Call Us: (541) 788-7001
Recover 10-15 days of lost productivity per employee per year.
Discover the keys to less, shorter and more productive, interactive meetings.
Developing a strong and logical universal "finding" system.
|
11 January 2010
Posted in
Productivity
" You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read".
Taking literary license and a spin towards the business owner; I suggest that "Your business/career will be the same in five years as it is today except for the people you meet and the books you read". (Let me qualify "books you've read" to include all avenues available to learning, whether they be books, trainings, educational courses, etc.)
Given the above, I venture into the blogosphere following a theme; speaking to the books I read or the people I meet.
In Work The System, (The Simple Mechanics of Making More and Working Less (http://www.workthesystem.com), author Sam Carpenter comments: "Too many corporate managers and small business owners see their businesses and the world as a complex mass of sights, sounds, and events". Speaking to the foundational reason for business mediocrity and failure, he goes on to state "The leader isn’t seeing the mechanisms that are producing the bad results. If a leader is blind to the mechanics, he or she won’t be able to climb out of the morass."
I unequivocally agree. Whether you are a seasoned business leader or recent start-up, failure to understand the mechanics of your business and create systems and procedures in written form to support those mechanics will result in business chaos, stress, and mediocrity.
Statistics indicate employees who lack understanding of employer expectations and company operating procedures cost employers as much as $2,733 per employee per year in lost time and inefficiency. The "math" is easy; stressed employees that lack an understanding of expectations, policies and procedures will result in unstable, unpredictable products and/or customer service.
Conversely, when employees know what is expected of them, where to find what they need and how things are done, everyone benefits. Employees are more productive, less frustrated and more customer centric, clients and customers find interactions professional and seamless, and the company saves money and increases efficiency by minimizing training time and downtime.
Whats my point? Create standard operating procedures for every step of your business, write them out, keep them current and make sure to respect and support your employees by training them step-by-step. You'll increase the caliber of your staff, the value of your business and the experience of your customer. The satisfied customer is your best business strategy.
|
24 November 2009
Posted in
Productivity
In his bestselling book , Rule #1, author Phil Town spells out in exceptionally clear and absolute terms that rules dictate the success or the failure of investing. In short; "rules" undergird solid decisions by keeping us from reacting emotionally and motivating us to evaluate information thereby resulting in informed decisions. In that, when we pursue a course of action, (based on solid information and pre-determined guidelines, i.e., "rules") we can rest confidentially in those decisions and place our mental, emotional, creative and physical efforts elsewhere. Does it involve some planning, investment of time and resources upfront? Absolutely, but the back end pay off makes for a tangible ROI.
This same mindset towards "rules" can be applied to the success or the failure of a business in the nano-second it takes to click "send". Statistics indicate 53 % of companies lack a policy to govern email retention & deletion, 67% allow individual end users to determine how long messages are kept by the company and 66% lack archiving technology required to manage retention, litigation holds and e-Discovery. In today's litigious society the derailment or demise of a business lies in the click of the "send" button. Take the upfront time to protect your future success by establishing some "rules" around these communication channels. Need help getting started? http://www.infotech.com offers free downloadable templates to create email and mobile use policies.
|
24 November 2009
Posted in
Productivity
Barbara Hemphill, known as "America's Favorite Orgainzer" has always voiced, "Together We Are Better".
Anything I as productivity professional can do to foster our industry for the betterment of the client experience builds credibility and awareness for the need and value of our profession and the expertise we provide.
This morning I find myself involved in a wonderful nationwide (perhaps world wide) offering that puts takes the "Together We Are Better" message and gives it "legs".
What a privledge to be involved with members of this profession committed to send the message that our industry is indeed professional, collaborative, cutting edge and customer centric!
