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Where did April Go?

“History is the version of past events that people have decided to agree upon.”
Napoleon

It has been one of those months, so busy I didn’t get a chance to write a single blog post. I had big plans for the month, hoping to write a few times a week. What to do? I could beat myself up for not getting it done but I would rather focus on the positive.

Where did April go? Where did I spend my time?

* Held Quarterly Mastermind Retreat for my longest standing mastermind team witnessing the remarkable success and breakthroughs my fellow entrepreneurs made this past quarter. Mostly, I enjoyed the loyalty and enthusiasm they have for helping each other succeed.
* Deepened my involvement with members of my favorite networks.
* Worked with Kim Doyal, The WordPress Chick to clean up the back-end of my blog and define requirements for a new and improved website.
* Designed 2 products to be rolled out with the new website.
* Continued editing “The Book” which has dominated my life for two years.
* Coached the most amazing business owners in the world.
* Completed Feasibility Reports for consulting clients.
* Worked with Designer on a new logo and “The Book” cover.
* Welcomed new office-mate on April 3 – a 12 week old puppy Maija who is learning the rules of the office.
* Handled my teenage sons’ car accident and gave thanks no one was hurt.

So, what is the point of this blog post? Is this a “guilt” post, one to explain why I didn’t blog through the month of April? No. It’s also not a “brag” post to impress my readers.

The point is we all have a choice as we look over the passing months and years. We can look back with guilt over what we haven’t done, compare the “planned versus actual” and wallow in frustration. My preference is to take the opportunity at month’s end to reflect on what was accomplished, give thanks for personal and professional blessings, and refresh my vision for the future.

What choice will you make?

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SPRING CLEANING THE SOCIAL WEB

Over the course of this month, I have been cleaning out the clutter from my online world. Consider it a form of weeding, making room for my important relationships to grow and new relationships to take root. Here’s what I did:

1. Unfollowed most Tweeters who don’t follow me back on Twitter.
2. Used the “Hide” option on the Facebook Pages I “fan” because their message is irrelevant to me, personally and professionally. I was trying to help them get enough fans to secure their unique name but I know I will never buy their products and/or they send me too much marketing.
3. Deleted LinkedIn contacts I do not know who have only sent me invitations to social media webinars. Decided to reconsider my open invitation status on LinkedIn and ensured all my contacts there were private.
4. Checked on all the FB friends whose status I have hidden because their marketing or Farmville activities were annoying. If all they do is market, I consider “unfriending” them or kept them hidden. For Farmville fans, I unhide the friends and hide Farmville – thanks to FB for providing this ability.
5. Unsubscribed to Blogs and RSS feeds that clutter my Google Reader and Netvibes dashboard.
6. Canceled all Google email alerts except essential alerts which require immediate attention.
7. Unsubscribed to all the email newsletters I never read.
8. Withdrew from LinkedIn and Facebook groups that long lost their value.
9. Unsubscribed to paid membership forums that I never visit.
10. Deleted profiles on a few social networks I never use so I can focus on just a few communities.

I feel better already but plan to take a few more steps in the coming week:

1. Create Twitter Lists to make it easier to support and appreciate my important relationships.
2. Organize groups of friends on Facebook so I can be certain to check the status of key people in my network and engage with them.
3. Update my social marketing planning calendar to make sure I prioritize time for essential communities and people. Now that the weeding is done, my important relationships have room to grow and I have more time to nurture them.
4. Create a set of guidelines for deciding whether or not to join groups, fan pages, communities, and social networks in the future.
5. Create an email address dedicated only to web subscriptions. Many times, I give my name and email address to someone in return for a report or e-book, etc and end up on the mailing list. I will only give out my daily priority email addresses to people I meet in person or want to meet in person.

How about you? What can you do to weed out online distractions to focus on your most significant relationships and profitable activities?

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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.

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Don’t Go It Alone – Partners Help You Climb Higher!

web slider climb mountainIf you run a business, you know how essential it is to regularly monitor and measure the vital signs of your business, such as sales, profits, and project milestones. No matter your size, very simple processes can be put into place in a few key operational areas which can scale and grow in complexity as your business grows. But for me, it is not just the structure of processes which creates the framework for accountability – it is the key people and partnerships which keep me on track and help give life to the creative ideas that may otherwise be stuck in the “what if?” file in my mind.

Mastermind Team: I am in a group of 6 fellow business owners (4 original members) which has been meeting semi-monthly for almost 10 years. Initially begun as a group of ex-colleagues meeting to stay in touch, we became a formalized group with a structured agenda. All of us are entrepreneurial moms who work from home and have found that meeting regularly, declaring our goals, sharing our successes and struggles helps us to develop and maintain strong individual businesses (and balanced lives). Each of us began this journey with different corporate and life experiences only adding to the richness of the collective – synergy, if you will.

Coach/Mentor: Anne is a powerhouse sales executive who I was lucky enough to meet in my early 20’s when she took me under her wing. Initially supporting me as I navigated the corporate rat race, she was the first person to encourage me to become a coach and consultant and remains the person I can call for counsel with “I have this idea. What do you think?” Anytime, any day, she gives it to me straight.

Virtual Communities: I have been joining online communities and forums since the start of my business. There are so many amazing communities focused on small business and niche topics. Recently, I joined two new membership forums (ProBlogger and Third Tribe) focused on blogging and internet marketing, communities focused upon skills I am developing in support of my business strategy. In both cases, I was looking for the support of others who have “been there, done that” because I wanted to learn from the best. Communities provide a place of mutual support for entrepreneurs like me to declare tactical goals and check back with progress and feedback on work in progress in a positive learning community.

Each Accountability Partners fills a different place in my life and business and I take the responsibility for my role in the partnership very seriously.
My short list for making these partnerships successful:

1. Respect time. Whether paying a fee or not, show up when you say you are going to show up.

2. Respect the commitment. Do homework and follow through on your promises. Respect yourself and the process enough to invest time outside of the scheduled meetings.

3. Give – as much and as often as you can. Everyone wants to know you value their contribution to your business. Even in a mentor partnership, the mentor appreciates a word, a card, a written recommendation, a referral, a small token of appreciation. Yes, even the truly altruistic are grateful for appreciation – we all want to know our lives mean something to others.

Do you have Accountability Partners? How do you make the relationships successful?

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Five Tasks in the Morning

blue nights_3232939922_lLast week, I read an article by Chris Brogan entitled “Five Tasks in the Morning” which has me thinking about the importance of self-discipline for business and personal success. Chris Brogan’s article is a description of the 5 social media actions he takes every morning to begin his work day. It’s a great starting point for those who want to learn from the best on how to manage social media for their business. Chris is unquestionably one the real “experts” in a world overrun by “social media experts”. However, what strikes me about this post has nothing to do with social media.

For me, the real meaning in Chris’ post has to do with discipline, being successful, being the best, and achieving your goals. As Jim Rohn says, “Discipline is the bridge between goals and achievements”.

When I think about the truly successful people I know, they all have one thing in common. They have a short list of daily habits that they execute every day. Their personal lives are framed by a handful of daily habits such as: 1. Prayer; 2. Exercise; 3. Healthy meals; 4. Dinner with family; 5. 8 hours sleep, to name a few. In their work lives, successful people can describe a structure of habits such as: 1. Reading newspapers; 2. contacting sales leads; 3. checking sales numbers; 4. reviewing goals; 5. measuring progress, and so on.

For another reflection on the subject David Campbell offers, “Discipline is remembering what you want.” In running your business, are you focusing your time and energy on what you want? If someone asked you the keys to your success, could you author an article entitled “Five Tasks in the Morning”?

If not, spend some time with your business mission and vision. Brainstorm a list and narrow it down to a top five for your business. If you start every day with those “5 Tasks in the Morning”, imagine the difference it will make to your business.

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