One of the greatest challenges we have today in our busy lives is having enough time to achieve all that we want for ourselves and our businesses. How can we fit it all in? Often one of the first things we often stop doing is planning what we need to do? We don’t make time to think about what we need to do, we just get on and do it. In the short term this is viable, we need to react to certain situations and just get on with it. The longer we react, rather than be proactive, the more time poor we become! The key to success is to be true to our vision, ensuring all our strategies are well planned and thought out. The more often we do this the quicker the process becomes and more time we create. How? How can we make time to stop and plan when we are already time poor?
Five keys to creating additional time in our day. Self-care, Planning, Analysis , Staff training Communication.
Self-care
One of the most valuable things we can do for ourselves when time-poor, is to make time for ourselves. Recharging our batteries enables us to be mentally and physically ready take on the world again. How we do that is up to the individual. Go for a swim, walk along the beach, ride a bicycle in the country, train for a marathon, play with your children or grandchildren in the park, play tennis, read a book. Each of these activities and many others will increase mental capacity and clarify ideas and thoughts you may have had.
Find ways to do things you don’t have to think about, these will help to clear your mind for the short term. There are times when we “Don’t see the wood for the trees”, as we are too entrenched in the circumstances. How often do we have moments of clarity when we cannot act on them, such as in the shower, or on the toilet or driving the car. How often do we stop thinking about something we are trying to remember so that we can remember?
Free up some time, to make opportunities to prioritise your work life balance and take a look at the tasks at hand to plan your actions.
Plan Plan Plan
Planning is needed to evaluate all the information at hand objectively to prioritise into the areas that need to be addressed. Planning strategies can then be formulated plan and implemented to achieve the desired outcomes
With a clear mind planning can commence for a day week, month or year. Each business is different some need to plan at a daily level, while others need to start up to 12 months out to bring the plans to fruition. The depth of the planning will show in the results achieved.
There are 5 key ares to planning Consumer, Competition, Campaigns, Creativity, and course.
The consumer is key Do you know who your key consumer is and what they want? What was the competition doing in the market at the same time both in-stores and online. Marketing campaigns needs to have more time and effort put in at the start to ensure the outcome required. Are the 5 rights of retail covered: Is it the right item to draw the customers in? Is it at the right price? Is there the right amount of stock? Are they the right quality your customers expect from you? Is the promotion at the right time of the year? For the day-to-day business to run smoothly do you have the right staff? Do they have the right training? Do you have the services your clients need? How can you improve customer service? What processes and procedures do you have in place? When were they last updated? creativity will give the edge you need to showcase the differentiators in your business? This is shown in products, presentation, display, marketing, tied together with a point of difference. The course of action chosen, with the right planning will determine the outcome.
Plan for the now and the longer term. Are trends changing? How do you keep abreast of the most current trends? And so much more.
PROPER PLANNING PREVENT POOR PERFORMANCE
Analyse the results.
With each plan put in place be sure to analyse the results.
For the most successful results what were the factors that made them successful. What worked better than expected? Why? How? Can it be replicated?
What did not work? It is not usually the entire plan but more likely to be one or two aspects that did not perform. Analyse the project in its entirety, then drill down and drill down more until all pieces of the puzzle are explored to ascertain which were the factors that led to the results.
Was it one of the basic five right: Products, time, quantity, quality, place?
Could it be customer service, lack of training, any marketing that was actioned, logistics,
Which of the 5C’s has had the greatest impact on the outcome
Staff training
Often when a business starts up friends and family are asked to help out. This helps with cheap staff and misconception that they know you and will know what you want done. Knowing what staff to hire should be based on skill sets required. The best results are born form staff with 5 key skill sets:
Based on what the position requirements are
Any specialist training required.
The right attitude to fit in with the team.
Standards and values.
A comprehensive position description and training as applicable.
Communication
Clearing the mind with proper self-care planned into the diary for specific days and weeks enables clear sustainable goals to be set. Communicate these to staff who have been bought on with the skill sets to be able the delegation of specific responsibilities. Keep communication channels open for continued feedback from the staff who experience the day-to-day challenges and opportunities. When the results are analysed ensure the staff are well briefed on the results and your plans going forward. Encourage interaction with staff to keep them fully engaged. This will free up your time to set strategic direction to grow.
If you would like address this in your business book a time for a complimentary Appointment With Purpose (A.W.P.). We will explore your options together. https://calendly.com/deb-fribbins/appointment-with-purpose
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