As the end of 2009 fast approaches, a common activity for a lot of small business owners is to try and finalise as much business as possible, before taking a well earned rest over the festive season.
Unfortunately, what subsequently tends to occur as a consequence of all of this end of year “busyness” is that the opportunity to refresh the working environment for the coming year tends to be overlooked, and the potential for significant productivity improvement in the following year, are missed.
Often, the perceived need to finalise as much business as possible before the festive season kicks in is not driven by client/customer expectations, but more from business owners wanting to keep their staff productive, right up until the holiday break.
I would suggest that any internal capacity not directly needed to be applied to finalising business where commitments have been given or expectations raised, should at the tail end of the year, be devoted to an internal clean up of the working environment, in preparation for a clean start to 2010.
A range of tasks including;
a) Removal and disposal of all unused, obsolete, surplus to needs, damaged or otherwise unnecessary items from the work place environment,
b) Re-organising, remodelling, streamlining, and any other actions to improve physical filing and storage systems for physical documents and office supplies,
c) Reviewing existing office, work station, furniture and equipment layouts which have been in place for some time, to determine if the layouts remain optimal for the work currently being performed,
d) A thorough clean of all of the areas that cleaners never get to because of furniture and equipment placement, height limitations of their equipment, and difficult access or access restrictions,
e) Attending to finalising all database updates, queries, revisions, deletions, annual calendar year report production, and other such actions to ensure pristine database records and improved functionality, for the start of the coming year.
f) Identifying areas where touch up painting, minor repairs, lighting upgrades, carpet/tile replacement and the like can be quickly attended to before the festive season,
g) Replacing all half dead, or well past their used by date, indoor plants with better and more suitable indoor plants, to help improve internal air quality and general workplace ambience,
h) Ensuring that all IT equipment, related backup systems, and virus protection programs are fully functional, and actually meet all current needs in terms of ongoing suitability and reliability, and
i) Checking that all fire protection systems, security systems, disaster recovery systems and the like are performing as expected, and as appropriate, for the holiday season and that the listed contact people and their contact details are actually current,
will ensure that staff are productively active, and effectively contributing towards a clean start in 2010, during what is traditionally regarded as the end of year wind down period.
If such a range of end of year activities is not part of your normal business operations, you stand a very good chance of being pleasantly surprised, as to how much more productive than normal, January/February 2010 will be for your business if you follow the above suggestions.
When was the last time your business conducted such a comprehensive list of end of year activities?
How often have you during the holiday break, been unable to relax and wind down, because of concerns that arise in your head after you have shut down the business for the break?
What effect do you think a tired work environment has on the productivity of your staff?
About Me
- Daniel Watson
- Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Born in the mid 1950's and raised in a very small country town situated in Northern Victoria. Resident of Melbourne since 1980 and happy to stay living in one of the world's most liveable cities. You can view my professional profile at http://www.linkedin/in/danielwatson
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Are you asking the right questions?
Business owners are busy people, and in their perpetual state of “busyness”, they often don't take the necessary time to carefully think about the right question to ask another party, in order to gain the correct information they need, to enhance the quality of their decisions.
Business owners are regularly faced with the need to make important decisions about matters in which they lack expertise, or sometimes even a basic understanding of the subject matter, and in these circumstances, asking weak questions, or the wrong questions, and then acting on the answers provided, can prove to be extremely costly.
Key business decisions, are often made on the run by business owners, without any more than the asking of cursory questions more aligned to reassurance than probing to ensure clear understanding and elicitation of quality information. It is decisions, made on the basis of such poor answers, that business owners often live to regret.
The right question should indicate to the other party that the issue is important in the context of a decision to be made, should inform them of the need to provide accurate and concise information, and should convey a sense of urgency in respect to the applicable decision time frames.
The right question is usually the best possible, simple question, that can be asked in the context of the overall objective that the actual decision needing to be made is aligned to in terms of supporting that objective, or successfully achieving it. The best, simple question, should lead the other party to ask themselves a range of more detailed questions, before they can provide the requested answer.
Whilst, determining the right question to ask, is a critical component in gathering information to assist in decision making, of equal importance is making sure that you are directing the right question to the right party. In other words, you need to be sure that the other party is actually qualified to provide the answer, and has the experience necessary to put the answer into a context relevant to you, and your business requirements.
Asking the right question of the right party has an additional element which needs to be taken into consideration. That element is ensuring that you ask the right question of the right party at the right time. There will be times when it is inappropriate to seek information if you want the best possible response, so the desire for instant gratification, may occasionally need to be tempered, until the timing is right.
The right question asked of the right party at the right time can be incredibly empowering for a business owner, and their business, especially if the answer elicited, provides more information than expected, and leads to a decision which is far superior to any decision that would otherwise have been taken.
How often do you give any consideration to the quality of the questions you ask others when requiring information to assist in your decision processes?
How do you determine who is the right party to ask the right question?
Can you temper your need for immediate gratification to ensure that the right question is asked of the right party at the right time?
Business owners are regularly faced with the need to make important decisions about matters in which they lack expertise, or sometimes even a basic understanding of the subject matter, and in these circumstances, asking weak questions, or the wrong questions, and then acting on the answers provided, can prove to be extremely costly.
Key business decisions, are often made on the run by business owners, without any more than the asking of cursory questions more aligned to reassurance than probing to ensure clear understanding and elicitation of quality information. It is decisions, made on the basis of such poor answers, that business owners often live to regret.
The right question should indicate to the other party that the issue is important in the context of a decision to be made, should inform them of the need to provide accurate and concise information, and should convey a sense of urgency in respect to the applicable decision time frames.
The right question is usually the best possible, simple question, that can be asked in the context of the overall objective that the actual decision needing to be made is aligned to in terms of supporting that objective, or successfully achieving it. The best, simple question, should lead the other party to ask themselves a range of more detailed questions, before they can provide the requested answer.
Whilst, determining the right question to ask, is a critical component in gathering information to assist in decision making, of equal importance is making sure that you are directing the right question to the right party. In other words, you need to be sure that the other party is actually qualified to provide the answer, and has the experience necessary to put the answer into a context relevant to you, and your business requirements.
Asking the right question of the right party has an additional element which needs to be taken into consideration. That element is ensuring that you ask the right question of the right party at the right time. There will be times when it is inappropriate to seek information if you want the best possible response, so the desire for instant gratification, may occasionally need to be tempered, until the timing is right.
The right question asked of the right party at the right time can be incredibly empowering for a business owner, and their business, especially if the answer elicited, provides more information than expected, and leads to a decision which is far superior to any decision that would otherwise have been taken.
How often do you give any consideration to the quality of the questions you ask others when requiring information to assist in your decision processes?
How do you determine who is the right party to ask the right question?
Can you temper your need for immediate gratification to ensure that the right question is asked of the right party at the right time?
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
You Can’t do Everything.
The role of a business owner gets more complex by the day, and it is little wonder that many business owners find that by spreading themselves so thinly across all of the activities they need to accomplish each day, nothing ever gets done properly, or as quickly as is optimal for their business.
Many owners fall for the trap of trying to do everything themselves to keep costs down, but in reality, the cost to the business of the inefficiencies inherent in this approach, and the lack of necessary attention to the detail in any business which inevitably results, will generally outweigh any savings expected by the business owner, in adopting this "one man band" approach.
In working with a client recently, I identified that as the business owner he was trying to perform at least 16 clearly identifiable key roles, many of which were measurably not the best use of his available time, and some were critical roles for which he was not all that well qualified, to perform.
In the best interests of the business, an owner should step back from attempting to be the jack of all trades and the master of none, and look at where specifically in the business their skill set and personality can be utilised to greatest advantage and for the greatest return, and delegate or outsource the remaining roles to others, or another entity, that can do what is required in far less time, more effectively, and at relatively lower cost, than the cost of the owners time in completing the particular role(s) themselves.
The issue of control and inability to delegate raises its ugly head time and time again when examining why, small business owners in particular, continue to beat their heads against a brick wall in trying to accomplish everything themselves, but at considerable cost to themselves, their families and their businesses.
In an earlier article, “Four Critical Business Roles”, I explored and discussed my view that it is a very rare individual who is capable of effectively performing all of the critical roles required to be performed in a SME business, and that one’s personality will to a high degree dictate the roles one can effectively perform, and which will positively contribute, to the expected outcomes for the business.
Where the business owner’s personality is not suited to one or more of the four critical roles which need to be performed on a daily basis, then the business will be facing an uphill battle to achieve any real level of success, and the business owner will constantly frustrated with his/her inability to achieve the outcomes desired, in the time frame available.
The answer is to recognise that “one man bands” generally run out of steam long before the businesses they operate grow to a level where they can be regarded as successful, sustainable businesses that are no longer reliant on the input of just one person, and take action now to make the most effective and productive use of your time, and pay others to perform the roles for which the business is paying a higher than necessary cost for you to perform.
Why do you continue to try to do everything yourself?
Do you have an inability to let go and an aversion to delegating or outsourcing?
Do you now understand that the cost of doing everything yourself is the future level of success of your business?
Many owners fall for the trap of trying to do everything themselves to keep costs down, but in reality, the cost to the business of the inefficiencies inherent in this approach, and the lack of necessary attention to the detail in any business which inevitably results, will generally outweigh any savings expected by the business owner, in adopting this "one man band" approach.
In working with a client recently, I identified that as the business owner he was trying to perform at least 16 clearly identifiable key roles, many of which were measurably not the best use of his available time, and some were critical roles for which he was not all that well qualified, to perform.
In the best interests of the business, an owner should step back from attempting to be the jack of all trades and the master of none, and look at where specifically in the business their skill set and personality can be utilised to greatest advantage and for the greatest return, and delegate or outsource the remaining roles to others, or another entity, that can do what is required in far less time, more effectively, and at relatively lower cost, than the cost of the owners time in completing the particular role(s) themselves.
The issue of control and inability to delegate raises its ugly head time and time again when examining why, small business owners in particular, continue to beat their heads against a brick wall in trying to accomplish everything themselves, but at considerable cost to themselves, their families and their businesses.
In an earlier article, “Four Critical Business Roles”, I explored and discussed my view that it is a very rare individual who is capable of effectively performing all of the critical roles required to be performed in a SME business, and that one’s personality will to a high degree dictate the roles one can effectively perform, and which will positively contribute, to the expected outcomes for the business.
Where the business owner’s personality is not suited to one or more of the four critical roles which need to be performed on a daily basis, then the business will be facing an uphill battle to achieve any real level of success, and the business owner will constantly frustrated with his/her inability to achieve the outcomes desired, in the time frame available.
The answer is to recognise that “one man bands” generally run out of steam long before the businesses they operate grow to a level where they can be regarded as successful, sustainable businesses that are no longer reliant on the input of just one person, and take action now to make the most effective and productive use of your time, and pay others to perform the roles for which the business is paying a higher than necessary cost for you to perform.
Why do you continue to try to do everything yourself?
Do you have an inability to let go and an aversion to delegating or outsourcing?
Do you now understand that the cost of doing everything yourself is the future level of success of your business?
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