Question: How do you eat an elephant? Answer: One bite at a time.

by Kris Matz

Feeling overwhelmed by having to do more work with fewer resources? You’re not alone! Set yourself up to succeed—start by taking a giant step back to evaluate, it will be well worth your time.

Break things down into ‘bite-sized’ pieces—smaller projects that are easier to manage. 

Get organized. If you don’t have project management software, an MS Excel-based ‘to do list’ can be very helpful. It allows you to enter a priority column (see below) or due dates and ‘sort’ to put items into a sensible order.

Prioritize. What MUST be done right away?  What should be done soon? What can wait? Back to that ‘to do list’, items that MUST be done are a priority ‘1’, SHOULD be done are a ‘2’, … you get the picture.

Delegate. What requires YOUR attention? Take care of those items yourself and ask for help with the rest if needed. 

Stretch!

by Kris Matz

Motivation tends to wane during tough times—how are your employees doing? 

If you’re sensing lack-luster attitudes, now might be a good time to consider stretch goals to rev up the motivation. Stretch goals go beyond everyday performance and incremental improvement; they require challenge and creativity. 

Assign stretch goals carefully. Consider each employee’s capabilities, interests and willingness to take on the risk to try something new. Let them take the lead role in the goal that you assign them.

The confidence you show in your employees’ capabilities are likely to inspire engagement and performance—they’ll feel valued. You’ll probably be pleasantly surprised by the results  Who knows, given the opportunity maybe they’ll inspire you.

10 business e-mail tips

by Kris Matz

Have you ever received an email that you just know the sender wishes they could take back?  Maybe they didn’t read it before hitting send, were angry when they wrote it, or clicked “reply to all” by mistake?  Make sure that you are creating a good impression with the messages that you send – to customers, vendors and other staff members.

1. Make your subject line meaningful so that the recipients see value in opening your message.  But avoid using text and punctuation that will likely get your message trapped in SPAM filters, for example:  all capital letters, the word free, and multiple exclamation points!!

2. Use a professional and courteous tone.

3. Get to the point of your message; be clear and concise.  Readers are likely to put aside very long messages, then may forget to go back to read them.

4. Use proper grammar and capitalization.  And never use texting language in a professional email.  Using ALL CAPITAL letters is the equivalent of yelling.  Not using any capital letters appears lazy.

5. Use the spell check to avoid silly and easily avoidable mistakes.  No excuses here!

6. Proofread to catch errors that the spell checker might miss.  For example, words that are similar like there, their and they’re – or the tense of words such as has and had.

7. Ask before sending attachments, especially large ones.

8. Ask a co-worker or supervisor to review and proof any sensitive or critical messages before sending.  The second opinion may be very insightful and helpful.

9. You can’t take it back after clicking “Send”.  If expressing a strong or sensitive opinion, type your message in a Word document first.  Save it, take a break, then go back and revisit the message.  Edit if needed, then copy and paste your message into your email text box.

10. To be safe, never fill in the “To” box until you have completed all the steps above.  Then if you hit “Send” by mistake, you’ll save yourself some embarrassment.

Know your customers, know your competition

by Kris Matz

Not many businesses can afford to lose a sale.  The recession has made us more price-sensitive, and everyone is fighting for a share of the customer’s dollars.  But in some circumstances service is so critical that it is the deciding factor.  Are the services and reliability that you are offering enough? 

Know Your Customers (and prospective customers)

• Determine EVERY contact point with your customers and prospects – indirect (example:  website) and direct (example:  sales call).  Consider this from the product/service awareness stage through post-purchase.

• What does the customer need and want at each and every point?  Note that need and want can be two decidedly different things. 

• Are you meeting these wants and needs?  How do you know?  If you don’t know – ASK!

Know Your Competition

• Who are your direct competitors?

• What about indirect competitors that might get your clients to switch to a substitute product

• What are they doing to meet or exceed your standards – and steal YOUR customers?

After your analysis, ask yourself again; Are the services and reliability that you are offering enough?

How is your neighborhood?

by Kris Matz 

Per one Dictionary.com definition, a neighborhood is “a district or locality, often with reference to its character or inhabitants.”

Does your workplace neighborhood have a good character?  Is it a friendly place?

Hopefully your answers to both questions are yes.  But, what if the answers are no?

Ever thought of having a block party to get things started in a positive direction?  Invite everyone that is in your workplace ‘neighborhood’.  Attendance should be optional.  Set a designated time and place.  Ban work-related discussion, phone calls, emails, etc. during the party.  Make no announcements or speeches.  Keep things simple so that people start to mingle and chat. 

An hour of time, and some soft drinks, sandwiches, chips and brownies can go a long way in getting people started on the neighborly track. 

Employees that are personally involved in a friendly work environment are likely to be more engaged, to communicate more effectively and as a result be more productive.  Sounds like a win-win situation to me!