Posts Tagged ‘Efficiency’
Be Lean and Mean as Long as You Don’t Lose Your Creativity
Small businesses have learned to run “lean and mean,” and according to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), almost 80 percent of small businesses did little to no hiring during the summer. Refraining from hiring means a lower cost structure, but when is the belt too tight? “No new employees, no new ideas, no…
Read More3 Tips for Improving Workflow with Business Process Management Software
Business process management software offers an excellent solution to the ever-growing problem of data. Your company collects, stores and uses new data every day, in each department. With BPM, you have a ready-to-use solution to help streamline efficiency in using this data. In other words—your BPM software should help you improve business protocol. All of…
Read MoreHow to Increase Your Efficiency as a Freelancer
Freelancers are typically faced with a lot more opportunities, challenges and pitfalls while working. Why I mention those 3 things? Well, with so much flexibility and freedom, it can sometimes become a hassle when it comes to actually sitting down and getting the required work done. Uncle Ben’s famous last words were, “With great power,…
Read MoreEffectiveness Must Precede Efficiency
Too often, we seem too focused on volume, velocity and activity levels, thinking that the more things we do, the better we are. We set goals for number of prospecting calls, numbers of meetings, and any number of things. The thinking is, if we simply do more, we produce more. On face value, that makes…
Read MoreOne Thing You Must Do Every Time Your Business Grows 50%
I hear it all the time… Small business owners are frustrated with their businesses and they don’t know where or how to start. You got into business because you had an idea, a passion for solving a problem, and you knew you could make money doing it. The problem is that a few years into…
Read MoreTime, Talent, and Treasure: Spending Each Wisely
In the non-profit world, the term “time, talent and treasure” has been used so often it is almost at the edge of being trite. It’s used in that arena to describe a volunteer’s sacrifice in support of the non-profit enterprise. I have been surprised to discover that it seems undiscovered in the business world. So,…
Read More5 Pros and Cons of Specializing in Your Industry
Your company can choose to do it all. It can handle every responsibility. However, the less your business chooses to specialize, the fewer advantages your business will receive from specialization. There are several pros and cons of choosing to specialize. Specialization Isn’t Difficult One way to avoid specialization is to outsource those aspects of your…
Read MoreBusyness is Not Productiveness
Somehow a packed calendar/agenda seems to be an indicator of our “success.” We live in a 7/24 world, we have more work than we can manage, and we constantly fill our calendars with activities. It impacts people at all levels. I’ve told this story before, but it bears telling again. About 15 years ago, I…
Read MoreHow Small Businesses Should Be Using Big Data
Think big data is only for big business? Think again. No matter how small your operation might be, collecting and analyzing data about current and future customers can produce a significant return on investment. And the world’s businesses know this, which is why Microsoft’s Satya Nadella predicts Big Data could become a $1.6 trillion industry in the…
Read MoreEye of the Needle? Why to Worry Over Your Bottlenecks
Think for a minute whether there is any process or person that could be classed as the eye of the needle in your organization. Is there anything, process or person, that stalls the flow of work from start to finish? A CEO once told me that she was ‘the eye of the needle’ in her organization,…
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