Quick List: 10 Things to Prune
If you’ve just tuned in to Business Class this week - we’re talking about pruning and it’s impact on morale and productivity. In case you want to “catch up”, see:
Today is Quick List Day, when we post 10 by 10 on Tuesday.
So – here are 10 things or areas in which most businesses could use some pruning:
- Paper
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Forms and reports
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Items on to-do list
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E-mail
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Junk mail
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Magazine/newspaper subscriptions
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Meetings
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Interruptions
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Mistakes
As you make decisions about what to prune, keep in mind your desired end result. Prune anything that will hold you back or take energy away from the activities needed for that end result.
Mad because I’m not giving you more direction on what and how to prune the 10 things/areas above? If I did that, it wouldn’t be a very Quick List.
I’ll give more hints later on but don’t wait for that. I think you already know lots of things that are draining your time and energy. Don’t you? Those are the first ones to prune!
As a reinforcing reminder, post the Quote of the Week(below) on your computer screen. Get directions for doing this at: Quote of the Week: On Pruning .
The Quote of the Week is from the 2 Little Time section of our Quote Library which contains over 130 motivational quotes for business. Valuable business tools, ready to post, print and share – available for free right here in our Quote Library.
copyright 2010 – Business Class Inc
Related Articles:
Pruning: A PowerTool for Business
Pruning is a power tool for boosting morale and productivity - yours and your team’s. It helps those who feel they have 2 little time. Making it easier to get 2 goal. And for those of you in search of ways to be a better manager, knowing how and when to prune, teaching others the same and empowering them to do so, will make you a better manager. It may even make you a hero in their eyes.
I came to understand the power of pruning about 20 years ago when Jennifer came to work as my assistant.
During her first week of work – she came into my office with her scissors and started cutting my plants. A snip here, a snip there. And then on one – she snipped and snipped – cutting it all the way down to the dirt.
I gasped! and said, “Jennifer! No! ”
“Jan”, she said, “ the leaves are dead! You killed them. Now I’m going to keep you from killing the roots.”
“But Jennifer – it just needs some water!”
“No it doesn’t need water. You were drowning it by giving it more water!”
I stared in disbelief as I said to myself, “There is no way that plant is ever coming back.” Read more
Quote of the Week: On Pruning
It’s time to prune the shrubbery…and for me, that’s always a good reminder of the value of pruning in all parts of life. It’s a strategy that:
- provides relief to those who feel stressed by 2 little time
- provides focus for those eager to get 2 goal
- brings an immediate, lingering and usually lasting boost to both morale and productivity
Thought/discussion questions:
1. What are the most important areas of focus for you right now?
2. What ”miscellaneous activity” can you “stop off” so that you can “concentrate your force” on the items you mentioned in question #1? For additional ideas on this, see 10 Things to Prune in Your Business. Meanwhile, as a reminder of the importance of pruning season, post the above quote on your computer screen. See directions below.
Related Articles:
Directions for downloading above quote to your computer screen: Read more
Special Report: Managing the Madness
This Special Report gives tips for getting the best of business and basketball – so that you see boosts instead of dips in morale and productivity during the upcoming busy basketball season called March Madness.
Today in Carolina Basketball History: 8 points in 17 seconds
It was March 2, 1974 when that famous Duke-Carolina basketball game was played. When Carolina scored 8 points in 17 seconds to send the game into overtime.
Whether you’ve read or heard this story before, or many times before, today is a good day to read it or hear it again. It’s a fabulous basketball story…full of many lessons for business.
Here’s the link: Getting 2 Goal: A Lesson in Prep & Push from Coach Dean Smith (shared by Phil Ford)
A Tip from Trader Joe’s
Here’s a tip from The News & Observer (February 28,2010 – Raleigh, NC).
We aren’t including a by line or a credit because we couldn’t find one. But it’s on page 3E and it’s helpful so we are passing it along.
The writer stopped in to Trader Joe’s for just three items so bypassed the hand baskets at the door. By the time the shopper got to the back of the store, arms were full of items and the shopper was wishing he/she hadn’t passed up the shopping baskets. But guess what?! There was a stack of baskets at the back near the coffee counter. Shopping continued.
The writer goes on to mention a discussion about this phenomenon in a book called “Why We Buy”, written by retail expert Paco Underhill. Mr. Underhill says that people will stop shopping if they can’t hold any more items in their arms. By putting a stack of baskets in the middle of the store, you give them a chance to continue shopping and ultimately increase sales.
So – here’s a question for you.
If you have baskets or carts at the front of your store…
do you have them available at other locations as well?
Thanks to The News & Observer for passing this tip along.
Quote of the Week: Marching Along?
2010 is marching right along. Are you keeping pace?
If you are like many of us, there’s at least one thing you’ve been planning or wanting or hoping or meaning to do – but you haven’t even started it. And if you are like many of us, you’re beating yourself up about it and doing a number on morale and productivity.
If all of that is true about you, stop for a few minutes and congratulate yourself for the things you HAVE done.
Now back to this thing you haven’t started. Is it important?
If so, download this quote for your computer screen. Directions are below.
What single step can you take to get started?
- Take it today.
- Repeat until you’re marching right along toward that thing you’ve been planning or wanting or hoping or meaning to do.
- If this doesn’t work for you, read Quick List: 10 Steps to Get Marching in 5 Days .
What about your staff or team members? Are they marching right along? Read more
Movie of the Week: Hang on to those towels!
Don’t throw in the towel! Don’t let your colleagues or teammates do it either!
Unless of course there’s no reason to hang on.
But if the goal or cause is still important…
…just a few words like the ones in this movie may be just what’s needed to help everybody hang on and get 2 goal (or at least closer to it).
Get the popcorn, Milk Duds and Raisinettes and watch this two minute movie.*
*Movie cut by Matthew Belinkie, a professional writer who lives in New York. Go to www.overthinkingit.com to read some of his work.
*****
Don’t worry - you don’t have to deliver your words of encouragement with the power or eloquence of a movie star. Just a few heartfelt words that show you notice their struggle, support their efforts and are cheering for their success because you really care.
What an impact it could have.
So much to gain…little or nothing to lose.
If you need an extra nudge, read the quote below, post it on the wall and/or on your computer screen. You can download it from the Be a Better Manager section of our Quote Library. Here’s the link if you already have a password to the Be a Better Manager section. Here’s the link if you need a Quote Library password.
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Additional resources to help yourself and others hang on to the towel:
- Ready to throw in the towel? Great tips from Phil Ford (includes audio)
- Looking for the Good: A Leadership Lesson from Coach Bill Guthridge (shared by Phil Ford)- includes audio
- Quick List: 10 Ways to Avoid “Bad Seed”
- Falling Down on the Job at A Souther Season(includes audio)
- Quick List: 10 Tips for Getting Back Up
- Have you lost power?
copyright 2010 – Business Class Inc
Ready to throw in the towel? Great tips from Phil Ford
When a person or team is ready to “throw in the towel”, performance, morale and productivity are in the dump.
What got them to this low point? Was it bad seed or bad lead?
Did a bad seed slip in, root and spread like kudzu – choking off even a chance good, healthy growth?
Or did those in the lead make mistakes that caused good seed to go bad? Mistakes like the ones described in 10 Ways to Avoid “Bad Seed” (see #2 – 9).
Whatever the cause, it’s much easier for it to get worse than better. In fact, making it better may be one of the hardest leadership challenges ever. Important. Urgent. Critical to handle NOW. For if the towels are thrown in, the leader is left with no one to lead, all the jobs or no job at all.
In a Business Class interview a few years ago, I had the pleasure of talking with former Carolina basketball player and coach, Phil Ford. We were looking for parallels – lessons from the court that could be applied in business. I asked him about things a leader can do to motivate or de-motivate a team. His answer is summarized in the bullet points below. To get full value though, I hope you will listen to this 5 1/2 minute excerpt from the interview. Read more
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
CEO Seed Test
Note: Here’s a story my Dad shared with me. It was part of the minister’s message at his church one day. I’ve been waiting for a good time to share it with you. Seems like now is a good time since we’ve been talking about seeds.
Here’s the story:
The CEO had built a good company. Strong productivity. High morale. Lots of opportunity for growth. He was ready to retire and hoped to select his successor from the six managers who reported to him.
He called the managers together and gave each of them a mustard seed. He explained that he wanted each of them to plant and take care of the seed over the next six months. At that time, he would bring them all back together and whichever one of them had done the best job with the seed would become the next CEO of the company.
The managers were a bit perplexed about the assignment, but each one wanted the promotion and took the assignment seriously. Each manager went out and bought a pot and soil or delegated it to someone else. And each one watered and fertilized the dirt or delegated it to someone else.
During the occasional visits to each other’s offices, the managers would check out the competition. For months, all pots were bare. Nothing but dirt.
That changed slowly but surely. Signs of life started showing up in one of the pots. Then another. And another. Until all the pots now had plants growing in them. All except Doug’s. Read more
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