Presents?

Whether or not you celebrate Christmas, today (Christmas) day is a great time to think about presents.

What would your organisation really like? A new product? A new brand? Lower costs?

Only you can deliver! So, get your elves working.

What's this blog called?

This is the run-up to the holiday season. I hope you are really busy ... working hard.

However, I really hope that you are working effectively.  Don't confuse hard work with effective work. Too often we end up at the end of a long day ... we look back and think ... what have I really achieved.  I've been so busy clearing the backlog, I haven't had time to think about the really important things.

If this is you, then the holidays provide an ideal time for a bit of reflection .. about priorities & plans, about what really matters to your customers - and therefore your business.

Come back refreshed and refocused ... and continue to keep things simple!

Wot! No Balanced Scorecard.

How many of you have implemented a performance management system such as a Balanced Scorecard?  Few, I expect.  They are a bit 'sophisticated' (and a bit expensive) for most small businesses.

However, it is worth reading up about how the BS works.  Essentially (and I apologise if my 'executive summary' omits some key features) it suggests you take your business strategy (and its aims and objectives), translate them into key success factors (what do you really have to do to be successful), establish goals for each of these factors, and then measure how well you actually do as you progress towards those goals - taking corrective action when you need to in order to remain on track.

Now you are probably doing all of those things in your own way ... but adding a bit of formal structure wouldn't go amiss.

Whatever the weather

In the UK we are suffering from heavy snow falls and travel and trade have both been badly disrupted.

What is your policy on this?  You don't have one!  Well, perhaps you should .... before you need it.