This video was published on YouTube on Nov 18, 2014. It is a lightearted and thought provoking view of technology changes over time.
work habits
Where is the valuable intelligence in your business
Business information, whether electronic and hard copy, holds valuable intelligence about your business activities.
Losing this valuable information, or being unable to access it quickly when needed, could result in loss of contracts and lower profits.
The value of document management systems
I’ve never been a great fan of electronic document management systems. I can see how they can be useful but I’ve seen a lot that, in spite of hundreds of thousands of dollars paid to install them, are not used effectively because the people who are expected to use them find them too hard.
Now there are many reasons for this and it’s not always the fault of the system itself.
Business fundamentals
Being able to find information you need when you need it is fundamental to the way you manage your business.
It doesn’t matter what your business does – whether you’re making pies, children’s’ clothes, iron gates or if you provide
Inbox Zero
Some time ago I came across an article by Rebecca Corliss about managing her email inbox. Given my liking for anything that helps people manage their inbox, naturally I was curious to find out how did this. Her article is not available any more but her method is still worth considering.
You may think her method looks a bit complicated. However please stay with her as it is quite simple really.
Each email package will have the ability for you to create a new mailbox folder so while you are on holiday all your email will go into that folder instead of sitting in your inbox. Each package will work a little differently though the process to set up folders and filters will be similar.
You may think “so what” the email is all going to be there still when you get back from holiday.
However the beauty of this little ruse is that when you get back and your inbox starts to fill up with new messages, you can deal with them straight away and know they are current instead of having them at the top of several screens full of email that built up while you were away.
If you also set up an “out of office” message to let people know you’re away they will know not to expect a reply from you. Or you can ask them to contact someone else in the office.
Though it might take a bit to time to set it up in your email package, it will be worth is as it will save you so much time when you get back and you will feel more in control.
As Rebecca says “when I return from vacation, I strategically handle unread emails. … Once the more time-sensitive messages are addressed, I’ll simply allocate a couple hours a day to respond to the remaining emails in this vacations folder. That way, I’m not only back-on-track quickly, but am able to immediately start helping my team without all “email catch up” time getting in the way. No email overload to overwhelm me.
If you would like some help to set up your holiday email folder and filters, let me know and we can work on it together.
Cost-effective administrative support for small businesses
Did you read Lisa Martin’s story in the DominionPost recently? Her business GoFi8ure provides everyday bookkeeping and accounting support to small businesses before they get to the point of needing a full time office manager. GoFi8ure provides bookkeeping and other administrative services to free up small business owners to do what they do best – run the business.
Email management in the new year
We know that email messages build up without us even noticing – until the inbox gets full or someone asks why we haven’t replied to an email that sought a response. We look at the number of messages and gasp, then leave it all because it’s too hard to even think about dealing with all those messages.
I got a newsletter recently suggesting that we deal with email in the days before Christmas when people had some down time at work.
Communication is almost more important than cashflow
To those of you still at work this week, I wish you a merry Christmas and a happy thriving business in 2015. For those already on holiday and reading this in January my wishes for you in 2015 are the same.
To help you get thinking about how you will have a successful 2015, I want to share some thoughts on communication. I’ve had three interesting experiences recently that are top of mind right now.
Stop Wasting Time Looking for Lost Items
I love it when I come across someone who has a similar philosophy to mine about keeping everything in an orderly way in the office.
So when I found the Time Management Ninja I couldn’t help but explore this web site where Craig Jarrow helps individuals and companies reclaim their time.
Hard lesson in how not to run a company
Reports this week from the legal judgment on the failure of South Canterbury Finance (SCF) show how a big company that arose out of a small family business failed in part because the systems and processes in place didn’t work for a large financial company.
Brian Gaynor writing in the New Zealand Herald calls it “Hard lesson in how not to run a company”