Business: Don’t Shrink

Don’t Shrink – RETHINK!

Written by Eileen McDargh, CSP, CPAE

Now is repparttar

time to pull together and think creatively about our businesses. When times are easy, unfortunately, we often lose repparttar 106485

edge to monitor performance, to question out-dated procedures and unnecessary expenses. Maintenance items slip when we’re busy “filling orders”. This might be anything from physical maintenance to reconnecting with clients, to exploring new opportunities for growth, to taking classes for improvement and enrichment.

Consider brainstorming some of these questions:

What would happen if we had a product that was 180 degrees different from today? (Example: A hospital with low census went from finding ways to get sick people in repparttar 106486 door to finding ways to get well people in repparttar 106487 door! They re-created their unused physical space into a wellness center and found lots of takers!)

What if we blew up repparttar 106488 business and started all over? What would we get rid of because it is extraneous, irrelevant or an unnecessary expense? (Example: How many people really READ that report? Does it have to be so immense? What’s repparttar 106489 bottom line here? )

Have we put people in positions where they play to their strengths? Talk, talk, talk and figure out where is repparttar 106490 match.

Are Your Meetings MINM or JAM?

Written by Eileen McDargh, CSP, CPAE

When people come to your meetings, do they say "this is a meeting I never miss" ( MINM) or do they say "this is just another meeting." (JAM)

Unproductive meetings gobble up an estimated 20% of corporate payrolls, throwing away $420 billion a year. American business people engage in an estimated 11 million meetings every workday. The average American executive spends 17 hours a week in meetings and more than 6 hours preparing. At an average salary of $45,000, more than $18,000 per executive is spent in meetings. Before you call another meeting, ask yourself:

·what's repparttar outcome I want from this meeting? The more people know what "deliverables" should come from repparttar 106484 meeting, repparttar 106485 more focus you can bring to repparttar 106486 conversations.

·is there a more effective way of getting repparttar 106487 results without a meeting?

·who REALLY needs to be involved?

·when is repparttar 106488 optimum time to have it and what time limit shall I set?

Sounds silly, but agendas make a huge difference. And forget 'old business". Who ever got excited about starting a meeting with "old business"! If it has relevancy to current situations, it is not "old"-it is pressing business.

The skills of running an effective meeting can easily be learned. These skills involve gatekeeping (i.e. making sure that one person does not monopolize repparttar 106489 meeting), summarizing repparttar 106490 points, calling for a decisions, establishing protocols, and keeping discussion on track.

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