Productivity Tips Articles For Entrepreneurs & Small Business OwnersDo You Know The Secret To Exceptional Efficiency At The Office?There is no question about it! Training and development are key when talking about making your team more efficient. They are the best way to guarantee everyone has the skills needed to work in a productive, safe, and effective way. Nevertheless, even though training makes your staff more efficient … do you have a 100% […] Writing Effective Customer SurveysThere is usually a time in any business where you think it might be useful to ask your customers what they think and get their opinions. This is particularly useful if you’re considering launching a new product or service and want to know whether people are likely to buy it. So if you do want to […] Doing Multiple Tasks Isn’t Multitasking“Mathematics… mathematics is never going to lead you to higher truth. Because it’s boring!” – Charles, “A Beautiful Mind,” Universal Pictures (2001) Multitasking…true, human multitasking is a fallacy. This came to mind when we visited our son in his room recently. His computer had four windows open plus IM going, his iPod was plugged into […] Time Management And The Pareto RuleLife can become hectic with schedules changing and tasks to carry out. I know a lot of you can relate out there, especially when it comes to juggling our day to day activities, whether at work or errands for your family and home. This is where time management comes in and having the insight to […] Why Outsource Recruitment?Employment law, let’s face it, is a minefield – an ever-changing tangle of legislation covering all aspects of human resources; it’s hard to keep up if you don’t have an in-house HR team. This is particularly true of the recruitment process. You need to be mindful of where you advertise any job vacancies, be careful […] Think BackwardsOver the years, I’ve worked with many small business owners who are often put off from doing a task because they feel they need to have everything in place before they can move forward. Take one client who wanted to run some workshops for her business. Sounded like a great plan, but she didn’t want […] Time Management Is BogusTime Management is Bogus! We really don’t understand the problem. In fact, time is unmanageable – it just keeps tickin’ along. And there’s nothing we can do about it. Time should be manageable, but it’s not! Thousands and thousands of pages have been written about “time management.” The trick, of course, is not reading but […] Focus!Focus – Harder and harder to do! If you’re an entrepreneur or a startup possibility, you probably have things you haven’t gotten around to. Usually, they’re Important but Not Urgent. Issues which could be highly valuable to the development of your business and your bottom line, but are set aside because of all the damn […] How To Dig Yourself Out Of The HoleWhen I first started my business, I had a business mentor who told me the following quote. I’ve never forgotten it because it’s so true for many, many business owners. He said: “Show me an entrepreneur and I’ll show you a manic-depressant.” How true is that? One moment as a business owner, you can be […] PerspectiveWhile there is a lot of talk about the recession being over, there is an equal amount of talk about it not being over yet. This, by and large, comes down to perspective. There are numerous definitions of perspective; one that comes to mind is: what you see depends on where you sit. Many of […] Use Job Aids To Extend The Training Room Into The WorkplaceExperienced trainers use a variety of training aids throughout their training programs. These include models, simulations, diagrams, mnemonics, reminder cards, templates, and so on. All of these are designed to assist trainees in the learning process. However, learning does not finish at the conclusion of the training program. In fact, for some training programs, work […] Why Aren’t My Training Programs Working?The class on improving time management looked as if it would be a smart idea at first. You had every employee attend, and now months down the line schedule slippages are worse than ever. What is the problem? Could it be because your concept of how training works is outdated? According to this oversimplified view, […] S Is For SpeakingSpeaking (either at other people’s events or your own) is a great way to build your business. Not only is it a good way to showcase what you do, but it also builds awareness of your business and increases your reputation. You can also sell from the back of the room or collect the names […] R Is For ReferralsAh referrals from business contacts – the one thing most small business owners would like more of. Why then, doesn’t it happen as much as most people would like? I have a theory and it goes somewhere along the following lines: “Two business owners meet at a networking event. Their businesses compliment each other so […] O Is For OutsourcingFor many small companies, the thought of doing marketing could definitely be classed as hard work! Where do you start? What should you do? Have you got enough time to do it? So the thought of using a marketing company to do the work for them sounds like the best answer in the world. Here […] Business Skills Training Is A Never Ending ProcessAn organization’s ability to learn and translate that learning into action rapidly is the ultimate competitive business advantage…Jack Welch, former chairman, GE No technology in history has grown as quickly as the Internet. Backbone bandwidth demand has been doubling, not every 18 months as with Moore’s law but every 3.5 months. That’s a 10X growth […] Looking After Yourself And Your Staff At WorkWouldn’t it be great if our bodies could diagnose and fix themselves so we wouldn’t have to worry about going to the dentist, or visiting the doctor and you’d never fall foul of the usual round of cold and flu viruses that magically appear at this time of year? Unfortunately, there isn’t yet a Matrix […] What To Do With All Your Business Cards?How many business cards have you gathered since you’ve been in business? I’ve seen business owners with hundreds if not thousands of business cards stored in card boxes, in jacket pockets, stapled to diaries and contact details scribbled on bits of paper. Are you the same? Do you have hundreds of business cards lying around […] Process Mapping: Ten Tips for SuccessI see many organizations, both large and small, continue to communicate fragments of important policies and processes to employees through one-time emails and the like. This could include a new purchase authorization policy or a new data entry procedure. Expecting employees to forage through past emails and other transitory type documents only leads to wasted […] Use This One Tactic and You Will Rise to The Top of Your ProfessionAre you looking for a change in your life? Do you feel that you’ve stopped growing as a person? Do you feel that your life and career have stagnated and you’re ready to take them to the next level? Are you dissatisfied with your current position and eager to advance to a happier and more […] |
|
