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Top 10 Time Savers

How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time! That's right. At first you take the first bite. You have created a business plan, set goals to provide the best product or service to an identified target market and maybe secured capital from an outside source.

As you took your first bite, you focused on start- up activities: budget, marketing, and development. You studied all aspects of entrepreneurship to ensure your business a healthy start and provide energy for growth.

On the way to success! Before you knew it, business boomed and you found yourself busier that you ever thought possible. Your inner voice communicates worry that may have eluded your early days in business.

How can you do it all? How will you keep up with more work and longer hours? Will you be able to continue to provide the same quality, service and customer follow up that led to your growth? Will the organizational systems you put in place at the outset continue to work?

Did I say relax? With planning, you will be able to keep it all going. The key is to refocus on how to maintain control with physical and psychological organization as you grow. To maximize your business's escalation, develop routines with time and materials.

Since it takes time to create and organize business systems, begin with the clock. That dial is more important than ever as you re-identify priorities. Divide your calendar into 30 minute increments and schedule time blocks.

Here are the Top Ten Time Tested Techniques to maintaining control and cultivating growth:

1. Plan your schedule every week. Determine activities that require attention. If you are working on a long term project, exercise 'back timing.' That is, place the deadline for a project on your calendar. Work backwards from the deadline date so that you visually see the timeline and progress that a project requires.

2. Break projects into individual tasks. Schedule a definite time in your planner to work on each step. Scheduling in detail will help keep you focused, on schedule and avoid a last-minute rush that can hinder completion and quality.

3. Learn to delegate. You can't do it alone and expect to maintain growth. You need to be doing the most important tasks, while delegating the supporting tasks to someone else. Delegation is something that must be done over time. Work with a person who has the skills necessary for the kind of tasks you need done; learn to guide them and teach them slowly; trust will develop to the point where you can allow them more responsibility.

4. Implement a filing system. Implement a filing system to complement your work style. Can you find what you need when you need it? If you find yourself buried under more and more paper, it's time to reassess and create a better filing system. An effective filing system will save you time and money in dealing with your clients.

5. Just Say 'No'. Say 'no' to items that are not supporting your goals. It would be great if we could do everything for everyone, but that's not realistic. Nor is that the best use of our time. Understand what you are trying to accomplish, where you are going and how you plan to get there. It's easy to over extend ourselves, but that is a real time waster. Give yourself permission to say 'no.'

6. Take control of interruptions. Let's be honest, we all have so many interruptions during the day, that the time wasted would add up to at least an hour. Imagine how productive you could be with that same hour, if only you didn't have all those interruptions. Encourage colleagues to make an appointment with you, limit the time, and know the agenda. Keep practicing until it becomes a habit. Eliminate extra seating in your office. People will be less likely to stay for a long time with no place to sit.

7. Establish activity stations. Everything should have a place to 'be'. Some of the stations you should have are: computer, telephone, files, supplies, reference materials, and blank forms. By creating a system, you will be able to find what you need when you need it.

8. Process mail daily. Practice the FAT system: file, act, and toss. All papers will fall into one of these categories. Some of what you receive is for your information only. You can decide if you need to keep it, and then file it. If not, toss it. Other mail requires action. These are bills, invitations needing a response, correspondence, and requests. These should be prioritized by date of importance and placed in a tickler file. The 'junk' mail should be tossed immediately. Remember, even if you throw out a special offer, you will probably receive it again anyway.

9. Keep a bound notebook near the telephone. Use this to record all your phone calls and phone numbers. This keeps all the information in one place rather than hundreds of notes all over the floor and desk. Plus, it creates a permanent log for follow up.

10. Set aside 15 minutes. At the end of each day plan to clean up and prepare for tomorrow. Make it a habit to do this everyday. You will have closure for today, and be prepared to begin again tomorrow.

The most important thing you can do for yourself and your evolving business is to create a solid, organized foundation and build upon it.

Don't agonize...Organize!

SUMMARY On the way to success! Before you knew it, business boomed and you found yourself busier that you ever thought possible.

How can you do it all? How will you keep up with more work and longer hours? Will you be able to continue to provide the same quality, service and customer follow up that led to your growth? Will the organizational systems you put in place at the outset continue to work?

Did I say relax? With planning, you will be able to keep it all going.

Barb Friedman
03 Feb 2007

Barb Friedman Organize IT - Business Organizing Tips and Ideas http://www.organizeitbiz.com/ Free Organizing Tips, Newsletter and Articles overflowing with quick and easy ideas to organize your office, office space, desk, files, time and more.

If You Are A CEO, What Do You Do?

I have been reading the comments recently posted on a major website about a company that began by helping people beautify their homes.

They did this by providing great products at a great price backed by excellent Customer Service.

This is the success formula that has been the backbone, cornerstone and foundation of every single great Customer Service organization since the dawn of man.

Great products at a great price backed by excellent Customer Service.

I read a lot of that post and the comments from Customers and the thing that shouts out is the lack of friendly, caring and response-able personnel. In addition it is very clear that the empowerment that employees and the store manager had in the past has been removed.

This is not a slur against the people that are friendly and competent in that organization. It sounds like they have been smothered by a steady diet of “bottom line” management decisions.

So you are the CEO of said company and now you have to fix it.

What do you do?

In a word, ENABLE!

If you look it up the definition you will find it is as follows; to make able, provide with means, power, etc., to do something

That begins at the CEO’s desk and goes all the way to the last person to close the doors at night at the last open store after the last cart and broom is put away.

Number one on the list is to define the goal. What do you want to do? Once you have the goal, share it with EVERYONE involved in making it happen.

Better yet, have them help you define the goal.

Getting those who must make the vision to help you define the vision will get them to buy into the vision.

So, what’s next? We must start where it will have the most effect.

Personnel.

1. We begin by defining our image. Hire friendly, hire competence, hire trainability. The face of our company should reflect our image. Friendly, competent and trained personnel are the fastest way to correct a brand problem.

2. We empower all employees to act 'response-able' towards all Customers. There should never be any hesitation by an employee in response to a Customer’s request. They may not know the answer, however, the response should be friendly and be an offer to help or lead towards a resolution in favor of the Customer.

3. We commit to ongoing training, mentorship and inspection of what is expected. Training and mentorship is continuous and proactive. It begins with the expectation by the employee for training and support upon employment and the expectation that the employee will continue with ongoing training during the time employed.

4. The budget for providing the “means” of attracting friendly, competent and trainable personnel. And to provide for the training and mentoring of said personnel.

5. Pay plans based on a mix of Customer Satisfaction and profitability. If we are emphasizing Customer Service, then our pay plans are more rewarding for those that have excellent Customer Service. The results need to measurable and the plans have to reflect measurable results. They cannot be too easy to reach and cannot be too hard to obtain. They should cause the organization to stretch and reach, not bend and break.

It’s in the stretching and reaching that real results are attained. If you find your organization stuck or mired, it’s because people are bending which means resistance and that leads to breaking, which is another word for fail.

Think of it this way.

Where do you keep your cookies? In the top cabinet!

And to reach them, you are going to have to stretch, maybe climb to get them. They are almost never in the bottom cabinet.

Here you find the can goods and pots and pans. Sometimes you need a pot or pan. And can goods are handy.

But if you want a cookie, you are going to have to go get it.

They can be found on the top shelf.

By addressing those items, any organization looking for a plan for re-growth and positive results could start by looking at what got them there in the 1st place.

Great products at a great priced backed by excellent Customer Service.

Leonard Buchholz
13 Feb 2007

Leonard Buchholz leads seminars in Customer Service, Attitude and Skills and Management. He also provides coaching and consulting in Customer Service. He resides in Southern California and you can reach him at 760-529-5635 or email him at selfemployedagent@cox.net