Hugh Bowman

Think You’re a Good Manager? Ask Your Team.

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Last week I asked a simple question: how good are you as a manager?

Most business owners can quickly tell me what their team needs to improve. But how often do you turn that around and ask your team what you could improve?

Your team sees your management from a completely different perspective, so I’ve put together a simple Manager Feedback Scorecard you can print out and give to them.

It asks your team to rate you across six areas:

People Management
Communication
Technical Skills
Leadership
Problem Solving
Training & Development

The important part is asking them to be honest, and being prepared to listen to what comes back.

If several people rate you poorly in the same area, don’t defend it. Use it. That’s probably an area where becoming a better manager could also help you build a better team.

Download the scorecard here, give it to your team and see how you go.

And I’d genuinely love to hear what comes back.

Hugh Bowman
ActionCOACH Geelong

How Good Are You as a Manager?

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It’s pretty easy to point out the things your team could be doing better.

They’re too slow. They don’t communicate properly. They’re not learning quickly enough. They struggle to work together. They need too much direction.

But here’s a question I think more business owners should ask:

How would your team rate you as their manager?

It can be a confronting question, particularly when you’ve spent years building the business and employing the people around you. But if there are ongoing problems within your team, it’s worth looking at management from both sides.

In this video, I challenge business owners to ask their team for some genuine feedback across six areas:

  1. People management
  2. Communication
  3. Technical skills
  4. Leadership
  5. Problem solving
  6. Training and development

You might score really well in some areas and discover there are others where your team sees things very differently to you.

And that’s the point.

Good management isn’t about assuming you’re doing a good job. It’s about being willing to find out, learn from the feedback and become better at leading the people in your business.

Watch the video below and then consider giving the exercise a go with your own team!

You might be surprised by what you learn.

 

Thanks
Hugh

How to Make AI Your Business Advisor, Not Just Another Tool

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There are now plenty of AI tools being marketed specifically to tradies now.  

Some promise to help with quoting, invoices, customer communication, documents, job management and even answering questions on site. Others offer more complete AI systems designed to automate parts of the business.  

There can absolutely be a place for these tools. 

But before you start paying for another piece of software, I think there’s a more important question: 

Have you actually taught the AI you already have how your business works? 

Most business owners I speak to are already using AI in some way. They’ll ask it to write an email, tidy up a document, create a social post or answer a question. 

That’s useful, but it’s really only scratching the surface. 

The bigger opportunity is to give AI enough information about your business that you can start having much better business conversations with it. 

Imagine your AI already understood who your best customers are, which jobs are most profitable, your average job value, where your leads come from, your team structure, your competitors, your biggest challenges and where you want the business to be in 12 months. 

Now the questions can become very different. 

Instead of asking: 

“Write me a Facebook post.” 

You could be asking: 

“Based on our most profitable jobs and the customers we want more of, where should we be focusing our marketing?” 

Instead of: 

“Write a job ad.” 

You could ask: 

“Based on our current team structure, workload and growth plans, what position should I be looking to recruit next and why?” 

Or: 

“Here are our sales figures, quote conversion rates and sales forecast. What patterns can you see and what questions should I be asking?” 

That’s where I think AI starts getting interesting for a business owner. It moves from being something that helps you write things faster to something you can use to challenge your thinking, analyse information, identify problems and help you make better decisions. And you don’t necessarily need a different AI tool for every part of your business to start doing this. 

You need to train the AI you’re using properly and keep giving it relevant information about your business. 

That doesn’t happen in five minutes! Just like a new employee, the more useful information and context you give it about your business the better the conversation can become. 

This is something I’m spending a lot more time working through with trade business owners. 

Not simply “how do I use AI?” The better question is: 

“How could I use AI to help me run this business better?” 

That answer is really different for every business. 

If you’d like some help working out what that could look like in yours, get in touch. 

Hugh Bowman
ActionCOACH Geelong 

Put AI to Work in Your Business at Our Next GrowthCLUB

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Our next GrowthCLUB is happening on Tuesday 15 September, and this one is going to be a little different.

We’re getting hands on with AI!

There’s plenty of talk about what AI can do, but I’m more interested in how business owners can actually use it. So during this GrowthCLUB, everyone will have their laptop or iPad open and we’ll work through it together.

We’ll start by training AI to understand your business, including what you do, your customers, services, team, competitors, challenges and where you want the business to go.

From there, we’ll put it to work.

We’ll use AI to help identify opportunities you might be missing, look at where your time is disappearing, find repetitive tasks it could help you complete faster and get it to challenge some of your thinking.

Most importantly, this isn’t about getting AI to run your business for you. It’s about giving it enough information to become a genuinely useful tool for helping you think, plan and get things done.

You don’t need to be good with technology and you don’t need a paid AI account. Bring your laptop or iPad, come ready to work on your business and we’ll take you through it.

If you’d like to join us at GrowthCLUB on Tuesday 15 September, please get in touch.

Thanks
Hugh

How Many Holidays Should a Business Owner Take?

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If you own a business, when was the last time you took a proper break without feeling like you should be back at work?

I meet plenty of business owners who tell me they want more holidays, more time with their family and more opportunities to actually enjoy what they’ve built. But unless that time is deliberately planned, there’s always something in the business that gets in the way.

I’m a big believer that holidays shouldn’t just happen when you finally find a gap in the calendar. I have a simple system I use each year to make sure I get proper holidays, shorter breaks and plenty of long weekends throughout the year.

It’s good for me, it’s good for my family and I reckon it’s good for the business too. When you’re constantly working without taking a break, eventually you become stale, your productivity drops and your team can start picking up on it as well.

In the video below, I’ll show you exactly how I plan my holidays each year and the simple system I use to make sure they actually happen.

You might not want the same number of holidays or the same types of trips I do, and that’s not really the point. The important thing is having a system and putting the time aside before the year gets away from you.

After all, your business should give you more choices in life, not fewer.

Please reach out if you need help structuring a plan.

Thanks,
Hugh

Your Business May Be More Valuable Than You Realise

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I often hear business owners say, “When I retire, I’ll just shut the doors. No one would buy my business.”

But is that actually true?

When we start looking at the assets, the profit the business generates and the years it has taken to build its customer base, reputation and operation, the conversation often changes very quickly.

The issue isn’t always that the business has no value. It’s that the owner hasn’t built the systems or documentation needed to demonstrate that value to someone else.

In this short video, I walk through a simple example I regularly use with business owners to get them thinking differently about what their business could actually be worth.

If you’re planning to retire or step away from your business one day, don’t wait until then to find out what you’ve actually built.

Hugh Bowman
ActionCOACH Geelong

From Ideas in Your Head to a Business That Can Run Without You

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One of the biggest parts of succession planning is turning what you know as the business owner into something the business itself can use.

For many established business owners, there are years of knowledge, ideas and experience sitting in their head. But if the business is going to grow, operate with less reliance on its owner and eventually be passed on or sold, that knowledge needs to become plans, processes and systems.

That’s something I’ve worked on with Chris Beretta from D.A. Beretta, a long standing Geelong plumbing and civil works business.

When Chris first came to me, he already had plenty of ideas. What he needed was help getting those ideas down on paper, building plans around them and, importantly, actually implementing them.

Since then, we’ve worked on future growth, goal setting and streamlining systems within the business. Chris has also successfully developed a new traffic control arm within D.A. Beretta, turning what had previously been a cost to the business into another source of profit.

As Chris explains in the video, one of the biggest benefits of coaching has been having someone there to help move those ideas from his head into action.

That’s also an important part of building a business for the future.

Succession planning isn’t simply deciding who will take over one day. It’s about creating a stronger, more organised business with the systems, plans and people in place so everything doesn’t continue to depend on you.

Watch Chris’s story below to hear about his experience working with me and the changes they’ve implemented at D.A. Beretta.

Thanks
Hugh

Succession Planning Starts Earlier Than You Think

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When most business owners hear the words succession planning, they think it’s something to worry about when retirement is just around the corner.

In reality, that’s one of the biggest mistakes I see.

The businesses that achieve the best outcomes don’t suddenly become valuable in their final year. They become valuable because of the decisions their owners make over many years.

In this short video, I explain why succession planning is really about creating options. Whether your goal is to eventually sell your business, pass it on to family, install a management team or simply step back from the day to day running, it all starts with building a business that isn’t completely dependent on you.

I also share some of the key areas I work on with business owners, including developing leaders, documenting systems and increasing the overall value of the business.

If you’ve never really thought about succession planning, or you’d simply like to understand what makes a business more valuable, I encourage you to watch the video below.

Because succession planning isn’t just about leaving your business one day.

It’s about building a business that’s stronger, more profitable and gives you more freedom long before that day arrives.

Reach out if you’d like to start your succession planning.

Thanks
Hugh

Back From Goa With New Ideas for Local Business Owners

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Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve had the opportunity to step away from the day to day and spend some time overseas.

Before heading to the annual ActionCOACH Global Conference in Goa, I spent a week exploring Sri Lanka. From the stunning views at Lipton’s Seat to seeing wild elephants in Udawalawe National Park, it was an incredible experience and a great chance to recharge.

Then it was on to Goa for one of the biggest events on the ActionCOACH calendar.

Each year, coaches from around the world come together to learn, share ideas and collaborate on what’s working in business today. It’s an opportunity to see how businesses are overcoming challenges, improving performance and helping owners create businesses that are more profitable, more enjoyable and less dependent on them.

One of the proudest moments of the week was being recognised as the Global GrowthCLUB Coach of the Year. Receiving this award was a real honour. GrowthCLUB has always been one of my favourite programs because it gives business owners the time and structure to step away from the daily chaos and focus on planning their next 90 days. To have that recognised on a global stage was incredibly rewarding.

One of the biggest focuses at this year’s conference was the continued rollout of ABOS (ActionCOACH Business Operating System).

Every successful business relies on systems. The businesses that continue to grow aren’t relying on memory or hoping everyone knows what to do. They have documented processes, clear accountability and systems that allow the business to perform consistently, regardless of who’s on the tools or in the office.

ABOS brings those proven frameworks together into one practical operating system that helps businesses improve communication, leadership, management and operational efficiency. It’s exciting to see how successfully it’s already being used by businesses around the world, and I’m looking forward to introducing more of these concepts to the businesses I work with here in Geelong.

Another highlight was seeing the success of ActionCOACH’s management development programs being delivered internationally. It’s a proven ActionCOACH training program that’s used internationally to help business owners, supervisors and managers develop the leadership and management skills needed to build stronger teams. Seeing the consistency of the results across so many different countries gave me even greater confidence in the value it can deliver.

That’s why I’m excited to be facilitating the 12 Week Management MasterCLASS here in Geelong, starting on Tuesday 11 August. Over 12 weeks, I’ll guide participants through the program, sharing practical tools and strategies that can be implemented immediately. If you’re looking to strengthen your own leadership skills or invest in the development of someone in your business, it’s a fantastic opportunity to learn from a system that’s already helping businesses around the world.

Please reach out if you’d like some more information on anything mentioned.

Thanks
Hugh

June GrowthCLUB: A Day of Planning, Sales and Business Growth

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Yesterday I had the pleasure of hosting our June GrowthCLUB workshop, and once again I was reminded how valuable it is when business owners take the time to step away from the day to day and work on their business rather than just in it.

The focus for this quarter’s workshop was Sales and Planning, two areas that have an enormous impact on business performance. Throughout the day we explored sales processes, objection handling, goal setting and strategic planning for the months ahead.

One of the highlights for me is always the discussion that happens around the room. Business owners from different industries sharing ideas, challenges and solutions. Often the best breakthroughs come from hearing a different perspective or learning how someone else has tackled a similar challenge.

The Hot Seat sessions were particularly valuable, with participants openly discussing their biggest business challenges and receiving feedback and ideas from other business owners. It’s amazing how much knowledge exists within a room full of people who are all committed to growing and improving their businesses.

We also spent time reviewing goals, measuring progress and creating practical action plans for the next quarter. Having a plan is one thing. Having clear actions and accountability is what turns plans into results.

Of course, no GrowthCLUB would be complete without great conversations over lunch and the opportunity to connect with other like minded business owners who understand the challenges and opportunities that come with running a business.

If you’ve never attended a GrowthCLUB workshop before, I’d encourage you to consider joining us at one of our upcoming events. These workshops are designed to help you gain clarity, build a practical plan and leave with actions you can implement immediately in your business.

The next workshops are already scheduled and I’d love to see you there. Sometimes taking just one day out of your business can create results that impact the next three months. Yesterday we saw the majority of goals set by participants at the previous GrowthCLUB had already been achieved!

Please reach out if you have any questions about my future GrowthCLUB workshops.

Thanks
Hugh Bowman