What is Essential to Your Business?

What are the top priorities for your business? Is it staying on top of technical skills and technology? Is it maintaining a strong marketing presence? Is it ensuring your service is spectacular? What is the "make or break" element to your business?

Prioritizing the strategies for growing your business depends on the factors that drive success in your industry. You want to be sure that you maximize effectiveness where it truly matters, and work on the support systems to maintain that element while your company grows.

Economic recessions give businesses an opportunity to cross-examine all the functioning elements of their operation and cut costs in areas that are not central to their success. When money becomes tight businesses often fall back on the barebones systems that will keep their operation going, without sacrificing the effectiveness of elements that are essential to their success.

When you examine the workings of your business, be sure you have the elements of your operation prioritized correctly. While most businesses attempt to cut costs in marketing and advertising, this can be one of the biggest mistakes you can make. No business survives unless potential clients are aware of who they are, where they are, and what they do. Other businesses may try to trim their services and will sacrifice long-term clients in the process. Do you know how to manipulate the workings of your business effectively, to get the results you want?

If you're not sure how to prioritize your business elements, how to manipulate processes and personnel to increase productivity or profitability, or you're wondering exactly how to maximize profits in the coming year, give me a call. Running a business is no small task, and accessing the ActionCOACH knowledge base of thousands of business owners and case studies worldwide can bring amazing results to your bottom line. Learn the systems that will give you the greatest return on investment now and far into the future - isn't that one of your top priorities?

Down Time

As we all know, maintaining balance is key to feeling good and operating at a level of productivity necessary to achieve desired outcomes in all areas of life. While it may not be easy, it is imperative that we recognize, accept and act on some principles that may seem counterintuitive or simply difficult to embrace.

First of all, we must recognize that we cannot maintain optimum productivity in one area 100% of the time. For example, we cannot consistently offer the same level of mental investment into an operating budget for 24 hours straight. Our minds and bodies are simply not given to that kind of intensity for an extended time period. We must take breaks, change our activities, and give different areas of our being the opportunity to exercise. For some people, 20 minutes at a keyboard and 20 min away from the keyboard is a good rule of thumb for avoiding eye strain or carpel tunnel syndrome. Taking a brisk walk before engaging in learning or creative problem-solving can improve our mental capacity and chemically improve our chances of achieving satisfactory ends quickly. The key is to find what works to bridge the gap from where we are to where we are going, and having the courage to embrace it. And know that the answer does not lie in duct-taping ourselves to our desk for 3 days.

Second, we need to recognize that focus is essential. And by that, I do not mean living at the office 365 days a year staring at the same numbers over and over. We need down time. And we must have down time that is as intense and focussed as our work time. It is interesting to note that workers who have little focus at work often tend to have little focus outside of work, as well. They are constantly thinking of work as much as they are constantly thinking about leisure time activities. They are often completely unrested, imbalanced, and tend toward higher stress levels and burnout. When it's time to relax, put your mind, energy and power into something completely and wholly unrelated to anything at work. Focus hard on play and you will find a greater power to focus at work. In whatever activity you are engaged in, focus. Get focus, keep your focus, and don't release your focus until it's time to change that focus. Focus.

Third, recognize that you are the boss. In every situation in which you find yourself, you have choices. You are responsible to ensure that your life is balanced. It is not a decision made by your spouse, your business partner, or your mentor. Choose how you will balance the demands in your life. Choose how you will invest your time. Choose your thoughts as carefully as you choose your activities. Ensure that when it's time to rest from one labour, the other areas of your being are awakened and given their opportunity to exercise. Choose to discipline yourself, balance your energies, and focus. Make good choices day after day, and feel good about those choices as you begin to embrace a successful lifestyle. You are your own boss - no matter what.