More than a Few Words Episode 7: Do You Have a ROWE?

A ROWE has nothing to do with boats, water or even my former employee Amy.  It is an alternative operating system for your company.

In a recent conversation with  Michael Reynolds, owner of Spin Web I  was introduced to the concept of a ROWE environment where employees are not paid by the hour, they are paid by the result.

For small business owners this can be a scary, but structure.   But if executed correctly a ROWE environment will move your business forward.

Want to learn more about ROWE? Listen to today’s podcast, check out Michael’s blog, or even one of his seminars about how you can create a ROWE environment in your company.

One Size Does Not Fit All

We created a fun direct mail piece for Roundpeg a few months ago.  Featuring a little boy in over sized clothes, the headline read: “When it Comes to Marketing, One Size Does Not Fit All!

I loved the card, because it really captured my attitude toward marketing.  While certain elements may transfer from client to client, each situation is different.   Great marketing strategies take all the elements into consideration: the needs of the client, the state of the market and the available budget.

Smart business owners recognize this applies to other elements of their business such as their employees.

Employees are not the same size.  Some need more direction, others need more challenges. So even in a small company the struggle for  the owner is to be fair,  but create incentives and an environment in  which each employee is motivated and empowered to do their best work.  It is easy to say, hard to do. What are your employee management  strategies?

Does it seem like I am focused on my organization a bit more these days?  With 3 interns, and 1 new employee, along with the rest of my team, I am spending a lot more time managing, and less time doing.  It isn’t easy!

Small Biz is Often All in the Family

This week we made a new change at Roundpeg, as my daughter, Michelle, joined our team.   A recent grad, she has worked at TechPoint for several years and has local industry contacts to match her mother’s.  She has good skills, my employees like her,  and many of my clients have known her for years, so it seems like the perfect fit – right?

The question is  – can we work together.  Can I stop being her mom, and be her boss? Can I judge her performance the way I would any other new employee, or will I let the 25 year relationship we have get in the way. At the same time, will she really take this seriously? Will she take feedback from me as her boss, and not her mom?  I don’t know the answer to any of these questions, but I would love to hear from other small business owners who have done this successfully or unsuccessfully.  I would really like to make it work.