Here’s how to enjoy your team, your work, and higher profits.
Every business struggles with how to improve efficiency throughout its existence. Of course, that’s because the rewards of increased efficiency are savings of time and money, which leads to higher profits.
Did you happen to watch the NCAA Women’s National Championship game between UConn and Syracuse? What impressed me the most was the reaction of UConn coach Geno Auriemma to every hint of inefficiency, even while his team was ahead more than 20 points. His body language displayed his determination to coach his players to never stop improving their efficiency on the court.
Unless you’re satisfied that you and your company are rolling along at peak efficiency, consider the following moves to give it a boost.
Hire the right people…
Always look deeper than skills and education. Taking time and asking the right questions can clarify whether a person is likely to fit into the culture of your organization. Wide gaps between your values and theirs serve as warnings of damaging conflicts in the future.
The reverse is also true. It’s easier, and more efficient, to hire people who already agree with your philosophy.
Hire enough people…
Hopefully, you didn’t have to learn this lesson the hard way, like I did. In the early days of my veterinary practice, I missed an opportunity to help it grow faster and more efficiently by failing to hire enough people to help me keep up with the pace. Instead of saving money by delaying the addition of more personnel, I lost money both in the short term as well as the long-term. “How’s that?” you ask.
Our reduced efficiency brought on by insufficient staff prevented us from giving each client the outstanding service we would have been capable of providing. Hence, reduced positive word-of-mouth advertising.
Refine and utilize your strengths and those of team members…
Business leaders often fall into the trap of trying to do everything themselves. Sorry to have to break it to you, but you’re not going to get very far that way.
Do what you know you’re good at doing. Then, discover the strengths of those around you and empower them to excel.
It seems intuitive to empower others to take action in order to improve efficiency. However, doing so requires trust and a level of courage in the beginning. It gets easier once your people have a chance to prove themselves.
Leverage the power of digital marketing…
The smaller the business, the more powerful this leverage becomes. A good website, email marketing campaigns, newsletters, podcasts and much more are just as available to a small business as they are to large corporations.
Never before has the cost of getting your product or service to market been less expensive. Plus, it all comes with 24/7 exposure.
Cultivate a happy office culture…
I know. This is not a new idea by a long shot. But, it won’t happen without some intentionality. Consider some of the benefits associated with a happy workplace and it’s easy to understand why efficiency will be a natural result.
In a happy workplace, people:
- Stay healthier
- Earn more money
- Are more creative at problem-solving
- Are less likely to look for a different job
In fact, making moves to enhance happiness in your workplace may be the most efficient route to improving efficiency in your company.
Consider failure to be your best friend…
Let’s go back to the basketball analogy. Players whose teams make it to the NCAA basketball playoffs seem to be unaffected by failures like committing a foul or a turnover, or shooting an “air ball”. If they ever run to the other end of the court, but leave their mind back where they just made a mistake, more mistakes are going to happen. Even Michael Jordan says he missed a lot more shots than he made. Obviously, he knew the secret of learning from his failures.
In this blog post, Belle Beth Cooper recommends the following aids to making the most from mistakes:
- Start a journal and document your mistakes.
- Review past mistakes.
- View decisions as experiments.
If every mistake becomes a stepping stone toward efficiency, it will be hard to fail to reach new heights of efficiency.
Build on a foundation of 3 pillars of trust…
- Pillar # 1, Trust yourself
The secret to trusting yourself is preparation. That comes through education, hard work, input from reliable resources, and lessons learned from past mistakes.
- Pillar # 2, Trust your coworkers
From a post on MindTools, here are three strategies for building trust:
- Lead by example.
- Communicate openly.
- Know each other personally.
- Pillar # 3, Give your customers reasons to know, like, and trust you
This one is a well-known axiom, but don’t underestimate it’s potential. With this pillar in place, doing business becomes a pleasure for everyone.
Test these three approaches for building trusting relationships with customers and clients. Read more on this Inc.com post.
- Value the relationship.
- Be consistent.
- Show real integrity.
Leave a comment and share your best moves to improve efficiency.
Then give me a call to discuss how we can work together to market your business. My cell number is 256-221-8295
Steve Pearson, DVM, Freelance Writer