Mangers are those employees that can make or break your business.
Especially if you are a serially entrepreneur and have multiple businesses in multiple arenas, the difference between a good and a great manager will greatly impact on each and every one of your businesses.
I have known business owners who transfer the day to day running of the business to a single person and to multiple people. I have seen both work and both fail.
One client had transferred most of the operational dealing to two employees. The owner was still present, but had the employees running the show. The business revenue has been suffering for erosion; there has been no advertising or marketing done for years; except for word of mouth. Now one employee has announced they are leaving, there is no other job, they just want out. The second is now also questioning if this is where they want to be long term. We have been asked to step in and assist. But we cannot become the new managers. We can take over some responsibilities, but we can’t be there daily.
Another client handed over the CEO function to an employee, this is working. But the CEO is working closely with the Chairman of the BOD to ensure that all is running as smoothly as possible.
Another client transferred the daily tasks to two employees, who were later even given ownership stakes. After a couple of rough years things seem to be running smoothly.
One person I know was looking at a Cricket franchise, they talked about the duties of the manager, there would only be a three person team (manager and two support) to cover the store for all shifts each week. When I mentioned that based on the proposed hourly rates for the support staff, there would be turnover. He stated that that would be the manager’s responsibility to cover and hire more staff. I would not want to be his manager.
It all drills down to finding and keeping the right person. Someone you is dependable, personable and can trust with your money and business.