We are living in the most amazing times. There is SO MUCH INFORMATION out there. But WHAT do we do first?
Setting priorities when there is such a flood of information out there to wade through is a scary task. There are two main concepts I recommend when deciding what to DO FIRST:
- Strategic objectives don’t sound very FUN or INTERESTING but trust me, they are EVERYTHING in terms of deciding on your priorities!
- You must make time for systemization, in addition to putting out fires, so that you can prevent future fires.
Strategic Objectives
The simple way of explaining strategic objectives is this: they are the MOST IMPORTANT GOALS for this year.
You must decide the TOP THREE THINGS you want to accomplish this year, and post them somewhere you see every single day. Some great examples:
- Improve employee happiness from 3/10 to 8/10 average
- Improve customer satisfaction scores to 8/10 average
- Increase gross profit to 50%
- Increase net profit to 19%
- Increase revenue to $5 million
- Increase customer retention to 90%
These are all great because they are specific. Make sure you put numbers to your goals.
Once you have the top three goals (strategic objectives) filter ALL of your decisions through them (and your budget, of course). This means asking yourself, “will this move me TOWARDS or AWAY from my strategic objectives?” If the answer is “away.” say “NO.” Keep in mind, “NO” does not mean “NEVER” it just means, “not right now” or “maybe next year.”
Systemization
The other thing you want to be very conscious of is PUTTING OUT FIRES as opposed to PREVENTING THE FIRES. You must make time to do create things like PROCEDURES and SYSTEMS, in addition to dealing with the fallout that is happening because of the lack of them.
As time goes on, those fires will stop starting, and you’ll increasingly have more time to work ON the business. At first, you’ll be putting out a lot of fires, BECAUSE you haven’t made time for the systemization or procedures, but as time goes on you will win back more of your time, and be able to prevent future fires!
These two concepts will help you make decisions about what to do FIRST this week!
If you feel you’re ready to make the changes to your business that will make it more successful and more enjoyable, contact TMH Business Coaching today for a confidential, free, no-obligation consultation to propel you forward. Also, please feel free to add yourself to our weekly coaching tips email!
