Is it time to burn your company? No, I’m not talking about setting fire to your building like in Office Space, and this post has nothing to do with getting insurance money for some fast cash.
photo by Al_HikesAZ's
I’m talking about a controlled burn.
Controlled burns are used in forestry as a method to “reduce fuel buildup and decrease the likelihood of serious hotter fires.” Maybe its time to do a controlled burn with your company, to clear out the underbrush that’s getting in the way of your growth.
Burn Your Old Files
The longer you are at any job the more you accumulate a pile of junk. Old files stack up, in-boxes overflow, receipts and scraps of paper litter your drawers. Take a few hours, or even a whole day, to go through your entire office and trash what you no longer need. If you’ve put those files onto your computer do you really need to keep the storage devices they came on? Do you have piles of old computer equipment that can’t even be used any longer hanging out, cluttering your workspace. Clear it out!
Burn Your Old Systems
Old systems can clog a smooth running business engine faster than just about anything. There are certainly advantages to sticking with a system you know, but new business tools are being created constantly that can help you be more streamlined, mobile and efficient. Try and view your systems from a mindset of a new employee. Are there things you could be doing faster or better? Take a broad look at how your business progresses through work and see if you can simplify and speed up your systems using new tools and technology.
Burn Your Old Mindset
Working at a job for awhile can also get your mind in a rut. When you first started you proabably had lots of great ideas for ways to do things better and faster. Bureaucracy or an overload of work can strip that mindset away from you pretty quickly. You need to get that mentality back. What are ways you can change your thinking to have a more positive state of mind towards your job? What are some good ideas you had at first that have been sitting on the back burner? How can you motivate your employees or coworkers to make your company better for yourselves and your customers?
If you keep meaning to do something like this and never can find the time, schedule it out in the future. Pick a date on your calendar and make it “Burn Day.” Then don’t let anything else get scheduled for that day. Shut everything down until you let this fire do its work. Clear out the junk that keeps getting in your way and see new growth appear in its place.
It seems like in this crazy modern world we have more and more time-saving devices but less and less time. While there are a myriad of factors causing this problem I want to propose one way to help – get more time by cutting back.
I first heard about the Pareto Principle, or the 80/20 Rule while reading The 4-Hour Work Week, but it is an idea that has been getting a lot of attention in the past few years. Basically it states that 80% of your returns come from 20% of your efforts. The 80/20 Principle has been used on everything from setting goals to information security to relationships.
Once you start thinking about it you may realize (I certainly did) how true this principle can be across many parts of your life. What would it look like if you used this principle to cut out the 80% of your life that wasn’t productive, fulfilling, or fruitful? What if you used the 80/20 principle to take a fresh look at:
The number of RSS subscriptions you actually read and find worthwhile
Often we can get new ideas by looking at things from another angle. In this article we’re examining some aspects of outstanding basketball teams and players and applying those strategies to running a business.
Build a Great Team
Professional teams don’t just happen by coincidence. They are built over years of trading, drafting, and recruiting. Managers spend lots of time and money getting the exact person they need to complete their roster, even down to their bench players.
Choose your team carefully too. Look for people with a strong work ethic who are willing excited to learn and contribute. Even if you find a player with lots of experience, make sure their head is still in the game. Each player on your team should be interested in helping the whole team get to victory. Don’t grab the first Joe to apply for your new position, be as rigorous in finding that perfect person as an NBA manager.
Even if you are a single-person business like me, you can still build a great team. Friends and family can provide support, local business owners can be great for helping with ideas, and industry contacts can help give feedback on specific projects.
Be a team player
Its a well know phrase that “great players make everyone around them better.” Read More »
Blogs are great. They have the potential to help your business reach across the world, stand out from competition and develop a following for your brand. Writing a blog can help establish you and your business as an authority in your industry. They can help you communicate with a niche market, disseminate news quickly, and build community.
photo by Kristina B
There are considerable number of positives to business blogging. Don’t get me wrong in this article – I think most companies should have a blog. However, putting a blog on your site is not a quick fix; its not an automatic easy way guarantee that your traffic will boom and your website be a success. Blogs take time, energy, and more time. And because of this many blogs on business websites can actually hurt the business. Few things worse looking on a professional site than a blog with one post, or a blog that hasn’t been updated in months or years. So, take some time to think about if blogging is right for your business. My suggestion? Don’t start a new blog if: Read More »
When I first got a Wacom tablet for working on design, I was in love. After just a few hours of getting used to using it I was working so much faster and easier. When I started Apt Design I knew I didn’t want one for my new office, I needed it. The price tag is up around $400, but the tablet helps me work almost twice as fast sometimes, so it was definitely worth it. I couldn’t work without it – I was spoiled.
Recently I’ve been spoiled again by an online application called Mint. Mint allows you to track and analyze your personal finances, and it does almost everything for you. After inputing some data about your bank accounts Mint automatically pulls in updated information about those accounts everytime you log in. Read More »
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Recently I’ve been spoiled again by an online application called 
