It is easy to get wrapped up in the day to day struggles of putting food on the table isn’t it? In business I hear business owners always talking about how they have no time, and it is true that time is the one thing that limits us.
There are time stealers everywhere. Television, hobbies, church commitments, sports events and the work, work, work... Some of those things are even “good” things. It is important to spend time with the kids and the spouse. It is important to have some “me” time and some reflective time, but time gets away on us all too easy. We get busy working with our head down to the task and we forget to look up and around at the landscape. We forget to plan. If we do plan, we forget to look at the plan and to work on the plan.
Last week I was at an event with Doug Tibben and he encouraged us to find out the 20% of things that we do that creates 80% of our income, and then to double the time that we spend on that 20%. It immediately made me more profitable when I zoned in and focused on that 20%.
Focus is important.
When we play a game of darts we don’t just want to hit the board. There is a place on the board that we specifically want to target. We need to focus the same way in business.
There are certain activities that we do every day that we could train somebody else to do. So why do we waste our time there? Why don’t we hire someone to work for us for $10 an hour and get someone doing that for us so that we can focus on the things that make more money? There are other things that are highly specialized to our field and we are the only one in the company that can do those things. Those are the things that we should charge our premium time for. That is where we want to be. That is focus.
As the business owner we are the master of the ship and we are the one that steers the course for the entire crew. With compass and navigational charts in hand we need to keep going in the right direction. When a storm blows us off course we need to acknowledge it and redirect. When we have been making good time it may be good for moral for a quick stop at a sunny location to load up on supplies and have some R&R with the crew and then get back on course.
We need to let the team know the direction that we are taking. We need to engage them in the process and enlist their help in keeping us focused. It is great when one of them realizes their contribution and says, “I’ve got this, go and deal with that larger issue.” They can only do that though, if we first have taken the time to train them for it and then encouraged them by releasing them to do it. Having that person up in the lookout keeping an eye out for dangers ahead keeps us focused.
The owner of the business needs to know the plan and take ownership of the plan. If we don’t have a plan, then nobody has a plan. We can’t get bogged down slopping the deck. That is not our place if we want to get anywhere. Rest assured that the entire staff does not want the ship to be dead in the water. They want to be proud of where they work. They want to see benefits increase. They want to be part of something that is moving forward. They are happier when we are focused.
So how does one get focused?
Doug taught us that we should firstly write down 10 goals for the year. Then prioritize those 10 things. Then put a date on them. Next we should look at those goals every day for 7 days. I have been doing that and it helps. For myself I decided to go even a step farther and make a plan for the month based on those 10 things. What are the priorities? What activities do we need to do more of? What activities can I personally do less of? Who can I get to do some of the 80% activities so that I can be freed up to do the 20%? If we are going to grow this month what are the key areas where I need to focus as the owner to cause that growth to happen? Who can I enlist in the process to ensure success?
Focus, focus, focus...
This month we have hired sales people for Loyal2U and additional posting staff here in Calgary and in other cities. We are training others to do the 80%. We have also put specific people on specific tasks for the Calgary Business Network. We have goals for that company as well.
It is going to be an exciting month this month within our companies. How is it going to be at yours?
Always Loyal2U
Kerry George
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