More electricity and… Tackling and mastering

More electricity and…basic trouble shooting

So, there you stand looking at a dead machine feeling a little like the proverbial deer in the headlights. It isn’t doing anything and you’re not sure what to do, or even where to start. Well, that describes just about every one of us at some point early in our careers. The answer to that bewildered condition is (of course) to start at the beginning.
First check the main electrical box where you’ll find a multiple throw circuit breaker that’s (hopefully) identified on the list on that panel’s door as the machine’s electrical source. If that breakers’ arms are in the off position, start by flipping it back on. If it stays there, go see if the machine will now function. Just maybe you’re lucky and some smarty thought it would be fun to turn it off!
If the machine’s still dead, but the breaker hasn’t flipped to off, it might be a blown line fuse (each line will have a separate fuse) inside the machine’s electrical panel. And the bad one simply isn’t allowing either L1, L2, or L3’s power to pass through it. Replace it and you’re good to go. But if that breaker either immediately snaps back to the off position or does so the moment you turn the machine on, the issue’s not a bad line fuse. Nope. Somethings creating a short circuit and that double pole breaker is doing its’ job.
Now’s the time to: (A) if you’re that good, break out your tester and study the machines schematic to figure out what device inside that cabinet’s the likely culprit. If it’s (B) and you’re not up to that sort of undertaking, you can comfortably recommend they contact a competent service agency who can sort it out. But at least, you’re not going to be embarrassed when they show up and cycle that double pole breaker to “fix” the problem.
Next up: A word or two on safety.

Tackling and mastering… a tricky new job

Managing people is a challenging undertaking any time, but for a first timer it can be downright bewildering. In most cases, we’ve had the advantage of having been managed (hopefully by a good practitioner) and can mimic what we experienced as a subordinate. But regardless of our experience, managing is a system and in the absence of understanding its’ basics, at worst we’re flailing and at best we’re practicing it by trial and error.
To complicate things a lot of entrepreneurs lack even the experience of having worked for an effective manager because they’ve been self-employed practically from the get-go. In that case when the day arrives to add that needed second set of hands it gets real. There it might be a good idea to get one of the many management books available, find a good podcast, or CD on the topic to play in the car.
No matter the situation, we all need to remember that management, like selling, is a structured undertaking. Now instead of the sales mantra of: Earn, Learn, Match, Explain and Close, it’s: Goal setting, Planning, Implementing and Evaluating – think GPIE for short. And most critically, the job of managing is to get those goals and plans implemented through others.
But while understanding those GPIE fundamentals is the certainly the starting point, it is only that. The bigger challenge is developing and mastering the skill of motivating and directing those associates to implement those plans and to be reasonably happy about doing so!