better business blog

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Planning For Profit

22 November 2020

It has been a busy time at Maun Towers and so I’ve allowed myself to not-blog for a while. I love my blog and yet there are times when it’s good to pause and allow life to flow and take some of the pressure off.

I hope you can do the same …not all tasks have to be completed all the time! We can all allow some things to ride for a while.

I consider this to be part of effective planning. Knowing what to do and what not to do is essential, if we are to keep the ‘vital few’ in sight not get swamped by the ‘trivial many.’

(Think Pareto analysis here, where 80% of the value is in 20% of the tasks).

If we don’t plan we get into a muddle. And if we get into a muddle our profits can sink.

And yet I’m always surprised by businesses that don’t plan effectively. I am always updating and refining my to-do list and without it I’d be lost.

We also need to be honest about our capacity and not over-plan. It’s too tempting to squeeze in another little job here and a few more emails there, without considering the impact on our already tight schedule of work.

Being optimistic is great and if we become blinded to reality then we are setting ourselves up for failure.

Which is why I’ve had a little blog pause. I know my capacity and when I’ve reached it I have to make some hard choices.

I’m not saying I always get it right, that would just sound smug and I’m human and fallible, as we all are.

However, I am aware that good planning is at the heart of all business success.

So, this week, whether you’re working at home or running a team in person, take a fresh look at how you plan:

1. Is your to-do list honest and has key tasks clearly marked?

2. Does everyone in your team have a to-do list that you agree with?

3. Is time being eaten by too many meetings, peppered throughout the day?

4. Did your team complete all their tasks last week? And if not, what needs to change so they’re back on track?

We can plan for profit and we can all be mindful that we are only human and have our limits.

Happy planning!

Keep well!