Discipline or the lack of it plays a major role for a business and the individuals within that business. Entrepreneurs and their personnel often fail to complete administration details, design and complete paperwork, respond promptly to prospects/customers or make cold calls. Yet these tasks are basic to running a successful and profitable home improvement business.
Without diligence and discipline these individuals will often abandon necessary ongoing efforts and experience failure. Many managers are frequently limited in enforcement capabilities. Attempts to force, intimidate or cajole staffs may work, but for only a brief period. The key is for the individual to understand the importance of these less glamorous tasks and exhibit a high level of energy in their completion.
Many owners of moderate sized companies wishing to grow fail to recognize that many of their salespeople would rather call on a familiar face than solicit new business and companies offering ‘services’ would rather have someone call them, than make new sales calls. Within many organizations the people tend to be comfortable doing business with certain types of people or organizations, and avoid others, regardless of sales potential. And many of the salespeople hired would rather make a new sale than deal with a service issue.
Individuals who employ discipline recognize the value of completing less glamorous tasks. They do them because they realize it will help them reach their goals more rapidly.
My consulting experience has shown me that most major corporations are highly structured, controlled by policies and have business plans. Smaller companies and entrepreneurs seldom use any of these controls. In many cases the owners of small businesses don’t exert the discipline necessary to undertake such plans or the necessary follow-through. Even when these companies retain an outside consultant to prepare a plan, they frequently don’t follow it; the discipline to follow-through is often lacking.
In large corporations, preparing forecasts, budgets, financial controls, management plans, goals and quotas are the responsibilities of managers who are then assessed and evaluated periodically.
The disciplines which are built into larger companies are often lacking in small businesses. Entrepreneurs who do achieve financial success manage to shorten their work load, heighten their productivity and profitability, and run a more efficient business by exerting higher levels of discipline than their contemporaries.