Are you a statistic?

When is the last time you really thought about just how much time you are wasting with menial work, misguided business practices, misdirected energy and money? Are you a statistic? <ul> <li>43% of Americans categorize themselves as disorganized, and 21% have missed vital work deadlines. Nearly half say disorganization causes them to work late at least 2 or times each week. Jane Von Bergen, "So many reasons to neaten up.", Boston Globe Esselte survey, David Lewis</li> <li>Most people actually use 60% or less of available work time. When more than 38,000 people in 200 countries were queried about individual productivity, it showed that even though they were physically at work five days a week, they were only productively using three days. Microsoft Survey</li> <li>Unnecessary meetings cost U.S. businesses approximately $37 billion each year. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2005</li> <li>48% of us feel our lives have become more stressful in the past five years. American Psychological Association, 2007</li> <li>71% of white-collar workers feel stressed about the amount of information they must process and act on while doing business; 60% feel overwhelmed. Institute of the Future, Menlo Park, CA </li> <li>Spending 15 minutes every weekday morning mapping out your day can save you an average of six hours of wasted time during your workweek. That’s a 480% return on your investment of time.</li> </ul> The end of the year is fast approaching. Are you going to continue to do what you’ve been doing? How’s that working for you so far? If it’s not and you are tired of spinning your wheels or are bogged down in disorganization and frustration, STOP. Stop with the poor business practices. Stop with the poor planning. Stop with the lack of accountability.  START the New Year in a better and stronger position than ever! Now is the opportune time to analyze your business operations, identify areas for improvement, cut the fat, hone your niche and drive your business forward. When it comes to proper planning, what gets measured gets done. With the end of the year fast approaching, you would be wise to plan well for the new one. If you are still trying to figure out how to adapt to the changes in the economy, as the old adage states, “Out with the old and in with the new.” New perspectives, new ideas and a new agenda.  Before you make your long list of New Year’s resolutions (or NOT), start with a clear understanding of where you’ve been, what you’ve been doing, what’s working, what’s not working and where you ultimately want to be and where you want to go. Get help and a fresh set of eyes. More often than not, small business owners are too close to their business to be objective. You need someone from the outside to look deep within your business and ask you the right questions. Don’t be a statistic. Be progressive. Be pro-active. Be prepared. Be purposeful. Take complete control of your business.  You simply cannot move forward until you know where you have been and what needs to change. Change can be small. Change can be big. Change can be empowering.  2009-10-15T19:41:06Z