Bob Prosen

When the most productive leaders hear someone rationalizing inferior performance, they switch the conversation from negative to positive. Instead of asking why an individual hasn’t met a goal, ask what he’s doing to get there. Does he need help? What stands in the way? During these conversations, make certain ownership and accountability are maintained while you focus on actions required to achieve the desired outcome. … [ Read more ]

Bob Prosen

When you make a request of someone, take a little extra time to explain why you are making it. Put it in context and explain why it’s important to the goals of the business. Then the person can provide a more robust solution because she understands the purpose of the task and how the information will be used. Ask what the person needs to complete … [ Read more ]

Bob Prosen

If price weren’t an issue, anyone could sell. Selling value, however, is a much different proposition. To sell value, a salesperson must ask the right questions and know when to be quiet. Your salesperson needs to be incredibly well versed in the competitive landscape and understand the customer’s business.

Bob Prosen

An important and often overlooked aspect of operational excellence is regularly comparing actual costs to budget assumptions – not just the numbers in the plan. Understanding assumption deviations will help improve the accuracy of future forecasting.

Bob Prosen

Kick your assumptions around a lot with your P&L owners to make certain that your assumptions are valid. Make sure you’ve based them on data that your whole team can buy into. If you can’t debate and thoroughly agree on the assumptions, then you won’t get buy-in to your plan.

Bob Prosen

When the business plan, the operating plan, and the budget come together, you know precisely what you want to accomplish, how you’re going to do it, who is responsibile, what it’s going to cost, and how you’re going to meet your financial and operating objectives. When combined with an effective measurement and reward system, this becomes the most powerful way to establish accountability across your … [ Read more ]

Bob Prosen

There are only a few reasons that people are unproductive. They either don’t know what’s expected of them, they need training, they’re in the wrong job, or they need to go. Be careful not to confuse efficiency with unproductivity. Some people get things done so well they have time available to handle more. Whatever the reason, it’s management’s responsibility to address the situation immediately. … [ Read more ]