Guess what today is?

It’s Wedsssdaaaaay!

Wednesday is business panic day.

The orders, checks, and promises that haven’t yet appeared need to be nudged to get them in before the weekend and the house will be crawling with friends, neighbors, and in-laws all weekend so Friday is dead-in-the-water day on the job, which means –YIKES! –the orders, checks, and promises have to be in by tomorrow.

Lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my!

So what’s the short story version? If you’re the typical entrepreneur (I know, there ain’t no such thing, but there are typical entrepreneurial behaviors), you have been running by the seat of your pants (or skirt) so long that you get yourself under water without a snorkel because you simply skip over that ugly time-consuming task of planning.

Then midweek brings crisis . . . brainfreeze without a Slurpee . . . om top of the usual Wednesday collision course, there’s also that REALLY important project you’ve been putting off that needs desperately to get done, and now it has to stay on the back burner for another week. Will there ever be enough time?

Truth? No. There’ll never be enough time. 

And my best educated guess is that most small business owners and operators would almost rather have a tooth pulled than have to sit still for more than 10 minutes to map out a plan for the week every week. But, y’know what? Y’gotta!  Those who take a deep breath, settle into a comfortable chair and plan the week . . . win.

Think of it this way: If your competitors do weekly action plans, and you don’t, they win. If you both do them, you keep the playing field level. If you do them and they don’t, you take the lead. If neither of you do the,, someone else at your heels  surely will, and will surely win.

Ah, but where to start? Start with the old stuff that’s already in the hopper. Hit on it hard as you come out of the box on Monday morning. Make the calls, write the emails, motivate and inspire. Once the old stuff is moving, jump to the new tasks, contacts, ideas that are presently in the works and that need to get pushed into the spotlight.

Save the unexplored concept stuff for last. Yes, you may never get to that last category, but, hey, y;gotta eat, right? As the current Administration in Washington has conclusively proven, hopes and dreams don’t put food on the table. Let the experimental new ideas simmer. This is not the time to back away from what’s in your face.

Keep focused on the here and now as much as possible. List and combine (but chunk up) “to do” items, then prioritize them in order of immediacy. Cross them off with a highlighter (so you can return to see what was completed) as each task gets done. These pages (dated) are worth saving (like a journal), even for tax records.

Fast-paced status report review meetings are best held (with agendas distributed Friday afternoon) as early as possible on Mondays to help map out the week. (Friday is the worst day for this for a hundred reasons). Oh, and if you’re not both feet into the tech business, do it all in writing on pads. Laptops and handhelds distract attention. 

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Hal@Businessworks.US  302.933.0116 

 Open minds open doors

 Thanks for visiting.    God bless you. 

  Make today a GREAT day for someone! 

Planned and run correctly,

meetings are invaluable.

All the rest suck eggs!

Dear Boss, Please stop dragging people into meetings in order to give yourself an audience. They hate it, and you’re wasting their time as well as yours! Not to mention that time is money. Unplanned-for, slipshod-run meetings produce the exact opposite of what you need. They discourage and de-motivate. They frustrate and result in costly dumb errors that lose customers and antagonize suppliers.

All meetings? Of course not.Just the ones with no time schedule, no agenda that’s been circulated in advance and posted in the room, inadequate meeting space and supplies, no facilitative leadership, and no follow-up. That’s all. Just those. Aaaah, but wouldn’t you know it? That’s probably the majority of meetings worldwide. Now. Tomorrow.

Well, so that makes it okay because most other businesses and organizations are winging it, right? Not on your life. Not in this ever-deepening quagmire of an economy. Not in this day and age. There is no time to waste. This ain’t the good ole days! You can’t sit around with your feet up and a pot of coffee and brainstorm jokes for a couple of hours.

Meetings must be well-planned, executed, and filled with high energy. Good meetings ignite positive, problem-solving mindsets. Long-distance online meetings from Skype to Go-To-Meeting-type options can be effective tools. So can good old-fashioned teleconferences. Texting? No. Facebook chats? No. Tweets? No. Instant Messages? No.

First, hand pick participants according to what each can contribute, who has a need to know the subject matter, and whom you want to know more. Forget about titles, rank, age, or how busy people are. For long, status report or job/task review type meetings, stagger participants to come and go according to topic relevancy.

If you anticipate a meeting turning into a political firestorm, check this bit of enlightenment.

Everyone doesn’t need to be part of every discussion. When you think it through ahead of time, it’s more work and takes longer to plan, but the results will be dramatically improved, and more productive (both time and dollar-value-wise) for participants. Better-planned and led meetings can positively impact your bottom line as well. 

The single most important meeting tool and most often overlooked is the agenda. It needs to be carefully planned. It can’t be too overwhelming (more short meetings beat fewer long ones). Chunk it up! Some even attach time in minutes to each topic. Circulate it ahead of time and ask for input. Reproduce it poster-style in the meeting room.

Follow it. Do not allow anyone to not follow it. Politely thank people for off-topic comments and ask them to save them for the next meeting or include them on a separate agenda. You cannot stick to a time schedule if people sidetrack the agenda items. Be a clock watcher until it becomes second nature. Always honor start and stop times.

Hidden Agendas? Try this information on for size!

For a period of time when I had some major talker-types involved in weekly meetings, I had all the chairs removed or covered with boxes. It didn’t take long to get everyone focused on moving the agenda along quickly when they had to stand. Whatever you do, give meetings more attention. The ROI can be pleasantly surprising.   

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Hal@Businessworks.US  302.933.0116 

  Open minds open doors. 

 Thanks for visiting and God bless you. 

   Make today a GREAT day for someone! 

It may be time to re-visit MBWA

(Management By Walking Around)

 Why? Because most 

business meetings are 

like playing SCRABBLE 

under water!

Underwater SCRABBLE? A lot of slow-motion time is wasted trying to earn points for drumming up obscure words that play off of what others have or have not produced. And–in the end–someone wins backpats; the word connection hodgepodge that surfaces has no meaning; and the board is dismantled until the next session when it starts all over again!

If you absolutely positively definitely have to have a meeting, do yourself a favor and work the following items into your meeting prep checklist:

• Plan your meetin’ eatin’s!

If you are planning a major session and are looking for those in attendance to contribute mush — jelly, be sure to put out a plateful of jelly donuts. That will almost guarantee you the results you seek.

If, on the other hand, you are hopeful of some meaningful input from those you invite, put out some meaningful snacks. It doesn’t take any more time (and only marginally more money, maybe) to serve fresh fruit and raw veggies with a dip, and perhaps some cheese and crackers.

• Take time with your invite list!

There’s nothing worse than having people dragged into a meeting who have no real purpose in being there and nothing of value to contribute. Think hard about who needs to be part of your dog and pony show and stop asking those to attend who you simply want to impress, or test. Do those things in other ways.

Their time is your money!

• Share your agenda!

This is the world’s biggest stumbling block for meetings. Keep your agenda clear, simple, unencumbered, and targeted to those you invite. Circulate the agenda two business days ahead of time and ask for input that you may want to consider in the way of additions and deletions.

Have the finalized agenda printed in clear large block letters on a piece of cardboard or a whiteboard displayed for everyone tom see and stay tuned into. 

When you run the meeting, STICK TO THE AGENDA. When someone brings up something that’s not itemized, let that person know your level of interest in the subject, ask to table it for another time (next meeting, two minutes after this meeting, 37 years from now, whatever), and explain that this meeting is for this agenda, and thank her/him. 

• Watch the clock!

This is not something you normally want to do or have others do, but it is CRITICALLY IMPORTANT that you start the meeting at exactly the time it is scheduled to start, regardless of who’s present or absent, and that you end it exactly when it is scheduled to end, regardless of what’s been covered or not.

Use follow-up sessions for issues not addressed.

• Consider a room with no chairs!

If the subject matter needs to be dealt with quickly and there’s simply no time for side-trip excursions, and you want to minimize chatter and delays, use a room with no chairs. You’ll be amazed at how rapid and productive the meeting becomes.

Some meetings of course are necessary, but most are not. When it’s really necessary, make the most of it by focusing on the small things. Attention to planning details makes implementation productive.

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    302.933.0116   Hal@BusinessWorks.US

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You.

“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson]

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

Hold Your Next Meeting

S T A N D I N G ! 

It’s your company or professional practice, division, department, team or work group . . . and meetings are eating up valuable time that needs to be used more productively.  Welcome to the majority, dear boss!  You are not alone in your frustration.  There ARE however some steps you can take to eliminate or minimize the impact of time-wasting get-togethers. 

Here are two first steps you may want to consider:

     First, accept the fact that it’s worth taking the risk of changing your approach to meetings!  What’s the worst that could happen?  Next, take a minute to write a summary sentence of what a typical meeting is like and what’s typically wrong. 

Then, think on the sentence you wrote as you consider the following questions:

• Do you use an agenda?  Is it circulated a day or two ahead of time so others can contribute topics under the (usually last, in case time runs out) new business section?  Is the agenda posted on newsprint or a posterboard or whiteboard or someplace where all can see it and keep track of topics and progress during the meeting? 
• Do agenda points have names or initials of those designated or responsible next to each?  Is the agenda a reasonable length given the alloted time?  Do you STICK to the agenda?  Do you step up to tell someone who’s strayed from the agenda that this meeting needs to stay on the agenda and that the point raised is a good one but needs to be dealt with separately after the meeting or with a separate session?
• Do you hold regular ongoing “status report” type meetings at regular set times at the beginning of every week or, in some cases when needed, at the beginning of every day?  Do you hold special monthly, quarterly, annual or semi-annual, or weekend retreat meetings?  Are these planned well in advance?
• Are ONLY those whose input is essential invited to your meetings?  Are people kept captive in your meetings for an hour or more when they need only be present for a five or ten-minute hunk of time, and could more easily be scheduled in a specific times on the agenda?  Do you remember to ALWAYS praise in public and criticize in private? 
• Do you solicit input from those attending or have them serve as an audience?
• Do you take notes and specifically request that all attendees take handwritten notes?  (Laptops are too distracting!)  Are follow-up issues given (and held to) deadlines or due dates?  Are expectations about follow-up actions clear to everyone involved?  You’re sure?
• Do you always start and end every meeting at exactly the times you advertise? 

     If you’ve been doing all or most of these things, and STILL have a meeting problem, remove the chairs from the meeting room, and conduct your next meeting STANDING!  Watch how fast things move and how little B.S. comes to the surface! 

     Finally, remember that:

 The more you manage by walking around, the less you’ll need to manage by sitting around!

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www.TheWriterWorks.com or 302.933.0116 or Hal@BusinessWorks.US

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals! God Bless You.

“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson]

Make today a GREAT day for someone!