Business Lessons from The Walking Dead

Hello and welcome to Business Lessons from The Walking Dead. The Walking Dead is set in a world where an unknown plague has gripped the planet, turning most people into zombies, with only a few people left alive. Surviving is a constant threat for those left alive in an ever changing environment. . You can catch up on my previous entries in the series here, and avoid becoming one of Britain's zombie companies.

Internment was a tour de force in action drama this week, as Herhsel Greene stormed to the forefront of the series with his one man army support and protection of the sick and dying. Infact, Hershel was the perfect example of leading by example, which helped some of the survivors pull through for another day.

The episode starts in a fairly sombre mood - with Hershel having organised a quarantined council session to discuss the strategy while they awaited supplies. He had quickly identified it was important to keep the morale up in the cells, particularly with Glenn and Sasha, whose help he was relying on. Then throughout the episode he was going to the extra lengths to avoid any of the sick being confronted by their fate if they happened to die.

Not only that, but his all action display inspired the rest to go their extra mile, with Sasha working until she was totally dehydrated and passed out. At Mr & Mrs Accountant, we'd never recommend you work your staff that hard, but there are lessons to be learnt on how to get the best from your most valuable resource; people.

In an ideal world, your staff will be self-motivated to work at 100% all day without you having to do anything. However, it's not human nature to do so, which is why football managers like Sir Alex Ferguson can be so successful, because they know how to get the best out of the people they manage when it's important.

Sometimes, when it's a backs against the wall situation, then you need to lead by example, just like Hershel. If you've got an important project deadline looming, and you need to have your staff operating at full tilt, then letting them all know you're finishing early to go to the pub is a sure fire way to show them that you're not all that interested. You're much better rolling up the sleeves and getting involved to help them out in getting the project finished, and then they'll reciprocate by going the extra mile themselves.

Of course the best measure of your staffing & project efficiency is having up to date financial figures to monitor performance, and so you know how effective your staff members are, and how any changes you make are affecting your business performance. Without those, you're shooting in the dark.

If you're concerned about your efficiency, you're planning a major project, or just like the sound of having better control over your business, then drop us a line and we can arrange a chat to discuss your options.