I took January 2, 2006 as a day off from work. The post office wasn’t delivering
mail and the banks were closed also. However, I did get a full inbox of junk e-mails
promoting the solution to achieving the number one New Year resolution of many
North Americans: Lose Weight Now.
I
got e-mails on break-through diets, magical weight loss pills and miracle health
clubs. The same day, I saw TV ads with patented low effort- high results exercise
machines. I heard radio ads for weight loss programs like Weight Watchers. These
advertisers believe many people have resolved to slim down in 2006.
How about your business resolutions for 2006? If you haven’t given thought to
trimming off fat in your business, then you should.
- Ask the question,
“ Why do we do this?” about processes or procedures that may no longer have a
specific purpose.
- Review your advertising expenses. Are yellow pages and
display advertising in newspapers and magazines getting the results you expect
for a reasonable price? Does advertising in countless “Special event” programs
(like the beer league softball play-offs) make sense?
- How many phone lines
are effective for your business? If more and more communication is Internet based
like e-mail, webinar or VOIP, do you still need 14 telephone lines?
- This
is a tough one to ask yourself. Does every position on the payroll contribute
to the business in a way that makes sense? If not, change the position’s responsibilities
for 2006 or gulp, trim it.
- Is every product or service offered by the
business producing the revenue expected?
- Is valuable office space filled
with paper files that are no longer active and should be archived or tossed out?
- Is
the owner of the business trying to wear too many hats inside the business and
sit in too many chairs in various organizations outside the business?.
The above points are just some of the ways to reduce the weight in your business.
Just as easily as some people learn to live with a little extra weight on their
frames, so do businesses learn to live with a little extra weight in their businesses.
Unfortunately, that little bit of extra weight grows each year and starts to become
a serious business health problem.
Think about the current business situations
of General Motors and its abandoned child, Delphi Automotive. They
are searching the Internet for every quick business fat-o- matic trimmer on the
market that slices, dices and really, really works. A lack of good diet has produced
an extra extra-large business body with a ravenous cash appetite that can only
find clothes styled by Omar the Tentmaker.
Just like humans, business
weight gain and weight loss doesn’t happen over night. It’s a slow process each
way, coming and going.
Make time at the start of the year for starting
a sound weight reduction plan for your business.
Trimming
business fat can be part of your three year plan. My 8 simple strategies for
success can help you learn this and other techniques for success. Want to
learn more? click
here
