Kaizen Newsletter Archive
Public Resources
This section will be added to on a regular basis. Check back frequently for the latest information.
You're in the Driver's Seat
In these challenging and fast changing times, being in control can be an elusive feeling. While the many things that we do not have control over can create a temptation to throw up our hands in frustration and give up, we need to remember that the only thing that we are really in control of is ourselves. There are many things that we can do, as a consequence of becoming more knowledgeable and self-aware, that will go a long way towards creating our success.
Consistency - A Foundation for Healthy Growth
In the business world, it is not enough to be great at what you do. You have to be great at what you do every single time. Think of restaurants you have gone to over the years. The first time or two you went there you had an excellent meal and great service. However, the next time you wanted to repeat that experience, it didn't happen. The quality (the food, the service) just did not meet your expectations. What happened next? You stopped going! Maybe it was a different chef, or the staff. It didn't matter. You chose to go elsewhere, where you knew the experience would be consistently what you were looking for. Customers want to know what to expect from you, and they want to know that you will meet their expectations every time. When baking a cake, if you keep changing up the instructions of your recipe the results will be unpredictable, and soon your consumer may be leery of your final product. A lot of time, money, and effort goes into acquiring new clients. Consistency helps you hold on to them. Consider the suppliers you deal with. If they don't routinely deliver what you need, at the level of quality you need, when you need it, do you continue to use them? Probably not!
Another aspect of consistency concerns your branding. Do you have a consistent look and message that will be recognized by customers every time it's seen? Think of Macdonald's golden arches, as an example. Wherever you see those arches, you know what it means. You know what to expect. Brand consistency sells.
Consistency is also critical to the internal functioning of a business. For the internal systems in your office to function smoothly and efficiently, they must be clear and predictable. Create written manuals in your business for use in training your employees in exactly how to deliver customer service every time, and periodically review and improve your manuals. Have written procedures for every position and task in your office, and ensure those procedures are followed. Everyone will then know exactly what is expected, and thus confusion is eliminated over who does what, and how. It prevents missed orders, duplicated efforts, and other costly mistakes.
It all starts at the top, with you, the leader. Have you created a vision, mission, culture statement for your business? When your employees are doing their job, when they're solving a problem, can they answer the question "Is what I'm doing and the way I'm doing it consistent with the vision, mission, culture statement of this business?" And for you the owner, setting the standard, teaching the standard, and consistently maintaining and delivering that standard is the key to enabling your business to operate without you being there to oversee every little detail. With consistency, you will know what is being done, and how it is being done, whether you are there or not.
Time - Your Most Valuable Resource
One of the biggest challenges that business owners contend with has to do with time. There just isn't enough time in the day. The question to ask yourself, though, is what are you spending your time on?
1. Audit your time for a week or two by writing down everything you do in 15 to 30 minute intervals. This exercise although it may seem tedious, builds awareness. Most people are surprised by what they discover, and see several opportunities to improve their efficiency.
2. Identify the 6 to 10 main activities that form your role, and estimate how many hours you should invest on a weekly basis in each one of these areas. You can then rebalance those hours to the total amount of hours you plan to work in a given week.
3. Take control of your time by creating a default schedule for your work week. It 's called a default schedule because you will automatically default to those activities as planned each day. Emergencies or unplanned urgent and important activities will come up from time to time, but always default back to the activity category you had planned for.
4. Become aware of your top 10 time wasters, your procrastination behaviour, and your most productive activities, as well as the things only you can do.
5. Set some goals to delegate things that others can do, document how to do these activities, and train someone else to take over lower level activities wherever possible.
6. Write down the most productive activities for the week and slot them into your default schedule.
7. Write down the specific outcomes you commit to achieving tomorrow based on your default schedule.
8. Monitor, make adjustments and re audit periodically for continuous improvement.
Prioritizing is the answer to time management problems - not computers or efficiency experts. You do not need to do work faster or to eliminate gaps in productivity to make better use of your time. You need to spend more time on the right things...
We all suffer from having too many things to do, and we never seem to have the time and energy to do all that we set out to do. In this chaotic world, many things will be left undone, no matter how hard we try. Prioritizing is the only way to solve this frustrating problem. The Pareto principle or 80/20 Rule states that 80 percent of our typical activities contribute less than 20 percent to the value of our work. If you focus on the most important 20 percent of your tasks, you will likely still get most of the value. It follows, then, that if you focus your efforts on the top value activities, you will achieve more value than you did before, or perhaps you will have more time to spend with family, friends, hobbies, etc.
Prioritizing is all about making choices: What to do? What not to do? To effectively prioritize your day, you need to recognize what is important, as well as to see the difference between urgent and important. Most of our priority tasks in a given day fall into the category of not urgent, but important. These important or high priority non-urgent tasks are the ones that help us achieve our long-term goals or can have meaningful and/or significant long-term consequences. There is never enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the things that are most important to us.
Gratitude - A Powerful Business Strategy?
In these difficult times, what with unemployment rates being so high and widespread economic turbulence, it is not unusual for people to feel a certain difficulty in expressing gratitude. However, despite the problems (everybody has some), we need to be thankful for the many blessings in our lives.
Gratitude has been eloquently defined by Robert Brault, who stated, "There is no such thing as gratitude unexpressed. If it is unexpressed, it is plain, old-fashioned ingratitude." But what exactly is gratitude? The World English Dictionary defines gratitude as "A feeling of thankfulness or appreciation, as for gifts of favours." If gratitude is thankfulness and appreciation then, its’ absence, which is usually due to simple neglect to thank others, can create the unintended belief that we are not grateful for the things people do for us. As an employer, employee, customer, student, spouse or friend, it becomes our responsibility to express gratitude for those who have somehow affected, motivated, inspired or assisted us in becoming better human beings.
For business owners, showing gratitude and appreciation to employees who take on extra work, show initiative, and just plain do a good job is paramount when it comes to retaining them. Showing gratitude also leads to some highly effective marketing opportunities. Here are a few suggestions for things that we can do to show our gratitude to those around us:
Do something for a client or business associate for no reason other than simply wanting to do it. Have no attachment to the outcome. Fix a problem, provide information. It will be remembered.
Send a card of appreciation to clients and associates whom you have not been in touch with for a while. It is an excellent opportunity to regain touch with former clients and business associates.
Send a thank you note to someone who has done something for you, significant or not. Get into a habit of sending such notes by post. Most mail nowadays is junk mail or bills. Light up someone’s day. Create a trail of happiness behind you as you go forward in your life. People will remember it.
Accept things as they are. No matter how much situations have turned out differently from your expectations, it is the way it is. You don’t know how much worse off you could have been had things gone differently. Savour the current moment and be grateful for what is. Look for the positive aspects and the opportunities in situations. Focus on what is right in your life rather than what’s wrong. We are so conditioned into noticing the negatives, we often overlook all the good in our life.
Say “thank you” as often as possible to all the people who make your life what it is. A smile and a simple thank you will do. This will have a magical effect on the person receiving your appreciation. They will feel that their efforts have been noticed and appreciated. The opportunities to genuinely thank people are endless. All the people you acknowledge will be truly touched.
Members Only
This section is currently under development for KAIZEN Business Development clients. Check back for articles, links, tools, and other resources to help you learn and grow yourself and your business.
Please log in:
Don't have an account with us? Sign up now!