of Focus White Paper FINAL