🔒Proven strategies, tips, techniques to build a successful company

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“The Entrepreneur's Playbook – More than 100 Proven Strategies, Tips, and Techniques to Build a Radically Successful Business” by Leonard C. Green with Paul B. Brown (AMACOM, $21.95).

Green, who was a driving force behind SoBe beverages and Blue Buffalo pet food, shares his been-there-done-that successful experiences and missteps. He debunks the “take the wheel; step on the gas; crash and learn” approach to starting a new business. In its place, Green favors a calculated-risk approach that reminds wannabe entrepreneurs that “creating a better mousetrap isn't the end of the journey; it's the beginning.”

The key takeaway deals with time on two fronts:

“Work hard (You'll be amazed at how many people don't)” — 1. Starting a business requires working long hours, which requires a work-life choice. There aren't enough hours in a day to do what's necessary to launch a business and have a “normal” personal life. Every hour away from your launch means you're delaying that launch. Any delay can be costly – you can run out of money, help needed may not be available and your window of opportunity can close.

If you're single, the choice becomes easy. If you're in a relationship, not so. The best you do is explain to your spouse/partner/other why delays can lead to failure to launch, and hope that he/she agrees that the business should be the priority. Even with such agreement, there will be bumps in the road that you'll have to smooth out.

2. There's a marked difference between activity and progress. Activity deals with busyness; progress deals with achievement. “If you're doing something that isn't adding value, don't do it.”

To maximize achievement, learn to delegate. Let your employees do what they were hired to do. Keep an open communications loop by asking for and listening to feedback before making decisions.

Also, recognize that progress isn't linear. Just because you're doing what you should be doing doesn't guarantee success. Why? You don't control everything in the process. Employee turnover/illness and actions of suppliers, investors, the marketplace, etc. may require a shift in priorities.

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“Hello Stay Interviews, Goodbye Talent Loss — A Manager's Playbook” by Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, $17.95).

When business owners look at their income statements they only see revenue and expenses. They don't see the hidden cost of turnover. According to a recent study by Manpower Group, replacing an entry-level employee costs about $6,000; the cost of replacing a mid-level manager could reach upwards of $60,000.

The costs relate to conducting a search, lost productivity as others shoulder the load and the cost of training a newbie. Then there's the morale cost that can't be measured in dollars, but which could result in more turnover.

All too often, managers don't realize a valued employee is looking until notice is given. Then, during the exit interview, they ask, “What can I do to keep you?” The authors believe that variations of the question should have been asked and answered many times while the employee was on the job.

Stay interviews are ongoing conversations between the manager and employees that: 1. Provide an opportunity to find out more about what's important to employees; and, 2. Tell employees that their contributions are valued. When employees know that management listens to them, they become more engaged in their work, and less likely to jump ship.

Open-ended questions are the tools of the stay interview because they allow employees to express themselves. Some good ones are: “What did you learn this year about yourself?” “What can I do to support your career goals?” “What makes for a great day at work?”

The bottom line: Stay interviews identify what managers need to do to keep valued employees.

Jim Pawlak is a nationally syndicated book reviewer.