Consultants often meet lean organizational structures with various management positions missing because being represented by the owner (or owners) usually results in very challenging combinations. In spite of the fact that a company may have several dozen employees,  the consultant, based only on the numbers of the employees would expect that every part of the company has its own manager.  This would be typical in most corporations.  Often the consultant soon realizes that R&D, Finance and Sales department managers (for example) are all represented by one person –  the owner of the company.

In such cases, the consultant may easily start to play the role of internal HR manager, as this role is among those often also represented by the owner. A situation like this may bring many opportunities for co-operation, as there are a lot of projects to work on, perhaps years of joint work ahead. The consultant may think, “Here is a good client! Great!”

However, there is one person the consultant should never forget about – the owner. Whatever executive searches are delivered, whatever training or development programs are developed and introduced, etc., there is always the owner with his or her own needs. The consultant should be careful to dedicate enough time to the owner, encouraging him or her to discuss personal aspirations, satisfaction and future goals.

Of course, the same goes with any other person in any other type of company. Behind the company goals and needs, there are our own personal needs and expectations influenced by our personality, experience, and knowledge.

The post Never forget about the owner first appeared on Horton International.

Is there any difference between the current situation of small-to-medium family owned businesses in Italy, with its long tradition of entrepreneurship, compared to Czech companies?

Compared to Italy, the Czech tradition of family business is relatively young. In the Czech Republic, we saw a nearly 40 year gap after World War II. At that time, nationalization was thought to be the best recipe for managing of almost any type of business. After the Velvet Revolution in 1989, key skills and competencies to run a family business was often missing for one or even two generations already. Even more significantly, that was 40 years period often broke the chain of sharing values, the most delicate part of heritage being normally passed on from one generation to another. Values, transferred on the younger generation not via trainings, schools etc. but through daily sharing stories at home, around the dinner table, visiting parents at their office or while participating in the daily life of the family business. As a consequence of this, many dreamed about “the good old days”, 40 or more years ago, when all seemed perfect, compared to starting or restarting the business in the 1990’s. However, by that time, the world had changed in many significant ways so what many dreamed about was not the reality…

This may be one of the reasons why the shift to the 2nd generation, the most common case in the family business in the present, is a bit more difficult in our case.

The post Generational change & family businesses first appeared on Horton International.

When I start with myself in the position of consultant I may say that it sometimes takes hours, sometimes days, most usually a few months but sometimes even a year before a project is finished.

For many positions it may be the same. A house will likely be finished within a year or two if everything goes according to plan. My friend who is running a big garden centre will probably see the outcome of his gardening projects within few months or a maybe year. He may even have the great benefit of seeing various longer-term results as the seasons change and the client’s garden gets modified by growing trees, bushes or grass….

For some jobs it takes much longer to see results. It is said, and unfortunately also measured, that it takes around 12 years before an infrastructure project such as a new highway is finished in the Czech Republic. The wait for a new high speed train connection? We may have to wait till 2035 (a real claim made by our prime minister in 2017). Well, still not too bad when compared to the length of the project which started back in the past in Puerto Rico.  In 1974 scientists seeking artificial intelligence in the distant galaxies sent a message via the Arecibo radiotelescope. If their message reaches its audience it will take 50,000 years before any answer is received back here on Earth. Time is relative…..

The post What the candidates say… first appeared on Horton International.

The survey was attended by exactly 60 respondents, 55 of them had an experience with the external cooperation. Nearly 60% of respondent freelancers have more than five years of experience with an external collaboration.

Among most important motivating factors for freelancers to externally cooperate with companies were payment morality, flexibility, and the quality of relationships. Less important is for example the amount of financial rewards (which is usually more important for regular employees).

The post Is motivation of external employees the same as motivation of regular employees? first appeared on Horton International.