I have been musing lately about the so called hard skills in business. Many of my colleagues in the coaching and consulting arena seem to focus on the business numbers. What I find interesting however is that often there is only a small improvement in the business- if any, after that logical and necessary intervention. As the old professor used to say "why is this so ????"
I believe its because the numbers are a symptom of the problem and the problem usually starts with the business owner and their staff. It's about behavior first. Change the behavior change the business.
Understanding what type of personality you as an owner are and and what makes your staff tick gives the first insight into what needs to be done.
This means looking at how people operate understanding their strengths and weaknesses and then building the business processes and structures around this understanding. So many business owners are doing things they don't like with skills they don't have and wondering why it isn't working.
Restructuring and redefining the organisation , even if its a one man show, can radically improve profitability and satisfaction for the owner the staff and the clients - the numbers will take care of them selves :)