Want More Free Time?… 4 Key Strategies To Implement

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In our 24/7 world where time is a precious commodity, here are a few suggestions on how to get more free time.

  • Step back and assess how you really spend your time?  Are you really doing busy work or something that truly matters.
  • What can you delegate?  This can be very hard when you want to control the outcome, but its imperative that we give work to those who are more skilled in an area that we are not, and most of all don’t like to do.  What tasks can be outsourced or delegated to an employee.
  • What would be your ideal schedule?  I was challenged by my colleagues to look at my weekly schedule and determine what I would consider ideal.  Like how much time I spent on client matters, on family, and on my nonprofit service.  It doesn’t always work in balance, but at least you visualize what it looks like to drive towards that goal.
  • Most of all make time for yourself.  A study by GFK Roper & Real Simple showed that 65% of their participants were “happy” had made time for themselves.  Its important to have our own “thinking time” to come up with the creative solutions to issues that we face in our business and personal life. Add it to you calendar just like it was a meeting with a client.

Implement these 4 strategies and find yourself with more time to do the “right” work to propel you to the next level!

Mike

3 Tips For Better Business Planning

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Planning is a critical part of making sure your business is focused and on track.  Here are six important elements for long term planning.

  • Define the outcome.  Each planning session should have a desired outcome in mind that you define at the beginning of it and then circle back at the end and ask yourself the question if you actually addressed it.
  • SMART goals need to be the prepared and documented.  Your management team should come up with what they feel from their perspective the goal or goals should be so that you can see where the common ground is and where your team is thinking the business should go.
  • Have a specific written agenda prepared ahead of any planning session and stick to it.  Don’t let meetings drag on without keeping people on time which means on track.

Follow these 3 guidelines for your next business planning session and create a better road map to your success!

Mike

Hiring Your Next Employee?… Consider These Questions

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Must ask questions for interviewing new hires.  As you begin to look at opportunities to hire your next employee consider the following questions to ask.

  • In what ways will this role help you stretch your professional capabilities?  This question drives at what the candidate will reveal as areas where they want to improve their skills.
  • What have been your greatest areas of improvement during your career?  This points to areas the candidate felt were weaknesses and how they have addressed them.  Of course, if the indicate that they don’t have any areas of improvement, then they may not be the right candidate.
  • What is the toughest feedback that you have received and how you learned from it?  This shows that a candidate can admit to mistakes and how they handled it along with what they did to use it in their learning process.
  • What would someone most likely misunderstand about you?  This can show a candidates ability to understand others and how they themselves may be misunderstood in certain situations.
  • If you were to give a user manual to you staff in order for them to get to know you, what would it include?  This shows the candidates work habits and general style.

For our company we hire for “attitude” and train for “skills.” We can always teach someone a new skill, but it is very difficult to change someone’s attitude that has been baked into them since childhood.

Here’s to asking the right questions to get you the right new employee!

Mike

3 Tips To Being A Successful Entrepreneur

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Entrepreneurs and businesspeople are constantly on the go and one of the keys to our success often gets neglected- exercise.  Its important to invest in ourselves and exercise is not only good for our body it really helps our brain development too.  Even only 20 minutes of exercise a day makes a huge impact on our well being and outlook.  Here are some tips.

  • Get adequate sleep.  Sleep deprivation suppresses your brain’s ability to filter distractions and limits your focus.
  • Disconnect from our wired 24/7 world.  Unwinding in nature can dramatically improve your cognitive levels.  I really enjoy hiking or even walking in my neighborhood green spaces.
  • Look at your food intake and make a 2% change.  One of the presentations at my Vistage meeting was a nutritionist.  The one take away that has stuck with me was his mantra of saying find the one thing that you can do to change your diet.  I choose to make sure when I look at labels in the store to limit my sugar intake which converts to fatty carbs.  If I make a 2% change in my diet every year, then after 10 years I have may 20% change in my habits.  That’s much easier than the New Year’s resolution to change everything.

So take a break, get the sleep you deserve, and find a 2% change in your diet that can make a difference in the long run. Here’s to adopting the traits of a successful entreprenuer!

Mike

Business Growth… Is Bigger Better?

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This is often a question that I ponder.  The tendency is to say but of course if you don’t grow, then you wither and die as an organization.  Some of the conventional wisdom says that size and growth matter.  However, is it really about being bigger or is it really about being great at what you do?

I read a book titled “Small Giants: Companies that Choose to be Great Instead of Big” by Bo Burlingame.  I really liked many of the concepts that emerged from his research on how companies with strong brands such as Clif Bar and Anchor Brewing became great companies in their industries.  Instead their focus was on becoming great companies delivering their products to their customers and creating a work environment where their employees thrive.

I challenge you to think outside the box and determine what your path should be—getting bigger or being the best? Knowing your business “why” will shape how you answer this question.

Here’s to thinking outside the box about what growth means to you!

Mike

Business Planning: Where Is The Exit?

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I have had the honor to work with many types of organizations of the 20 plus years of my business career.  What I have discovered is those business owners who have had a successful exit seemed to have a common theme—they started their business with the end in mind.  One the keystone habits from Steven Covey’s The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People.

They could visualize what their business would look like and who would be interested in buying it.  And in some cases they even partnered or became familiar with those companies that would be the ultimate buyer.

We all “exit” our businesses in some way—sell to a third party, sell to an insider, pass on to the next generation, or simply close the shop…and no matter how its done, thinking about the end in mind can make it a reality someday.  Start your planning today even if you are starting out in business. The actions and decisions you make today will impact how you Exit the business in the future.

To your successful Exit!

Mike

Are Your Goals SMART?

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I have had the privilege to be a part of a strong peer business group, Vistage, where part of the accountability is our goal setting.  What I have learned over the years is the more specific and measurable the goal the better.  My team forces me to put a timetable on each goal, otherwise, they tell me I have an aspiration, not a goal.  I encourage you to set your own SMART goals.

  • Specific
  • Measurable
  • Actionable
  • Realistic
  • Timely

When you implement these concepts with each of your goals, watch your accomplishments go to the next level!

Mike

Time Management: Are You Focused?

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I have often heard how well someone can multi-task to get things done.  However, in my experience the person is not so much multi-tasking but rather is switch-tasking and they are not as productive first observed.

Studies have indicated that it can take between 10 minutes to 30 minutes to get back on track with a task that was interrupted by a phone call or email.  In a 2009 study by Stanford researcher, Clifford Nass, he experimented with college students on switching among tasks.  What he found was chronic multi-taskers for terrible at filtering irrelevant information and working memory.

For me the art of getting things done is to stay focused. I start each day with my top 3 priorities that will move the needle for me and my business. I stick with the first priority and finish it before moving on to the next one. It is similar to the acronym FOCUS… Finish, One, Course of action, Until, Complete.

Here’s to you staying focused on the one thing that will move you forward!

Mike

Cash Flow Tips For Uncertain Times

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I’ve been watching the news and talking with colleagues and clients and wanted to share some strategies with you that may come in handy as you navigate through uncertain times.

Consider these cash preservation ideas…

  • Research refinance options for any high interest loans and ask for some or all of the closing costs to be waived.
  • The Small Business Administration has created a program to fast track low interest loans under its Economic Injury Disaster Loan, visit: www.sba.gov/disaster
  • Reach out to your lenders about deferring payments, or reducing to interest only payments, on debt.
  • Ask your landlord if you can pay rent at the end of the month (in arrears) for the next 90 days.
  • Ask your landlord about reducing or deferring Common Area Maintenance (CAM) charges for the next 90 days.
  • Call clients to see who can pay faster/earlier.
  • Call vendors to see if you can get extended terms or defer some portion of invoices to a later date.
  • Ask vendors to take payment on a company credit card.  Ask the vendor to charge the amount just after the credit card statement drop date.  This can defer a payment from 15-45 days if timed correctly.
  • Reach out to your credit card company to ask for reduced or zero interest for the next 90-120 days.
  • Bill customers as quickly as possible.
  • Consider whether you have any customers who might pay now for future delivery of services.
  • Defer your personal tax return filing and payment to July 15th.  The IRS issued recent ruling that is allowing a delayed 2019 tax filing until this date.  However, if you are owed a refund file your return now to get the funds.

If you think of other ideas, I’d love to hear them!  My belief is that we will come out of this stronger and definitely together when times are tough.  Stay well and here’s to more cash flow coming into your company!

Mike

Want To Improve Your Sales? Do This One Thing

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I recently ran across an article discussing how some companies are asking one simple question to get an understanding on whether a customer would recommend your product or service.  Referred to as the “net promoter score “, the question asked is the following.

On a scale of 0 to 10 how likely is it that you would recommend us to your friends or colleagues?

High responses in the 9 to 10 range are promoters.  Low responses from 0 to 6 are detractors and responses between 7 to 8 are somewhat satisfied.  This concept was embraced by GE Healthcare who at the time was doing traditional customer satisfaction surveys that only gave vague results.

GE went so far as to not only compile a score but also tie it to a bonus.  However, there are critics of this approach too.  While it is a simple measure some say its simplicity may point people in the wrong direction. My thought is we all need to start somewhere and having an actual metric gets you started thinking about how to make customers your best source of referrals.  Understanding why detractors answered the way that they did can only give you helpful information to become better at what you do.  The discussion with your customers on this question can be of great value that can accelerate your company’s growth.

Stress Management: 5 Practical Tactics

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We all live busy professional lives.  Stress can seem to come from any where these days.  It’s a 24/7 culture with nonstop ways to communicate…email, text, Instagram, snap chat, and more.  Here are some things to consider making life more enjoyable and maybe slow it down some too.

Exercise more.   A 7-minute workout might be just enough.  Recent articles have been written about how a 7-minute workout can be just as beneficial as an hour.  Whether you believe in the short burst workouts or not, a great stress reliever is exercise and the time you spend for yourself.

Sleep more.  This is underrated in our “go get’em” American bravado to getting it done.   Sleep helps the body recover and repair itself.  Sleep deprived people more often fail to recall pleasant memories and instead recall more gloomy ones.  Think happier thoughts…get more sleep.

Spend time with family and friends.  A study done recently indicated one of the top 5 regrets of those dying was not spending enough time with family and friends.  We are here for such a moment; enjoy with those you love.

Help others.  This can enrich our lives and our well being.  Studies seem to point that 100 hours a year helping others can give us the “feel good” deposit that can add happiness and fulfillment.

Practice gratitude.  Even for the small things crossing our paths like a good hot cup of tea and the sunset.  Gratitude can be practiced in many different ways such as journaling what you are grateful for or simply writing a note of thanks to a friend or colleague.  An “attitude of gratitude” can go a long way to increasing life satisfaction.

Here’s to implementing your tactics for better stress management!

Mike

7 Habits That Make Great Leaders

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I recently completed the book “7 Habits of Highly Effective People.”  There were so many great points for both personal and professional development.  The author, Stephen Covey, also provided a list of behaviors that he (and me) believes show in high trust leaders.

1. Give straight talk.  Integrity starts with giving an honest opinion, the truth.

2. Show respect in all that you do, including compassion

3. Right any wrongs, and then apologize to demonstrate humility. Covering up only makes it worse.

4. Get better at it.  Try to continuously learn about new skills and methods.  I read books and magazines on a regular basis with goals of completing a number of books each year.

5. See reality for what it is and take it head on.  Addressing the tough issues shows courageous leadership.

6. Listen first which is one of Covey’s 7 habits of “see first to understand before being understood.”

7. Keep commitments.  Once you state your intentions, keep them to build confidence and trust.

Here’s to creating your 7 habits as a great leader!

Mike