No Pain, No Change

Written by Susan Carter


Continued from page 1

After talking with employees to understandrepparttar process they were using, and listening torepparttar 135421 frustrations they were experiencing, it quickly became evident thatrepparttar 135422 current procedure had lost significant value. What used to work perfectly had now become not only more vulnerable to errors, but costly. And, withrepparttar 135423 business continuing to grow, this was not a short-term challenge.

With minimal investigation I discovered thatrepparttar 135424 process could be shortened to two steps, performed by two employees, with one simple solution -- an upgrade ofrepparttar 135425 property management software they were using.

Naturally,repparttar 135426 software upgrade was prominently placed in my assessment and recommendations report. I knew, however, thatrepparttar 135427 owners would view this as an expense that would cost them more than $2,000 and, therefore would not likely top their To-Do list.

Time forrepparttar 135428 "no pain, no change" discussion.

In addition to recommendingrepparttar 135429 software upgrade, I detailed a conservative estimation ofrepparttar 135430 current 'real' costs associated with this procedure that primarily consisted of overtime and error reconciliation. I then detailedrepparttar 135431 estimated resulting costs associated with implementingrepparttar 135432 upgrade. The difference? A savings of nearly $7,500 a year! That's a significant profit leak for a small, 6-person operation.

Do you thinkrepparttar 135433 owners were more motivated to changerepparttar 135434 habit that currently supportsrepparttar 135435 $7,500 profit-draining leak? You bet they were! Suddenly, it was evident thatrepparttar 135436 $2,000 software upgrade was an investment, not an expense. It carries measurable ROI.

Becauserepparttar 135437 client could now see an immediate (financial) pain, there was an increase in desire for immediate (procedural) change. Every critical process of your own business should be looked at with this same "no pain, no change" assessment.

What is it really costing you to do what you've always done?

Identifyrepparttar 135438 pain, and you'll increase desire for change.

Susan Carter is a small business consultant and author of business-building books that help small business owners and soloprofessionals ‘do more with less.’ Free book chapters and ezine at: http://www.successideas.com


Develop a "We" Focus And Not a "Me" Focus

Written by Guy Harris


Continued from page 1

Now, reconsider these questions with regard to this person.

- What specifically did they do?

- How did they behave towards you and others to create this feeling in you?

- How much fear did you feel associated with working for them?

- Did you feel controlled or influenced by them? In other words, did they have an indirect effect on your behavior, or did they directly regulate your behavior?

We’ll call this personrepparttar Worst Supervisor.

Most people say thatrepparttar 135400 Best Supervisor got more voluntary effort and better long-term performance and relationship results from their team. I have yet to meetrepparttar 135401 person who saysrepparttar 135402 Worst Supervisor got great performance from their team.

Now consider this question for a moment: Who do you think these two people thought/think about first? Most people say thatrepparttar 135403 Best Supervisor tends to keep their focus on others. Most people also say thatrepparttar 135404 Worst Supervisor tends to think only of themselves and their interests.

The question for leaders becomes – How do I wantrepparttar 135405 people on my team to view me?

The answer lies in how we,repparttar 135406 leaders, think.

Our thoughts become words or actions that influencerepparttar 135407 behavior ofrepparttar 135408 people around us. When I focus on my personal desires, I act in selfish ways. When I act in selfish ways, I inspire mediocre performance in my team. When I focus onrepparttar 135409 team, I act inrepparttar 135410 team’s best interest. When I act inrepparttar 135411 team’s best interest, I inspire high-level performance in my team.

As I close this article, my mind is racing with possible questions and qualifying statements. Due to space and time constraints, I haven’t even begun to address some ofrepparttar 135412 issues that come to mind:

- How does this apply to team members who don’t want to play nice?

- How do you preserverepparttar 135413 integrity of your vision while working with people who see things differently? etc.

These issues are too big to consider all at once. I'll address these related issues at a different time. So for now, I encourage you to remember this one tip . . . Develop a “we” focus and not a “me” focus.

Guy Harris is the Chief Relationship Officer with Principle Driven Consulting.  He helps entrepreneurs, business managers, and other organizational leaders build trust, reduce conflict, and improve team performance. Learn more at http://www.principledriven.com Register for Guy's monthly newsletter at http://www.principledriven.com/newsletter.htm


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