Business Ideas

Delay Is Almost Always Costly: Act Now To Profit More!

In the 1930s a sudden wind swept an American heliumfilled airship aloft from its moorings. The rising ship carried away some of the rope crew as well. Most let go right away and suffered no worse than sprains. Others held on until they lost their grip. Each time a man let go the dirigible leapt higher. Those who hesitated longest fell to their deaths. Procrastination can be deadly!

Procrastinators believe that if they do nothing and wait long enough any bad situation will take care of itself. Or if it does not resolve itself it will simply go away. Many even insist that procrastination is a form of work explaining that they are letting their thinking percolate. With that point of view they feel no concern about delay.

In most situations almost any direct action is better than no action. If nothing else you’ll learn from what you try and then refocus in a more productive direction. In support of this view Thomas Edison made thousands of unsuccessful attempts to invent a practical light bulb. Edison saw what he was doing as “learning” rather than “failing.” Clearly his approach speeded up the process.

When fear is an element that fear can create a disastrous procrastination stall.

DON’T THINK TOO LONG ABOUT THAT

Fear and Trembling in the Executive Washroom

Fear rules many business leaders and their fear comes in many guises. One of America’s most admired CEOs feared any negative publicity. As a result he would only acquire smaller privately held companies knowing that public scrutiny would be minimal.

Another CEO trembled at the thought of being fired. The CEO frequently fired his key lieutenants for nonperformance hoping that the board of directors would be more dependent on him. As a result no one wanted to rock the boat and procrastination ruled every operation. When the company sold one of its businesses profits soon rose under either the same management or new management burdened with less fear.

Similarly when major layoffs occur many survivors feel worse than those who lost their jobs. If they cannot find new jobs these shellshocked troops will do anything to please including simply maintaining the status quo.

A different type of fear dogs those who aspire to be CEOs. Companies often pick two to five contenders and stage a two or threeyear “beauty” contest to see who will be the next leader. If your unit does well and no one else’s does you get to be the big boss. As you can imagine almost no one in that situation is going to try anything that might not work perfectly during the beauty contest.

It’s far easier to stand back and let others be innovative. But that’s the way to ruin not to progress. One CEO took avoidance to an extreme. Presented with a list of all the issues that the company had known about for five years and had never been resolved the CEO grabbed all the information and destroyed it. “This information is too important to get out” he said. But the first step in resolving any problem is to get it out in the open where it can no longer be ignored.

Like the CEO who got rid of the list of issues anxious executives often connect their fear to the wrong things. A company that had frequently failed with advanced technology products decided to pursue only lowtechnology products. That decision only made matters worse. In the meantime many areas blossomed where the company had developed advanced technology products. The company had simply developed its products a little too far in advance of customer demand.

Talk It to Death

Some companies build monuments to procrastination with neverending committees and lengthy studies by consultants. These actions give the appearance of doing something worthwhile. Employees relax and stop paying attention.

Organizational consultants frequently lengthen the delays by setting up a game of musical chairs. They recommend reworking the organization before addressing the old issues. It’s like telling those hanging onto the airship ropes to count to 200 before making a decision.

A Diversionary Tactic

Companies faced with seemingly insoluble problems will go out and buy new and bigger problems to draw attention away from the existing issues. ATT is thought by some to have used this approach in acquiring NCR under the leadership of Bob Allen. NCR was later sold for a loss of 5 billion after costing NCR employees thousands of jobs. ATT’s declining position in longdistance telephone services remained unresolved.

STALL ERASERS

Practice Practice Practice: Success Through Simulation

Wise companies assume that fear will freeze the unprepared into costly inaction. Is that what you want airline pilots to do when they hit terrible turbulence? Of course not. The solution: Simulate extreme conditions and allow employees to become accustomed to making timely decisions and taking action. For example utility employees learn in a simulated nuclear plant by facing a potential core meltdown if they don’t act appropriately.

Listen the Answers Doth Bark!

To make faster progress track suggestions from the time they are made to the time of action. Some organizations go one step further and authorize employees to make improvements the employees suggest if no one objects within 30 days.

Do It Yourself

CEOs like to bring in consultants in part to blame unpopular or risky decisions on the outsiders. It is better to be forthright about what needs to be done and take any heat that develops … it’s faster too!

A Foolish Consistency Can Risk All

When Avon hired Hicks Waldron to be its CEO the company was earning less than the dividend it was paying to shareholders. Still Waldron promised publicly “I’ll never cut the dividend!”

It soon became clear that declaration was a mistake. Waldron avoided digging in his heels and looked for a solution. He offered shareholders a chance to keep the current dividend for three years or to switch to a more attractive new share that would enjoy faster earnings growth. Everyone was happy with one or the other and three years later dividends were down to what Avon could afford. By not letting himself be paralyzed by the fear of looking foolish Waldron found his 2000 percent solution to better reward shareholders.

STALLBUSTERS

Act First

When new CEO Lou Gerstner entered IBM he found a company frozen in inaction. He set about changing that by personal example and by sharing a new value of taking timely appropriate actions. Those who persisted in the old way soon found themselves looking for work elsewhere. The message was soon received and understood.

Answering these questions will help you identify where action should replace indepth analysis:

1. When should the customer be considered right and receive immediate recognition and resolution?

2. What threats to safety require immediate action?

3. What competitive actions require immediate responses by using your best judgment?

4. When two people in different parts of the organization do not agree when should one of them automatically prevail when should an automatic rule prevail and when would a coin flip suffice for the decision?

5. What problems should receive immediate action because they almost always get worse if ignored?

It’s Okay to Take a Chance on Action

Many delays occur because employees are afraid. They fear that mistakes will end their careers. To overcome the bias to play it safe everyone must know when they should act. These questions will help you clarify your optimal direction:

1. What is the minimum time needed to make a significantly better decision?

2. Worst case what can a delay cost you?

3. What deadlines are appropriate for taking action?

4. How can people be encouraged to overcome procrastination in routine situations?

About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;Donald Mitchell is coauthor of six books including The 2000 Percent Squared Solution The 2000 Percent Solution and The 2000 Percent Solution Workbook. Read about creating breakthroughs through 2000 percent solutions by registering for free athttp://www.2000percentsolution.com .

Decorate Your Business Strategy For The Holidays

With holiday distractions just around the corner what can you proactively do during this time to keep your business flourishing and maybe give yourself a little holiday bonus in the process? The holidays are a busy time for everyone. They can often be a big distraction when it comes to trying to get any real business done. Customers are crunched for time and money; employees start to have sugar plum fairies dancing in their heads and unless you are a retailer buying your product or service you may not be a top priority for people. Make this holiday season a prosperous one for your business by using the following tips:

Given the constraints you know your customers and prospects are dealing with brainstorm a way to make their lives easier using your product or service. If there is not a direct link how about throwing in a gift card for a massage to ease their holiday stress?

Holiday cards are a great personal and nonintrusive way get back in front of your customers and partners and remind them that you care and are in this for a longterm relationship not just a quick sale.

Bored with Christmas cards? Try something new this year and send Thanksgiving or New Years cards to make your business really stand out.

Remember to cater to the multicultural world that we live in as it is relevant to your target market of course. Clearly you don’t want to offend anyone by making them feel your holiday cheer doesn’t include them but don’t feel you have to go so extreme that you politically correct all of the holiday cheer right on out of your seasons greetings. Be true to the spirit of your organization and to your target market.

Bring the joy of the season into your business by bringing in treats for employees and decorating the office or encouraging the employees to decorate the way they see fit. Performance quality is linked directly to happiness so doing things that make you employees happy to be at work will bring out their best efforts.

Take Thanksgiving literally and physically. Share it with the people who have made your business what it is. Take the time to give thanks for all the good in your business. Write it down on a little note card or even a cute postit note and give it out in the office. Thank your customers employees and anyone else who has helped your business blossom. Expressing and feeling gratitude sends a signal to the universe that you are open to receiving more good and will attract more of the same to you.

New Years resolutions need not just be personal. Make some resolutions for your business. At your January team meeting put resolutions on the agenda. Ask each staff member to come up with one or two resolutions for their job or department that will make the next year even better.

Holiday distractions can easily be turned into work enrichment. Use these tips and your business is sure to flourish this holiday season. For more information on how you can improve your business visit www.flourishingbusiness.com.

About the writer:  V. B. Velasco Jr Ph.D. works for a small biotech firm that provides ELISPOT analyzers frozen human PBMCs and CEF peptide pools.

Decision Making: Identifies Issues Problems And Opportunities

Recognizes issues problems or opportunities and determines whether action is needed.
What sparks the decisionmaking process? In some cases it’s a request such as when your leader asks you to choose equipment to purchase reduce costs or delegate work. In other cases you might be aware of an issue that needs to be addressed. For example you:

• Receive repeated feedback from customers about a product problem.
• Believe an improvement to a current process could bolster productivity.
• See an opportunity to increase market share by improving a product feature.

Even when you’re not the person who makes the decision you can improve the quality of the decision by identifying problems and opportunities. As a result people develop confidence in your ability to spot opportunities and contribute to good organizational decisions.

1. Recognize issues problems or opportunities.
Effective decision makers are proactive. They stay aware of issues unresolved problems or opportunities they can take advantage of. Chances are there’s a decision to be made if you have ideas for:

• Improving work processes.
• Reducing costs while maintaining quality or efficiency.
• Improving customer service.
• Increasing enthusiasm of associates.
• Bolstering sales or profits.

Example: John noticed that his team’s overtime hours had increased over the past year yet output levels had remained the same. When he asked the team why John learned that requests for custom packaging had gone up 25 percent but due to the current equipment custom packaging orders took longer to fill. He also found out that the organization charged the same price for custom and regular packaging. By correctly recognizing the problemsincreased overtime amount of time to fill custom orders and potential lost revenue on custom ordersJohn and his team faced two decisions: how to decrease overtime and whether the demand for custom packaging justifies modernizing the equipment and raising the price for custom packaging.

To determine if you have a “decision in the making” ask yourself:

• Are coworkers frequently complaining about work?
• Are deadlines being missed or jobs being done incorrectly?
• Are there an unusual number of misunderstandings or conflicts between/among departments?
• Is there a trend in customer feedback?
• Do I have an opportunity to provide a product or service that the competition can’t?

To obtain specific information about your potential decision check the following sources:Includes sales or performance records ideas taken from suggestion boxes and informal communication gathered via your network team meetings task forces and quality committees. Includes competitor information research reports and customer surveys and feedback.

• Internal data.
• External data.

2. Define the desired outcomes criteria and decision.
After recognizing that a need or opportunity exists write a clear description of your desired outcomes the criteria your decision needs to meet and what you hope to decide. Doing this helps you:

• Determine whether a decision or action is needed.
• Confirm that you’re addressing the “right” situation.
• Ensure that your decision yields the results you want.

Desired outcomes refer to the results you want to achieve for example exceeding customer expectations or increasing productivity. Outcomes also might include how people should feel about the results. When defining desired outcomes consider:

• What you hope to accomplish.
• How you want those affected by the decision to feel or act.

For example if you want to buy a winter coat your desired outcomes would be to stay warm and to receive comments such as “That’s a stylish coat.” are the measurable and observable characteristics the decision must meet. Criteria are broadly categorized into quality cost and time. Your criteria for buying a new winter coat might include:

Criteria

• Warmth provided quality.
• Money you’re willing to spend cost.
• The need to purchase the coat before winter arrives time.

A decision states the specific choice to be made. By knowing the results you want you can clearly describe the decision to achieve those results.

Defining your decision accurately depends on identifying the desired outcomes you want to achieve and the criteria the decision must meet. Another key element of your accuracy is involving others. Seeking others’ input helps to ensure that the right decision is made and that people support and understand the decision. Otherwise if you assume the desired outcomes and decision criteria you risk defining the decision incorrectly and getting results much different than what you expected.

Example: A large beverage manufacturer spent millions of dollars and many years trying to outdo its competitors’ packaging based on an inaccurate decision definition: “What bottle shape can we develop that will be as memorable as theirs?” However the manufacturer’s actual desired outcomes were for people to drink more of their beverage and ultimately increase market sharenot to have recognizable packaging. After reassessing its desired outcomes and redefining the decision accurately as “How can we get people to drink more of our beverage?” the manufacturer freed its thinking and invented the successful large plastic liter bottle. Market share soared Russo and Schoemaker 1989.

3. Determine whether action is needed.
Now that you’ve defined the situation in terms of desired outcomes and criteria and checked the decision to be made you’re in a better position to determine whether action is needed. Consider the time and energy it would take to work through the decision and determine whether your and others’ efforts are worth the investment. Think about:

• Who needs to be involved in the decision. Are they available and will they be supportive?
• What actions might need to be taken and who will initiate them.
• Whether your leaders would support your decisionmaking process.
• What time and money are needed to research the decision.
• How confident you are that you know the cause of the situation.
• Who else might be working on a similar decision.

Compare the time and energy it would take to work through the decision to the impact of not making the decision. Is it worth the investment? Based on the information you’ve compiled you might determine that action isn’t needed. If one or more of the following situations exist don’t take action:

• The process will take too long and the opportunity will be missed.
• The effort is greater than the reward.
• There is little to no consequence for not taking action.

About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;Our story at 104Inc is simple: We like to help others. Imagine a team that consists of family and friends who all have the same passion in life. Imagine a group of individuals who sacrifice so much everyday inorder to attain their goal and one day live their dream. Now imagine the amount of effort motivation and discipline it takes for ordinary people like us having a burning desire to accomplish something extraordinary. Here at http://www.104Inc.com we have the opportunity to do all of that. We have the aspiration the zeal and the motivation to help others in areas where they are less fortunate including our own family and friends.

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