The DesignLanguage Code BIG ideas for small business

Prioritise!

We have all done to do lists. Somehow there never seems to be enough hours in the day to accomplish all the things on your to do list. Here is the system that has worked for me. It can work for you too.

A List Is Not Enough

Making a “things to do list” is not enough. You have to rank them. You have to know which tasks are more important so you can focus on them. Then you have to allocate resources to those items, measure your progress, and reward yourself for your successes.  PDF
Ranking
I list all my to do items in a spreadsheet, although you can do them on paper as I used to do. You also can put them in your palmtop computer or PDA, write them on your calendar, or input them to a time management software.

The first step is to list all you have to do. Then assign a rank to them so you can focus on the important items.

I use an A, B, C ranking. My A list are the things I have to get done today, before I leave. My B list are things I need to get done, but not necessarily today. My C list are the things I need to find time to do soon.

I found out pretty quickly that things on my C list just never got done. In fact, most of the B list didn’t ever get done either. In one Operations Manager position several years ago I found myself getting more and more frustrated with my A list. Not only was I not getting through it every day, as I always had before, but the A list kept growing. That’s when I figured out what I had to do to make my to do list work for me and I developed a system that did work.

Time Management
It wasn’t enough to know what was important; what made the A list. I also needed to know how long things would take and how much time I had to devote to them. I added a column to my to do list with the estimated time each task should take and an adjacent column with the cumulative total.

Then I did a simple time study. As I did each task I wrote down what I did and the start and end times. I kept track for an entire day. Then I repeated it a couple weeks later on a different day. It wasn’t an exhaustive survey by any means, but it gave me some insight. As the Operations Manager much of my day was taken up by interruptions – dealing with events that happened, crises that came up, or problems that had to be solved. On average these interruptions consumed four hours a day. Since I typically work a ten-hour day, that left me six hours a day for the things on my to do list.

Each night, before I left the office, I would update my to do list. I would delete the things that I had completed, delegated, or downgraded, add the new things that had come up, rearrange the priorities to get the most important tasks on top, and assign estimated time to each. Then I’d go down the list to the six hour mark and draw a line. That became my target for the next day.

Reward Yourself
Most often, that line fell somewhere on my A list. Seldom was it anywhere near the bottom. However, that was my goal. If I hit or passed the line, I went home feeling like it had been a productive and successful day. Instead of beating myself up over the things I hadn’t been able to get to, I acknowledged my success at having met or beaten my goal. The next day, I had to start all over again and reach for the new goal, but I did it from the perspective of building on previous success rather than from the frustration of constantly having more to do that I had time to accomplish.

You Need A System
To be successful, you have to develop a system to manage your time so you can get more done in the time you have. If your target line on your to do list is always near the top, your boss is going to start looking for someone else who can work a little farther down the list every day. I have listed resources in the right-hand sidebar to help you do a better job of time management.

Manage This Issue
List the tasks you have to do. Prioritise those that are important, not just urgent. Have a plan for what to accomplish each day. Work toward that plan. Reward yourself when you meet or beat your goal.

Listening to your Customers

I love listening, love it! You gather so much information from someone by just – Listening..

But I will be the first to admit I am not good at listening, mostly because I have an opinion to offer and want to share it… That’s where it all breaks down.

I’ve collected some bits and pieces about listening and things we all can do – in business and out.

Example 1

When you listen to your customers, are you merely listening to their words, or are you listening for what they really mean?

In order to truly understand your customers, you must learn to not listen to what they say, but rather to listen to what they mean.

For example, when someone says they want to “get in shape”, they are really saying they want to “lose some weight.” Or if they say that they “need some new rim”, they are really saying “I want my friends to die when they see what I’ve done to my car.”

Most of us have been talking for many years now, most likely more years than you’ve been walking. Unfortunately. in all that time we haven’t gotten very good at really communicating what we want. Everything we do has a reason behind it; as my dad always put it, “there is always method behind the madness.” So no matter how weird our actions may be, there is a reason behind it. The trick is to look past the words or actions to their real meaning.

So, the next time you are listening to your customer say “I want” or “I need”, take a few seconds to look past the words at the true meaning and you will open up a treasure box of places to sell because you will see everything that customer needs instead of what they say they need.

Example 2

When Ben was a little one, he would wake up crying in the middle of the night. Usually some milk and a little cuddling would take care of it and he would go back to sleep. One night it wasn’t the case. We made sure he was okay and checked all the basic needs. He didn’t want milk, and he kept crying even as we held, bounced and walked around with him. We were at our wits end. Since he did not seem ill, we just settled into bed with him and held and comforted him. We just let him cry it out while soothingly talking to him. Eventually, his crying eased up and he settled down. He finally was sleepy enough that we could put him back in the crib. There was nothing wrong with him except he was overtired. He just needed us to be there with him, and let him “get it out.”

And sometimes companies need to allow their customers to do the same. Many of us have had calls where the customer service representative interrupted us and didn’t let us tell them what was wrong. It’s frustrating, isn’t it? You need to teach your customer service people to let customers tell their story. Let them get everything out, and then you can ask questions and figure out how you can help. Sometimes, people just need you to acknowledge their frustration, even if you can’t make things better. But if you constantly cut them off, they’re only going to get angrier.

Example 3

Now, let’s talk about your employees. They’re the ones who create your brand, execute your strategy, build your business.

Listening to your employees is the number 1.1 task for CEOs.  Your company depends on this conversation.

It’s importance parallels that importance of listening to your customers.

The ever-so slight preference for listening with your customers over employees is only because we can only do one thing at a time. And…your customers are the final arbiter of your success. You start there and work back.

But, work back quickly to your employees. You see your employees are the ones who create your customers.

• Are your customers evangelists or vigilantes?
• Do they refer their friends or warn them off?
• Are they repeat buyers or one-hit wonders?

Your employees create, reinforce and sustain those definitions of your customers, for your customers.

And, never forget that your employees are listening to you. They’re listening to you for answers to these three questions:

• What’s in it for me?
• Why should I believe?
• Why should I care?

Those answers are delivered by you in everything you say and do to communicate your Purpose, Your Mission and Your Vision.

Tell us what you think.

Do you hear your customers?

Do you listen to your customers?

Do you listen to your employees?

To rest, in peace.

Maybe this isn’t the place to write about personal feelings, but seeing as I am passionate about helping, I thought a few minute of your time would be fine.

Mourners listen to Michael Jackson's music on an ipod outside the UCLA medical Center

We have all heard/seen/read/Googled and talked about the passing of Michael Jackson in the last few days, but it seems that some people find it OK to come out the woodwork and stick more knives into the dead, usually these same people are the ones who are photographed standing right next to Michael or have held a microphone and cheerfully said they support and respect him.

It seems in this world the old attage “keep your friends close and your enemies closer’ rings loud and true – something I find difficult to swallow. When was the last time you said you would support something a friend, colleague, workmate or even a family member did – and stuck to what you said? I know I haven’t and now that I have read so many stories about Michael’s Dad Jo, rabbiting on about his new venture or Debbie Rowe claiming the kids Michael and her had were not fathered by him.

Even Cyber criminals and online hawkers jumped on the dead artists bandwagon sending scam emails to offer unpublished videos and pictures of Jackson, but the link in the email is not of a YouTube clip but instead leads to password-stealing malware that installs on the victim’s computer.

I’m only 35, maybe no spring-chicken, maybe I’m still ‘Wet behind the ears’ to some things – but one thing certainly sticks out…

When someone dies, until you join them – carry out THEIR wishes as if they were standing right next to you, speak of them honestly and with the compassion and love you would show if being there in person and if you cannot respect them in death, if you cannot help but spit sour milk of their life – maybe you were no friend to start with.