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March 6, 2010 By Susan Barr Leave a Comment

USE 4 D’S TO DEAL WITH UNFINISHED PROJECTS

unfinishedprojectsThis is the third post in a monthly series dedicated to preparing your business for the upcoming economic recovery.

We all have them. Many times, they sit in stacks of papers in our office, the “someday I will get to that pile.” Not addressing this pile of projects before business growth is like trying to run a marathon with an extra 40 pounds on your hips, knees and ankles – it can be done but it takes longer and it hurts a lot more. Everyone has their own system but for me, I like to follow the 4D’s approach:

Do It! These are the projects that support strategic objectives, have high payback and cannot be delayed. They were a great idea before the recession and they are an even better idea now.

Delegate It! Do you have employees looking for more challenging assignments? During a recession when money is tight, performance development projects without restrictive schedules can be delegated to employees who are trying to develop new skills. In a tight market, if you cannot offer raises or other financial incentives, providing employees with enhanced duties and opportunities to develop new skills helps foster positive morale.

Consider smartsourcing the work to a freelancer. Besides the traditional online jobbers such as Monster.com or Hotjobs.com, check out Craigslist.com, elance.com, guru.com or odesk.com as terrific resources to locate highly credentialed professionals. Ask for referrals on your social networks such as LinkedIn. There are many unemployed or underemployed professionals on the market willing to freelance while between jobs. If the projects require administrative or computer skills, you can use web-based productivity tools such as Google Docs or Zoho for virtual collaboration.

Dump It! In my experience, at least 50% of the projects in the “someday” pile should simply be dumped. If you haven’t made it a priority by now, what has changed? Why wasn’t it critical enough to rise to the level of importance before? Was it lack of staff? If so, why didn’t you outsource the work while the business was stronger and money available? Was it because no one can do it like you? I hope not – those kinds of projects will kill your business whether we are in a recession or on the upswing.

Delay It! These are great ideas that have positive impact on the business but are not as high a priority as “Do It Now” items. They are not essential enough to pay someone else to do (or they are difficult to delegate or outsource) but they are worth getting done. For example, you may have a list of blog changes you want to make but they don’t raise to the level of critical enough to hire a webmaster to complete. Avoid putting everything you cannot do immediately into the Delay It category – you will simply end up right where you started with a big pile of unfinished projects. If you designate a project for delay, be sure to put these projects on your plan and schedule time to accomplish them within a short period of time. Any project that continues to miss its planned start and finish over and over again must be questioned as a possible “Dump It” project.

Please schedule regular reviews on a monthly or quarterly basis – mark it on your calendar. Use the opportunity of a business downturn to establish the practices and disciplines that keep you organized and focused upon profitable activities and projects.

Filed Under: Achieve!, Forward Momentum, Lead with Vitality!, Prepare for the Upswing Tagged With: nurture soul of biz, recession, small business productivity

March 4, 2010 By Susan Barr Leave a Comment

MAKE ROOM FOR THE RECOVERY

filing boxes on dollyThis is the second post in a monthly series dedicated to preparing your business for the upcoming economic recovery. Yesterday, we discussed how you need to clear out your thinking and today we talk about how we must clean up and make room in our office space to prepare for growth.

* Are your files over stretched to the max?
* Are your computers running out of space?
* Is your facility/office running out of files space?
* Do you have stacks of unfinished projects?
* Lists of to-do’s are everywhere?
* Daily email traffic filled with subscriptions and newsletters you never read?
* Daily snail mail filled with postcards and sales letters, magazines you never read?
* Books on your shelf?
* Is your office furniture laid out in such a way as to be highly productive?
* Old supplies in your drawers?
* Are you so disorganized that you buy new supplies because you cannot find the old supplies?

Isn’t it time to clean out your workspace? The process of cleaning up serves several purposes:

* Cleaning up allows you to symbolically remove past mistakes.
* Cleaning up and making room allow you to acknowledge your past accomplishments. You will run across old to-do lists, goals, projects, customer letters and other items that remind what an excellent job you do at what you do! Cleaning up your office can be like looking through an old picture album.
* Cleaning up inspires your future. Old projects and customer files may spark an idea that has been latent for a long time. Start making a list of your inspired thoughts.
* Cleaning up creates space for new customers, new sales, new processes, and new product innovation ideas.
* No one can do their best thinking when surrounded by disorganization. Just think how pleasant it will be to work in an organized space.

For some great ideas on how to organize your filing systems, here are some books for further study:

Organizing from the Inside Out, second edition: The Foolproof System For Organizing Your Home, Your Office and Your Life by Julie Morgenstern

Getting Organized: Improving Focus, Organization and Productivity by Chris Crouch

You can also browse the web for “office organization” or “home office organization” and you will find many resources available from professional organizers.

As you go through the process, put aside all “unfinished projects” which we will review tomorrow. Are you ready to make room for the economic upswing?

Filed Under: Achieve!, Forward Momentum, Lead with Vitality!, Prepare for the Upswing Tagged With: nurture soul of biz, office productivity, recession

March 3, 2010 By Susan Barr Leave a Comment

THE RECOVERY IS COMING

ready setEvery economic recession comes to an end and this one is no different. Will you be ready? Today I begin a new blog series to outline smart moves you can make now to prepare you for the upswing when it comes.

Innovation does not take a break during a recession as witnessed by the success of the following companies started during recessions: General Electric, Microsoft, CNN, Hewlett Packard, IHOP, Burger King, and Hyatt among many others. DuPont, Sears, and Merrill Lynch are great examples of companies who repositioned themselves and emerged even stronger from the Great Depression. Products such as the chocolate chip cookie, the car radio and supermarket were invented in the Great Depression among a long list of innovations which have become part of our everyday lives. Capital sources may not be plentiful during periods of slow economic growth, but no one can put a limit on the human imagination.

The first step in preparing for the upswing is to shift your thinking and accept a few new truths:
1. Somebody is spending money.
2. Money is being made right now. Just as not every business thrives in a booming market, some profit in a downtown.
3. Businesses are acquiring new customers.
4. Businesses are listening to their customers and inspiring loyalty.
5. New partnerships are being developed.
6. New computer applications are being implemented to eliminate inefficiencies and increase productivity.
7. Company cultures are being revitalized and employees energized.
8. Ineffective staff and suppliers are rising to new levels of expectation or their services are no longer required.
9. Innovative new trends are springing forth every day. Smart companies are on the watch and are either responding to the trends or creating their own.
10. The economic downturn will end and a new cycle of prosperity will begin but the start of the cycle is rarely recognized until it can be seen in our rearview mirror.

While some are focused upon the chaos and wallowing in their misery, others see only opportunity. Which do you want to be?

Filed Under: Innovate!, Prepare for the Upswing, Strategic Thinking Tagged With: nurture soul of biz, recession

February 4, 2009 By Susan Barr Leave a Comment

News Fast

Starting today, I begin a “news fast”. I am over the news. All I hear is bad news! More layoffs. Markets falling. The prognosticators say this is “the worst economic crisis since the Depression.” I don’t remember the Great Depression but I have lived through a few recessions, gained and lost in the markets, and have experienced great hardship with few prospects.

Sure, I have seen decline in business. Yes, budgets are tight. But, there has never been a better time to be a small business owner. In my memory, there has yet to be a time when the cost of entry into entrepreneurship was less. Global commerce has never been more attainable for the small business. Technology enablers have chipped away at the obstacles and hurdles for entering new markets to the point where the walls have fallen almost completely. Access to labor at staggeringly low prices is accomplished at the click of a mouse. The small office/home office is poised to receive the greatest benefits of this current technological wave of innovation.

We have been through times like these before. As before, lack of capital did not lead to a shortage of great ideas. Restrictions led to ingenuity and new methods of productivity. Simplify, skimp, cut back, clean up, organize, re-focus, plan, and evaluate the ROI of old methods. If “necessity is the mother of invention”, I sense a time of great innovation is upon us.

Filed Under: Innovate!, Lead with Vitality! Tagged With: recession, small business productivity, small business trends, virtual leverage

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