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!

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!

Helping Those That Need Help!

This holiday season as the nation tries to dig out from a recession some of the most impacted will be those that help others. Charitable contributions are down significantly throughout the country and because of that many of those people that rely on the help of charitable organizations will be in dire need.

As you look at your business this holiday season I would challenge all business owners to find creative ways to help those organizations that help others. Whether it's financial or material contributions or simply contributions of time those organizations need your help this holiday season.

The Pinecrest Group and Ultimate Breakthrough Planning is going to do our part by launching a new program called "Coaching For Your Cause". In this program for everyone that signs up for our coaching programs from November 1, 2010 to January 1, 2010 we will donate 5% of the cost of the program back to an organization of your choice. And that contribution will be made in your name and on your behalf not ours!

I know that times are tough but anything we can do to help those less fortunate this holiday season, not to mention anytime makes the world a better place!

Providing Value to Your Customers in Your Service

I'm always interested in the response I get from my clients when I ask them if they deliver good service. Almost all of them say they do and then give me some examples of how they do it. However I get a very different response when I ask them how they deliver value in their service, most of the time I get a quizzical look that says, "What do you mean"?

Providing value in the minds of your clients or customers means that you have taken the time to put yourself in their shoes and have asked the question, "What would I want?" As you look at your service you need to make sure that what your perception of good service is and what your customers perception is are in alignment. Many times I have heard my clients say they give great service by doing something for the customer and then when I go back and ask the customer they say well yes they do that but that really isn't all that important to us.

I believe that one area of service that is critical is communication to your customers, not only when something good or bad happens but also as a means of establishing expectations. If you go about setting written service standards for your business but then don't communicate them to your customers you have done nothing to set the expectations and give yourself the opportunity to exceed those expectations.

Here are a couple of examples that I have recently encountered:

• I occasionally eat at a local Arby's and for a long time now they have been offering a special pick 5 items for $5.95. I thought this was great value and the last time I was there they had taken it off the menu, when I asked about it they said they had taken if off the menu because they were sending out coupons instead. As I was standing there waiting for my meal I must have heard 5 people ask about that special and all got the same response. Now it seems pretty obvious to me that the 5 people and myself could care less about the coupons that we didn't have, we wanted the special that was a value in our minds. They have lost at least one customer because they changed their value proposition.
• I have recently been working on a project with a couple of different companies and to get them to communicate with me on what's going on has been like pulling teeth. I am about to make a considerable investment in what they have to offer and yet to get them to answer an email, return a phone call or keep me in the loop as to what's going on has been virtually impossible. Here all I am asking for is a simple response and they don't seem to think that is important. Again in this case it may cost them a very good customer.

These are just a couple of examples of service that could have made my perception of these companies very different. When you don't get basic answers or perceived value you have a tendency to start looking at the other things that a company or business does and start wondering what else is wrong. So as you look at your service and create a plan that will help you deliver exceptional service make sure you put yourself in your customers or clients shoes and remember the old adage, "what's in it for me".

The Fallacy of Business Planning

I recently read an article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune business section that talked about how with unemployment up more and more people are looking into starting their own businesses and certainly during most recessions you see a spike in business startups. The article was stressing the importance of having a business plan and was going through the various steps of creating a traditional business plan and how important it was to have this document that painted a picture of your business so you would have something to use in working with you banker or investor. The article also went on to talk about the process of creating a plan and using the same basic format that has been used for years and years how this plan would really help you get your business off the ground. Herein lies the problem with this whole approach, the last numbers I saw said that almost 90% of all business startups never make it more than two years, with that being the case why in the world would we continue to stress the importance of this business plan format when it obviously doesn't work? I have worked with countless businesses that create very well thought out business plans that go into a lot of detail about what the business will look like however in those plans I have never seen a section on how we are going to execute the plan. The fallacy of business planning is that if you don't have one you won't succeed where the reality is that the format that we have been using for years does nothing but create a static document that gets stuck in a binder or file folder and is never used to help grow the business.

What I suggest and work with my clients on is to create a business plan that is all about execution, it gets the business owner clearly focused on the actions they need to do to make that business successful and keeps them on track by measuring those actions using key milestones. This business planning approach gives the business owner a much greater chance of success by keeping them clearly focused on strategies and priorities that will grow their business. I call the approach the Business Planning Funnel , this planning process takes the business owner through a specific progression on the priorities, strategies, tactics, and tasks and timelines that will allow them to create a true business action plan. With this plan and a good set of financials I would give them a much greater chance of success then the traditional business planning model will ever give them, and I'm guessing that their bankers and investors would also be very interested is seeing the how rather than the what of the business!