What's your GAME CHANGER?

What are one or more game-changer ideas for your business?

…things that if completed or implemented could change everything?

Think….dream…make a list….and leave nothing out because it’s “too big”.

Here’s my challenge to you – 

Pick one.  Make it a priority.

You have 90 days.

Get on it!

Task Switching is Expensive

Let’s experiment.  First, say the alphabet from A to J.  Notice how long it took.

Now count from 1 to 10.  Notice how long that took.

Now switch back and forth – A-1, B-2, all the way to J.

How long did that take?

If you focus and finish one thing at a time, you will get more done faster than if you go back and forth doing part of this task and part of that task….

It also takes less mental energy and feels good.

There is no such thing as multi-taking – only task switching; and there is a heavy productivity price to pay to do it.

One thing at a time.

A dollar in expense cost more than a dollar in sales.

BE = FC/GPM

If your fixed costs are $25,000 a month, and your gross profit margin is 40%, your monthly breakeven is $62,500 ($25,000/.4 = $62,500).  

What if you hired another employee in the office that made ($800 a week) $3,440 a month?  How much more do you have to sell and deliver and collect just to pay for that one employee each month?

Now what is your monthly break-even?

Breakeven = Fixed Cost / Gross Profit Margin

Your fixed costs are cost you’d have to pay even if you did not sell anything this month.

Your gross profit margin is the percentage of revenue you have leftover after you have paid all direct cost you incur BECAUSE you sold something.  For example materials, labor, packaging, etc.

What is your monthly breakeven?

Figure it out.

Only one person can do the leadership job.

As a leader, there are lots of things you can do in a day.  There are lots of jobs you could assume.  And because you have probably done many of those jobs, it’s easy for you to find yourself passing time doing them today.

But there is only one person who can do the leadership job – and that is the leader.

If you don’t do the other jobs, someone else can.  But if you don’t do the leadership job, nobody else will.

And that is going to hurt your organization because the business will never outperform the leader.

If you are the leader, you have to do the leadership job.

More salespeople + More sales

How many people do yo have trying to sell your stuff?

Do you think that if you had more salespeople you’d have more sales?

Sometimes – it’s as easy as that!

Tell the truth to your people

People know when there is something wrong.  If you don’t acknowledge it, you weaken your leadership because they know you are not telling the truth.  

When leaders don’t tell the truth it may be because they are the cause, there is some wrong doing going on, or they do not have the will to fix it.  Hopefully, that is not you.  Leaders have to have the will to attack problems.

While you don’t have to share every detail, tell them what is going on and what the organization’s challenges are.  By being honest, you will maintain your credibility, and you can take the next step in asking for their help to fix it.

Give away the credit, take the blame.

People are watching the leader.  If the leader is always assigning blame for things that go wrong or just aren’t as good as they could be, they will hide and not engage for fear of making a mistake.  If the leader takes all the credit when things go well, it will not endear people to him/her, and high performers will likely not stay.

Give away the credit and take the blame.

Besides, if you blame others you give your power away.  Don’t give your power to change away.

Who do you need to give credit to today?

What responsibility (response-ability) do you need to take today?

Dream it…

For ten minutes, forget about what your business is now.  Think about what it would be if you could start over and make it just right.

Doodle.  What does that look like?  What are the numbers?  What do you have in this department and that department?  Your ideal facility? What would the numbers look like?  What would your organization deliver to get these results?  At what price?  Why would customers be happy?

Who is on the team?  Who is not?

Every business was created twice – once in the owner’s mind, and once in reality.

In that order.

Rally Your Team!

How does everyone in your company know how the organization is doing, know what the key initiatives are, know what their part is, come together as a team and feel good about it?

Rally the Team!