It is critically important to recognise that you are doing enough of both harvesting and sowing. But how many people really monitor this. I don’t mean by having complex computerised record keeping systems. I mean just keeping a simple, highly practical, very visual, record of productivity/ activity.

Let’s use an example to show how easy it is to monitor this…

In my days in financial services, I devised a weekly productivity sheet, a colour coded chart which recorded, day by day, all my client meetings (designated by type of meeting), and business generated. All I did was write the client/ prospective client name in a different colour depending on the type of meeting being conducted. Simple.

Three types of meeting were coded;
Exploratory / opening meeting (Black)
Factfinding meeting - a full analysis of current client situation (Blue)
Solution meeting – presenting the advice (Red)

If the solution meeting resulted in business (eg a new client), a red circle was placed around the client name.
That way, at the end of each week it was easy to see at a glance, how many black meetings, blue meetings, red meetings had been conducted; and how much business had been generated. Take 4 sheets and you have a month by month record. It also helps to compare any time period with that of the previous year.

Over time, I noticed that it was the Black and Blue meetings which were the key. The Black and Blue meetings this week/ month, lead to the red meetings next week/ month.
If I was low on Blacks and Blues, even though I may be enjoying a good harvest just now, I would be flirting with a famine later on if I wasn’t careful.

• File it
• Act on it
• Refer it (to someone else)
• Trash it.

When you feel bogged down by piles of paper on your desk, apply this to each piece and clear up! And do so, till you reach the wood on your desk, in tray, pending tray, out tray.

Same principle can be applied to email inbox.

This might take time, first time, but continually apply the F-A-R-T principle and you will get out of the quagmire.

If you HAD to raise £1m of ransom money for your family in a week, would you go for it? Yes.
If you HAD to train for, and run, a marathon in 3 months’ time on pain of death if you failed, would you do it? Yes

If you HAD to…

… never say you can’t do something until you have considered what the situation would be if you HAD to!

Take one of your major goals right now, and ask the question, “What would I do if I absolutely HAD to go for this?”

So, for example, if you HAD to double your business turnover in a year, say, what would you do?
Brainstorm all the things you would do if your life depended on it… whether you’re a salesperson who needs to double sales, or a business needing to create more market share.
Or imagine your families’ lives depended on it… what sort of thing would you do to increase business?

This works for any goal. Try it out and see…

A number of years ago, when I suffered an illness, coming back to business afterwards got me thinking. How do you get back into it all? It’s a little like returning to business after any significant break, and particularly at this time of year when returning from holidays.

Over the years I have developed a tried and trusted process for getting back on form as quickly as possible.

Here’s an outline:

a. Vision and Values … revisit and polish
b. Goals… long term, personal, business, all aspects of life.
c. Outline Strategy… revisit
d. Immediate goals, and Awesome Special Missions for the next 90 days
e. Business Map, Opportunities Brainstorm, Marketing Engine
f. Self Upgrade
g. New Regime/ Magic Timetable

Have you ever walked into a room where there’s a radio on, and you immediately think “that’s not quite in tune, there’s a bit of crackling or a whistle to it”, but those people who are sitting in the room are happily listening to it, oblivious to any interference.

You will all have heard the term “Interference” used in the context of knowing what to do but simply having a barrier to doing it.
You know, people know they should do a Daily Action Plan, but, well…
People know they should make one more sales call, but, well….
People know they should do x,y,z to get fit/ build their business/ or achieve any goal, but, well…

Mostly this barrier comes in the form of self-doubt, old associations, poor beliefs, lack of focus. In fact, I often use the terms “Fuzz” and “Buzz” which is like a radio being not quite Fully In Tune.

And rather like listening to a slightly out of tune radio, at first we notice the high-pitched whistle in the background and the constant crackling. But after a while, we become accustomed to it and we hardly notice that it’s out of tune at all. In the same way, sometimes the level of “Interference” in our lives, in our businesses, in our careers becomes an ambient state and we don’t notice the dramatic effect it’s having. Sometimes, I walk into a business and wonder why no one else has noticed the high level of interference, crackling away in every part of the marketing, systems, people, managers, leaders.

Is it time you looked at replacing your old interference-riddled approach with a new, fresh, clear focus… Fully in tune? Take a step back. And take a sounding.

“Boring is as boring thinks!”

If you are interested in life, life is interesting.
If you become fascinated by life, life becomes fascinating
If you become passionate about life, the universe becomes passionate about your life!

Your level of interest/ fascination/ passion shows up in your communication with the world. You become colourful, sharp/ in focus, attractive!

And in business, that’s no bad thing!

Following on from yesterday’s blog on Blockbusting, applying this to your business, ask “what are the 6 key areas of my business?” and then “what 3 things to I want to Stop/ Start/ Improve in each area?”
Then decide which ones to immediately blitz.

Now, to help with this, you might also consider taking a journey in your mind’s eye, through the business, starting with the moment a potential client/ customer encounters you, through your marketing, right through the whole process of what you do, down to the finest details of the service and after-care you provide. Are there any areas that simply do not run smoothly? Are there things that could be done better? Are there additional things that you can do that make the potential client go “wow!” Remember, small thinsg make big differences… and these are small things that are perceived in the mind of the customer. What needs upgrading in this area?

What arteries of the business need to be opened to breathe new life into, to create new opportunities. What strands of marketing need to be put in place to access the sort of people who I want to work with?

How can our business be “cleaner”, simpler, and uncluttered? How do the clients access us? Is this easy for them? And easy for us to process? Is the flow steady, and easy? Or are there blockages that keep creating problems in our delivery?

Is our business doing too much non-effective work? Are there obsolete processes and systems that could be done better, or even discarded completely?

Have a Business Blockbusting blitz and open up the arteries of your business.