I do a lot of shoveling. It’s part of the farm life. I scoop bulk wood shavings and sawdust from a gigantic pile into a wheelbarrow, then dump them into a horse stall. To complete the cycle, I shovel manure and soiled bedding out of the stall the next day into a wheelbarrow and wheel it out. Rinse and repeat. It’s a lot of material and weight to move daily. Also included on the shoveling list: sand, soil, gravel and snow. It helps keep my arms and shoulders strong and my back at the edge of potential injury.

When I watch others shovel, their shovel operator skill level becomes obvious by their technique. Inexperienced and unskilled shovelers thrust their scoop into the material pile and twist their bodies right or left as they strain to lift and empty the shovel into the wheelbarrow.

I call this technique of neophytes Scoop and Twist. It resembles an odd dance ritual. I suppose these shovelers are mimicking a tracked excavator (you know, one of those digger things) loading a dump truck.

Scoop and Twist is inefficient and leads to early fatigue. The proper way to shovel is to avoid twisting and scoop and shovel in the same direction. Easier on the back and moves material faster. Untrained shovel operators scoop and twist their entire lives because they aren't aware that there may be a better way.

In your business and personal life you will find a lot of Scoop and Twist going on if you lean on your shovel handle and watch the crew. Businesses do much of the daily routine out of habit. Get the mail, sort the mail, make coffee, phone calls, e-mail, filing, meetings, water cooler seminar, assign work, review reports, stage shipments, warehouse finished products, shut down manufacturing, change jobs.

An examination of the routines and movements used daily in your business may reveal some costly errors in your “shoveling” techniques.

Some examples of wasted effort and motion by business:

• Advertising: yellow page, magazine, newspaper, radio, TV, Internet
• Reports: duplicate and triplicate copies that no one reads, internal reports of statistics no longer needed, retention of filed reports no longer mandated.
• Inventory: Storing finished products or raw materials no longer used, lack of organization of stored inventory, dated material handling equipment (worn out shovels)

Take a look around your business today. How much Scoop and Twist is going on in your life?

"It is by will alone that I set my mind in motion." -- Mentat Prayer

"Live up to your potential instead of imitating someone else's." -- Martha Burgess

"A status hero is a public liability. Progress grows out of motion." -- Richard Byrd

I often get asked by readers how I manage to write newsletters with new material every week.
I have to admit that some weeks "it ain't easy."

I started writing this electronic newsletter to fulfill my goal of marketing methodically. Every week I want to add value for my readers and at the same time, promote my business.

Over time I discovered a terrific benefit of writing regularly. The process allows me to get very clear about business ideas and principles and how people in business can apply them easily. I wrote more about the benefits of writing: click here.

I'm very good at helping business owners get their business financial house in order (I do windows). We can create a spreadsheet quickly that will serve as your budget (blueprint) for success. If you are like most business owners, you don't use a budget to your advantage to help you create the business you've always wanted.

Isn't about time you created a foundation for success? (716) 434-5371 and I'll tell you more.

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