Friday, June 25, 2010

Simplicity Means Focus

I met with a client this morning and he was telling me about how good it felt to spend last weekend in his office just cleaning out and getting rid of old files and things that he didn't need anymore and it got me thinking about how clutter can keep us from being focused on the things we really need to be doing to move our businesses or sales forward.

When you look at your desk are you constantly trying to figure out where you put something so that you can work on it? When you look at what you should be doing do you have multiple to do lists and post it notes all over the place? When you look at your calendar do you have notes scribbled all over the place and it's hard to figure our what you should be doing next to follow-up with that prospect or client? And finally when you call a meeting does it turn into a free for all because there is no set agenda?

These are all things that creating some simplicity in how you do things can really help you focus. Let's look at each one of them:

  • First organizing your desk, keep on your desk only those things that you need to work on for that day, move the rest of it somewhere else or better yet go through it and toss out the stuff you truly don't need. This will keep you on task and not wasting time looking for things.
  • Your to do list; I work with my clients and get them to do a weekly worksheet that gets them thinking about organizing their entire week versus just a day at a time, I think this keeps them focused on the big priorities that need to get accomplished and they don't get hung up on the things that are not vitally important. I also encourage them to do time blocking which helps the concentrate on setting critical blocks of time aside to work on revenue generating activities versus time wasters.
  • Your calendar and follow-up; get a system that keeps everything organized for you, here's where technology can really help. Look for a system that will keep everything at our fingertips, emails, calendars, documents, etc... and easily accessible. I use a system called BatchBook that is easy to use and syncs with all my devices.
  • And last but not least and I've written about this one before, meetings! Set a start time and an end time and have a written agenda. This will help you stay on track and not waste time in meetings. If there is not a specific objective for the meeting then don't have one!!
By simplifying the various things you do on a day to day basis you really can create focus!

Friday, June 11, 2010

What's Your Passion?

I was interviewed last night by Carla Beaurline for her Around Town television show and one of the questions she asked me was, "there are many people that have lost their jobs in this economy and they are considering starting their own businesses, what piece of advise would you give them?" The first thing that popped into my head was "find your passion", if you're going to start a business, make darn sure it's one that you truly love and can see yourself doing for a very long time.

As I thought about this question over the past 12 hours or so, it also occurred to me that this is very relevant to anyone that already has their own business. Many of my clients and people that I talk with that have their own businesses have lost that passion, they have become so engrossed in the day to day activities of running their businesses that they have forgot about the real reason they created the thing in the first place. One of the best ways to find that passion again is to look at what you're doing on a day to day basis and make sure that the bulk of the time is being spent on the things you like to do, that can clearly help your business grow. If you like the operational side of things then make sure that's where you're spending your time and find another person or way to handle the sales and marketing side of things. Vice versa if you really like the sales and marketing side of things then focus on that and find other ways or people to handle the operational side of things. And I'm not necessarily talking about hiring new people, in today's business environment there are many options beyond hiring people, it could be outsourcing or new technology, think outside the box!

If there's no way to do what I say above then at the very least, make sure you are creating time to do the things you love to do in your business. By planning your time out weekly versus daily you will find that it will allow you to create blocks of time that you can focus on the things you really like to do! If you can remember why you started your business in the first place, or if you didn't start it but bought it or inherited it they why did you get involved and start focusing on creating that vision that you originally have your mental state will be much better and your business will be better for it!! Several months ago I was interviewed by Krishn De for her highly listened to podcast series Biz Growth Live and I talked about creating a plan that will help you get that focus back. You can listen to it here!
And if you need help visit our website to find out how we can help you get that focus back!