Working Stiffs

Porter’s 5 Forces Model will help to show you how viable and profitable your new venture could be.
The first thing you need to do is to make up a few questions for your venture. The questions will get either a positive (+), negative (-), or neutral (0) response.  Look at the total scores for each category to see if your venture could thrive, and how profitable it may be. The five areas we’ll look at are:

Industry Competitors
Suppliers
Buyers
Substitutes
Potential Entrants

Running this model should not be hard, and should not take a lot of time. For an example we’ll look at a fictitious company, DVORAK Computers LLC, a supplier of high-end computer equipment.

Industry Competitors
This force explores what business is like in the industry you wish to enter.

How many competitors exist in this indistry?
There are only two other retailers in my target area. (+)

Is there a strong rivalry between competitors?
No, everyone is pretty cooperative. No one is bristling at the mention of other competitors. (+)

Is the industry growing?
Yes! The need for quality computer products is always increasing! (+)

How innovative am I? Is my approach similar to my competitors?
I have a unique and creative marketing approach. (+)

Overall Score: Positive. Things look good in the industry.

Suppliers
This force examines just how much control you have over your supplier.

How many suppliers are there?
There are only a few suppliers of the parts I need, due to my emphasis on producing quality computer products. (-)

What is the cost of switching between suppliers?
Not much. I didn’t sign any contracts, I just buy quit buying from one company and switch to another. (+)

Can I exert pressure on my suppliers to lower prices?
No. Processors and motherboards stay at the same price consistently. (-)

Can I get a better price that my competitors?
No. Cost is pretty much equal across the board. (-)

Overall Score: Negative. I don’t have much control, if any, over my suppliers.

Buyers
This force determines how much control you have over buyers.

Can buyers force my price down?
Yes. If I’m just too expensive they’ll buy from somebody else. (-)

Are there substitutions?
Tons, especially if they settle for lower quality computers. (-)

How sensitive are buyers to things like price, quality, appearance, etc?
Yes. I’ve tailored my company to appeal to customers that appreciate high quality and a clean look. (+)

Do I have strong brand recognition?
Not yet, but I have potential to go far. (0)

Overall Score: Negative again.

Substitutes
This force analyzes the threat of substitutions.

Do I have a special feature or selling point that will keep me from being passed over?
Yes. My computer equipment is top-of-the-line and always moving forward. (+)

Is there another option?
Yes. You can get quality equipment from other stores. (-)

Can I change prices to be more appealing or do I have fixed costs?
I have a little room to be flexible, but I can’t go too low without cutting into my cash inflow. (-)

Overall Score: Again, a negative score.

Potential Entrants
This force assesses how hard it is for other people to enter the market.

Can anyone else enter the market?
Yes. Any ambitious computer company could break in. (-)

How expensive is it to get into the industry?
Quite expensive, actually. Not very many people have the capital necessary. (+)

Is it expensive to switch to a new brand?
No. Simply clear my stuff off the shelves. (-)

Do I have a secure distribution channel?
Yes. I have secured a distribution channel. (+)

Do I have any specialized knowledge or skills?
Yes. I’ve been building, repairing, and working with computers for years. (+)

Are there government regulations that will prohibit new entrances?
No. As long as you have the money and grit, you can come on in. (-)

Overall Score: Neutral. Some things look up for me, others are not so good.

Overall, this exercise shows me a Positive, Negative, Negative, Negative, Neutral. The venture comes out as an overall Negative. Does this mean I shouldn’t go for it? Not necessarily. If I have guts and money I can overcome a lot of the obstacles. If I can build up enough brand recognition, I could have tons of people flocking to my product over everyone else. I need to realize going into my venture, though, that there is a level of risk. I need to set parameters to know when I should cut my losses. It’s good to be tenacious, unless you end up going bankrupt. As long as I keep working at it and know when to let go, DVORAK Computers LLC could be a lot of fun, and profitable for me too!

Until Next Time,

~Binary

Making the most out of your day is important. We’re always trying to find a way to boost our productivity, speed up processes, or simplify our work load. Whether you working in the office or out of your home — you like to feel a sense of accomplishment. You like the feeling of crossing items off that long to-do list. Here are a few tips to increase your productivity at work.

Be on Time
The first step to being more productive is to show up to work on time. You may even come in a little early on some days. Being early has its own advantages. Few people get to work early, so you essentially have the whole office to yourself. Take advantage of the quiet morning to plan and work on the tasks that require all of your attention.

Reserve the First Few Hours to Plan
Planning is an essential part of productivity. Start at the beginning of the day. It’s usually nice and quiet as people are just settling in. Decide what things are urgent. What has to get done today? Decide what’s important. What doesn’t have to get done today, but needs some attention? Once you know what’s the most urgent and most important, you’ll be ready to take on the rest of the day.

Streamline Meetings
Get in and get out as quickly as possible. Meetings are the worst time drains in the business worlds because a one-hour meeting doesn’t just take one hour away from work. It takes one hour for everyone that attends the meeting. That means that you may actually lose up to thirty or forty hours of work time per meeting.

Start Big
Work on the most important and most difficult tasks first. It may seem laborious at first, but as the tasks get easier and easier, instead of harder and harder as the day progresses, you’ll thank yourself for getting the hard things done first.

Block Similar Tasks Together
Put all of the like-minded tasks together. Once you get going on a task, it becomes easier. If you put similar tasks together, you can preserve this momentum you built up on the last task. If you don’t block them together, you have to stop and “switch gears” as you begin the new task.

Single Task
Many people think that the obvious answer to get more done is to do more at once. This, however, does not work as well as most of them think. Too few of us really have the ability to effectively multi-task. The best rule of thumb is to do one job at a time and stick with it until it’s done!

Get Away for Lunch
Stay at your desk all day! Don’t get up for a walk over to a co-worker’s cubicle, don’t go to the bathroom every ten minutes, don’t walk over to the copier and back to your desk with each individual copy. Chain yourself to your desk except for those things that really require you to get out of that chair. Then, at lunch, escape! Go somewhere nice. Even if it’s just outside the building, under a tree or something. You’ll appreciate the break (since you’ve been glued to your chair all morning) and when you go back, you’ll be revitalized and ready to approach your work again.

List Things Out
Lists are a good way to get organized. Whether it’s a list of your best ideas or your 3 lists of 3, writing down your goals is a great visual reminder to keep you going throughout the day.

Communicate Passively
Passive communication is a great way to boost productivity. Few things are so urgent that they have to be discussed immediately. If you can schedule blocks of time in you less-than-productive lulls to do things like check email or chat, you won’t have to stop work when you’re in the zone to deal with every little notification, question, or update. It’s really easy to put your chat program away until it’s convenient — it’s not so easy to put your boss away.

Eliminate Time Drains
Of course, by eliminating the little things that suck away precious minutes, you can become more productive.

Until Next Time,

~Binary

As Rich points out in his book, Bootstrap Business, every company passes through four phases of development as it grows and expands. Rich has simplified these phases of growth into his four phase model.

Phase 1: Brainstorm

Yes! Yes! Yes! That’s a fantastic idea for a business! That one is too! So is this one! Let’s go for it! Right now you’re only trying to get your ideas out. Throw out every idea you have and write it down on a notepad, the whiteboard, a Word document, etc. The most important thing to realize is that you’ll be saying “yes” a lot. Yes that does sound like a viable plan. Yes, I think consumers would buy a product like that. Yes, that sounds like it could be a lot of fun. Yes, I’ve always wanted to break into that industry. Yes, that’s the front end of a wave. Yes, that’s my area of expertise. Anything that looks like it has a glimmer of hope of working – write it down! After your list is populated with every idea you can come up with, it’s time to move on to the second phase.

Phase 2: Examine

Yes! Maybe! No! That may work. That’s a crazy idea. That’s a long shot. That looks pretty promising. The timing is perfect for this one! Now that you have a long list of possibilities you need to begin whittling down the list. Begin to get critical. What really has the best bet of actually turning into a great business? While many ideas seemed like a great idea at first, there will be two or three that really stick out at you. This isn’t to say that you should throw out everything but your top two ideas — just stick the list in your top drawer and keep those ideas in the “parking lot.” Keep adding to it as you’re hit with inspiration. Maybe one day soon, someone will want to buy the company you’re building and you can work on one of the other ideas on your list. Once you’ve picked your potential venture it’s time for phase three.

Phase 3: Optimize

No! Yes! Yes-but no. We need to change this process. Can we improve this part of the venture? What if we tweak this design? We can’t change that facet of the product. Now is not the time to begin second-guessing yourself. You thoroughly examined your venture – probably conducting a lot of research to see just how viable it was. Now is the time to focus and optimize. Your “machine” is cobbled together and running. Begin looking for loose belts and hoses, gears that you can tweak, loose nuts and bolts, joints that need grease, edged to sand, polish, and buff. While at first your venture may metaphorically resemble a tractor held together with spit and baling wire, you want to turn it into a Ferrari – so here’s where the reality check comes into play. Sometimes it just won’t work. Sure, grit is important. You’ve got to be committed to your venture. However, it is possible to throttle your business to death. Have a few ground rules and failsafes. If things just aren’t working out, let go! Get in a lifeboat and live to fight another day. There will be more ventures to chase, more companies to build, more partnerships to forge. But if it is working – continue to phase four.

Phase 4: Protect

No! No! No! We can’t risk that. Policy won’t allow that. We can’t make that change. We can’t jeopardize what we’ve earned for that. I’m determined to find another way. Our rules forbid us from venturing into that. Once you hit full optimization and the money really starts to roll in, many people automatically flip over into “Don’t Screw It Up!” mode. This is actually a good thing. Some parts of the business must be protected. Where would Google be without its algorithm? What would make KFC different if its “secret recipe” was common knowledge? Some things must be preserved. However, you can zig or zag a little without derailing your venture. Part of protecting your business is getting so good that you can keep things running at full steam while others go out for you to round up additional prospects. Sure, you may start a microprocessor company, but what if you can get a handhold in the motherboard industry too? What if after that you could make hard drives? What if there’s a hole in the video card industry that you can fill?

Figure out which phase is your strength. Maybe you’re a walking idea farm. Maybe you’re great at picking out sure-fire winners when it comes to possible ventures. You may be able to fine tune a company – or you may be the one who can steer the ship once things are set up. Once you know where your strengths lie, work on improving your weaknesses, or find a partner who has strengths that are your weaknesses.
Learn to say “YES” when you can, “NO” When you must, and have fun with it!

Until Next Time,

~Binary

Drafting tables are useful pieces of office furniture that everyone can use – they’re not just for draftsmen and engineers. They come in a lot of different variations. Some are made of wood, others from steel or aluminum, some are even made of glass or plastic! Their most distinguishing characteristic however, is the wide array of useful features. While they may all look close to identical – there are actually quite a few different, useful features to look out for when it comes to drafting tables.

GreenGuard Certified

This is very important when it comes to any office furniture – drafting tables included. Did you know that the indoor air quality of your home or office can sometimes be up to five times more polluted than the outside air? It’s shocking, isn’t it? Often, this increase in pollution is due to poor ventilation in conjunction with certain chemicals and particles being released from furnishings. The GreenGuard Institute ensures that the products you are buying do not release hazardous amounts of chemicals or particles into your working space.

Variable Angle Drawing Board

An iconic feature of drafting tables is their tilted tabletop. The angle isn’t much, but allows for more comfort and ease of use. However, some drafting tables are a little customizable. The tabletop is fixed at one specific angle, but can be adjusted from completely horizontal (like a regular desk) to almost completely vertical. Depending on the project and personal preference, you could adjust your tabletop to any tilt you want!

Adjustable Height

Not everyone is the same height. For this reason, not all drafting tables can be either. However, if you have two people of different heights using one table, it can be a bit of a problem. It will either be a poor fit for one or the other – or awkward for both. An adjustable height table solves this problem. However, this feature can useful even if you’re a single-user. With an adjustable height drafting table, you can go from sitting in a chair, to perched on a stool in a snap – you could even convert your table into a standing desk. Having a table the moves with you is a huge benefit for those that like to switch up the usual monotony of their work routine.

Light Boxes

Light boxes are sometimes built right into the tabletop of drafting tables and are ideal for people that have to trace drawings or parts or drawings. They’re sometimes combined with animation disks as well for draftsmen, animators, illustrators, and other people that have a lot of drawing to do.

Split-Top Drawing Board

Split-top drafting tables are just what they sound like. The drawing board is split into two pieces. One is usually struck horizontal and is the ideal place to put supplied that you don’t want sliding or rolling around, while the other part of the drawing board is tilted, or has an adjustable angle.

Flat Files

Flat files are special filing cabinet designed to hold especially big documents that just don’t fit into “normal” filing cabinets without rolling or folding. If you’re using a drafting table for drafting, painting, crafts, or other large-scale work, integrated flat files may be just the thing you need.

Computer-Compatibility

Although many professionals have switched to AutoCad programs for drafting and engineering work, there are those that prefer doing their work on a real drafting table. There are also some people who enjoy other benefits of using a drafting table instead of a desk, but need to work on the computer as well. Computer-compatible drafting tables have racks for the CPU to sit in, keyboard and mouse trays, and special arms or mounts for the monitor to sit on since the drawing board is sloped.

Lamps

Light is important while your drawing. The eye is an incredible organ, but when you force it to work too hard in too dim of light, it gets worn out. You probably won’t ruin your eyes by working without adequate light, but your eyes will get tired more quickly and you’ll probably get more headaches. There are dozens of lamps to choose from. Some sit on the desk, while others clamp to the drafting table. (If your lamp does clamp to the table put something between the clamp and the table, like cardboard, to keep the drawing board from becoming scratched.)

Drafting Arms/Machines

Definitely just for draftsmen and engineers, but they make life a lot easier. Instead of having to measure everything out and then pulling out the T-square and scale, you can simply pull the drafting machine into position and go!

Caster Wheels

Portability is key! No, while most people don’t actually need to move their drafting tables around the office a lot, many people are looking for portability. Wheels are essential is you have a big table. However, if you’re not looking for a large, feature-packed table, you may opt out for a portable drafting table – one with few features that will actually fold up flat and can easily be carried from one place to another.

Not every drafting table will have every feature. In fact, not only would it be nearly impossible – it would be incredibly impractical. Not every person needs every feature. Some people need portability while others need durability. Some need file cabinets while others need light tables. Your job is to decide which features you need, and which you can probably do without. After that, it’s time to go look at different tables. Before yo head to the local office supply store or hop online though, it’s a good idea to create a budget. If you don’t, you may find yourself spending money on cool, useful features – not necessarily be ones that you really need.

Until Next Time,

~Binary

Etiquette is important, it impacts every aspect of our lives — and includes a lot more than your table manners. If you’re on the green and someone’s lining up their putt, you never walk between them and the hole. You don’t even let your shadow fall across their path. Let the furthest from the hole putt first. It’s called etiquette! When fly fishing, you don’t crowd fishermen who are already in the water. Yield to anglers that have a fish on the line — you may even offer to help them by netting the fish. It’s called etiquette! There’s also certain rules of etiquette to follow when having a conversation with someone. Effective communication is key in developing good people skills.

Be Invested in the Conversation

This means you aren’t checking your phone or watch, you aren’t listening to music, and you’re mentally with the other participants. Show some interest. Interact with people. Don’t just respond with a nod and, “Mhmm” while you stare at your computer screen. Ask questions, expand on points that are made, and actually exchange meaning information.

Don’t Change the Subject

Don’t try to take over and steer the conversation in the direction where you’d rather have it go. As you actively listen to their interests and concerns, you’ll not only engage in more meaningful conversation, but you’ll get to know the person you’re talking to.

Never One-Up 

“You were selected as Employee of the Month? Well, I was selected as Employee of the Year last year!” No one likes a braggart, especially a One-Upper. If something good happened to you, something better happened to them. If you got a 3% raise, theirs was 5%. If your son won the Spelling Bee at school, their son won the Nobel Prize. Heck, if you were sick, they’ll claim they’ve been even sicker! If you want people to enjoy having conversations with you — you cannot afford to be a one-upper!

Stand Up

When someone approaches you to talk, have the common courtesy to stand up. Shake their hand, pat their back, ask them about their kids — just stand up. It’s very inconsiderate to just sit there while they stand by.

Introduce all Participants

Introduce everyone in the conversation. Don’t just let people stand there awkwardly until you say, “Oh, sorry. This is my co-worker, Mike.” While it may be easily remedied the first few times, eventually Mike is going to feel alienated, or like you don’t care to invite him into the conversation.

Look into Their Eyes

Eye contact is important during a conversation, don’t stare them down, but don’t let your eyes wander. Over the shoulder, at the floor, the ceiling, your phone, there are hundreds of other things you could be looking at — but the eyes are what count.

Don’t Monopolize the Conversation

A conversation takes at least two people. When you decide to hijack the conversation, all the other participants are automatically excluded. Take turns. Let others give their input and spend adequate time both listening and thoughtfully responding to what they’re telling you.

Don’t Interrupt

Don’t cut into the conversation. Let people say what they’re tying to say, and then you can respond. This also applies to butting into the conversations of others. If you’re invited, that’s one thing. If you just walk up, jam your way into their conversation, and then take over — that’s something completely different.

Ask for Clarification 

People don’t often like to admit that they’re wrong, or that they’re clueless as to what someone just said. Oftentimes, we just play along. Don’t do this! If you’re having a conversation — especially at work, when you need to understand — don’t play like you know what’s going on. If you honestly don’t understand, ask for some help!

Respect Opinions

You don’t have to agree with everyone, and you shouldn’t be a “yes-man”, but you should have respect.

Until Next Time,

~Binary

People get fired every day for a host of different reasons. Here are 13 of the biggest reasons why people end up getting fired in no particular order.

Dishonesty on the Job

This includes everything from taking office supplies to lying to the boss, goofing off on the clock to embezzling money. This is serious stuff! Honesty is paramount in the business world! Things like values and ethics simply cannot be violated.

Lying on a Resume

If an employee lied on a resume to get the job, they probably won’t keep it for very long. When management finds out that they don’t have a clue about using a certain piece of software — when they said they had nine years of experience with it — they’re not going to last long.

Culture  Clash

Every company has a unique culture, and that’s a great thing! However, not every employee will mesh with your culture. Some companies are laid back with casual dress everyday, a freezer full of free Popsicles, or, in Google’s case, a giant slide in the middle of the office. Other companies are very strict and have very clear, explicit rules. There is no room for joking around, there is no casual Friday, and things have to be done exactly the right way. Some companies really embraces accountability while others focus on the customer. Some organizations are profit driven while others stress the value of organizational skills. Every culture requires employees with a similar — but not necessarily exactly the same — “flavor”.

Refuses to Follow Orders

It’s okay to have a strong-willed employee, but if they don’t take orders from their boss, there’s a problem. Employees have to be able to do as they’re told, meet deadlines, and follow directions.

Doing Personal Business at Work

Talking in their cell phone, making personal emails, updating their Facebook profile, chatting with co-workers about sports, and so on. All of these things are a sure-fire way to get fired.

Inability to Get Along

You don’t have to like everybody, but you should at least respect them. Even if somebody really grates on your nerves, you can find the common courtesy to get along with them for a few minutes. Personalities will clash sometimes — but diversity is a good thing — as long as possible conflict is appropriately diffused.

Not what the Company Needed

The company was in a time crunch and needed an extra employee right away. They quickly interviewed a bunch of likely candidates and picked the one that appeared to have the right skill set to get them out of their current mess. However, after the crises was over, the new hire turned out to be a not-so-perfect fit. The hiring process should ideally be a slow one, to make sure that you really hire the right employee. Nothing is worse than having to hire someone to get you out of a mess and then fire them once they helped save your bacon. When you make a hire, do everything possible to make sure it’s the right hire the first time around.

Inability to Follow Through

The world is full of starters. Anyone can put a load of laundry in the washing machine, start a report, begin mopping the floor, etc. The world has too few finishers. Starting is simple! What really takes determination is the part where you follow through and actually finish what you started. For employees who just can’t complete projects, the tasks just pile up. When deadlines roll around, their life becomes super-stressful and things aren’t good for them or anyone who works around them.

Always Late or Absent

Employees need to consistently show up to work on time. If an employee is constantly late, or habitually absent, work just doesn’t get done. It’s not so much a waste of money if they’re only paid for the time they’re present and working — but it’s a real morale killer and makes other team members work harder to pick up the slack.

Can’t Work in a Team

Many people are not social, in fact, they’re properly described as “loners” or “anti-people people“. That’s okay, as long as they can get outside of their comfort zone every once in a while to pull their weight as part of a team. It’s when people are unwilling or unable to work with others that problems arise.

Downsizing/Outsourcing

Sometimes a company just has to tighten its belt. In hard economic times many jobs are either eliminated with the responsibilities being shifted to another department or employee, or the jobs are sent overseas to foreign workers who can work for less. In these times, the employee may not be at fault, the company just had to cut costs.

Drug or Alcohol Abuse

You cannot afford to let your employees be abusing drugs or alcohol in the workplace, but if they’re doing it on their own time it can have serious ramifications as well. Many of these activities are addictive. Offer programs to help your employees if they suffer with this problem, but ultimately, if they choose not to change their habits, you may need to find someone else.

Sexual Harassment

This is a serious topic as well.  Sexual harassment is a big deal in the workplace. Make sure you set clear rules about appropriate workplace conduct. If an employee violates the rules, take serious action.

Politics

Sadly, sometimes employees are fired for no reason other than office politics. They may have done nothing wrong — they just don’t know the right people. It shouldn’t happen, and is often a lapse in ethics on management’s part, but the truth is that that’s the only reason some people are fired.

Until Next Time,

~Binary

Have you ever had a stroke of genius when you were in the middle of something? Maybe you were in the shower, asleep, driving, playing golf, eating breakfast, or skydiving. During each of these activities you probably thought, “Wow. That’s a good idea. I have to remember that.” Inevitably, you don’t remember your fantastic idea once the activity has ended.  No matter how long you stare into space, retrace your thoughts, or wrack your brain – you just don’t remember. When it’s an idea you get at work, about how you could become better at work or some important task to get done, that’s especially frustrating. To help alleviate this problem, you may want to adopt a “Great Ideas List”.

Just get a notepad and a few working pens and keep them with you or near your workstation. (Nothing is more frustrating than going through three or four different pens before you fin done that can write!) Whenever you have a stroke of genius, quickly write down the thought so you can come back to it later. While you may not be able to take your list everywhere, you’d be surprised how often you’ll find yourself turning on the lamp at night, or trekking across the room in a towel to write down that great idea when it comes to you.

Until Next Time,

~Binary

Michael worked in a large office building. He was on his way to a meeting when he spied a colleague in the hallway one morning. As they neared each other, he put his folders under one arm, stuck out his hand and said,

“Hi Steve.” His colleague grasped Michael’s hand and replied with,

“Hello Michael.” As they shook hands Michael cringed inwardly. Steve’s hand was wet. Michael was a bit of a germaphobe and more than a little grossed out to be shaking a sweaty hand. As the two released hands Steve said, “Sorry about the wet palm, Mike. I just came from the bathroom.”

“Oh it’s fine.” Michael replied, hoping it was only a little leftover water from washing hands.

“You see, I dried my hands really well, but the doorknob was wet.”

Michael froze and slowly looked down at his damp hand. His left eye twitched involuntarily.

“Unidentified third-party germs!” He exclaimed as he rushed to the bathroom.

Until Next Time,

~Binary

In their book, The Power of Ethical Management, Dr. Norman Vincent Peale and Kenneth Blanchard share their 5 Principles of Ethical power, or 5 ways to help make sure your company remains ethical.

Purpose

What is your company guided by? What values, beliefs, and vision helps you to determine what is ethical behavior and what is unacceptable? Why are you in business? What’s the greater purpose behind your organization?

Pride

Are you proud of your choices? Would you take ownership of your choices is they were broadcast in a newspaper with your latest choice as the headline?

Patience

You’ve got to believe that ethical behavior will pay off in the long term. Be patient, and do the right thing even when it’s hard to watch other companies cutting corners and compromising their integrity to make a quick buck. This also means that you need to care about the balance between obtaining results, and how you obtain results.

Persistence

Be totally committed to your commitment. Keep on being ethical, be consistent, be laboriously consistent — predictable even. Your ethical actions should never come as a surprise to anyone! Your actions should always reflect your company’s core values.

Perspective

Take time to look back on what you’ve done and where you are now because of your ethical choices. Aren’t you far better off? Make sure you take the time to stop and reflect.

Until Next Time,

~Binary

Deadlines are there to alleviate the stress that you and your team feel. They’re there to make sure that things get done in a timely manner. They’re to provide needed motivation. Unfortunately, too many offices find themselves more stressed out, in a time crunch, and either frantically scrambling to finish something — or giving up on their goals altogether. As a manager, how you change bothersome deadlines into blessings?

Live by your Deadline

Once you set your deadline; stick to it! Deadlines do absolutely no good if you ignore them, rationalize delays, or keep moving the “due date” further and further back. When this happens, deadlines become a joke. There’s no real reason or purpose to set a deadline when you don’t stick to it!

Set Clear Goals – Determine a Specific Outcome

Your deadline must specify exactly what you’re trying to achieve. Start off by determining a general purpose like, “Our project is going to increase sales.” However, you cannot stop at this vague, ethereal statement. The next step is to work on pinning down what exactly must be done — the specific purpose of your project; and the date it will be completed. “Our project will increase sales by 15% by the end of this quarter.” Then set clear goals or sub-purposes. “We will design and launch a new ad campaign by the 7th of this month.” “We will retain 98% of our customer base each month, while securing at least seven new contracts each week.” “We will launch and optimize our social media marketing campaign no later than the 11th of next month.” You get the idea.

Never Over-commit

Never promise anyone more than you can realistically deliver. Don’t set goals that are so low you’ll achieve them without trying — stretch yourself and your employees — but be reasonable. It doesn’t matter who you’re committing to: be it your boss, your employees, customers, or even potential customers. Only promise people things that you can actually give them. There are only so many hours of work you can do in a day. Managers who over-commit usually take their frustration out on their employees when the deadline approaches and they haven’t lived up to what they promised.

Gather the Appropriate Resources

You cannot start a project if you don’t have all the necessary equipment. The resources could include anything from price quotes to manpower, cubicles to market space, office supplies to bandwidth. Whatever your project may be — get what you need before you begin!

Break it Down and Outline Clear Milestones

Break your goals and purposes into easy-to-follow steps and procedures. Not only does this reduce the temptation to procrastinate the huge project, but adds to the motivation and morale of your employees as they watch the list shrink.

Finalize Your Plan

Finalize your plan and work out all the small details. However, you should be willing to deviate a little bit at times. Things happen! Circumstances change, and for a little while, you may need to deviate from the plan a bit. Bring it back though, you can’t afford to let every little problem derail your team and jeopardize your project.

Organize a Team and Delegate Tasks

Now it’s time to really get down to work! If you’re a smart manager, you realize the value and importance of delegation. Let your employees come up with their own solutions and break out on their own to accomplish your delegated tasks. Maintain control — checking up on their progress, providing needed clarification and direction, supplying energy and encouragement — but do not micromanage your workers.

Make Sure Expectations are Clear

You can;t expect your employees to perform to your expected level if you don’t tell them what you want. Make sure that expectations are clear, people stay in the loop, and the project is heading in the right direction.

Stay Organized

Organization is essential! You need to act like a conductor, orchestrating the movement of several unique and independent sections so they work in harmony to produce the desired result. Keep yourself organized, keep your employees organized, and keep the project on schedule.

Continue to Communicate

Communication will sometimes break down as the deadline is fast approaching. Don’t let this happen! Keep the lines open and clear. Be available to talk and provide guidance.

Work in a Cushion

Give yourself an emergency cushion of time in case things go wrong. Just like someone who has to make it to a very important meeting should leave 15-20 minutes early in case there’s unexpected traffic or some other delay, you should allow for a few days of wiggle room.

Do It Right the First Time

As my third-grade teacher, Mrs. Sakaguchi would say, “If you do right the first time, you no do again.”  Do your work right the first time around and you’ll be miles ahead. Nothing is worse than upsetting a customer, or having a client return your work because it doesn’t meet an acceptable level of quality. Just do a good job the first time around!

Finish the Job

Even if you’re the one who stays late at work to finish the project, stick to the deadline. Finish your project on time — even if it involves some personal sacrifice.

Until Next Time,

~Binary