New Year's Day is a time for good resolutions. We have all had time to eat too much and not be at work. We have been reminded about all the things we should have done differently during the last year. Out pops a good resolution, sometimes several good resolutions, sometimes a whole list.
Far be it from this writer to bad-mouth good resolutions.
But I come in praise of good routines. For those who are serious to improve the business they manage, look to your routines as the place for improvement that will last. Routines are habits. Once established, they simply become the way we do things, automatic, known to all, predictable - and enduring. Here are some examples.
Cash flow: the first thing you do each morning as the manager is to check the cash flow. How much money is available in checking, how much credit is available and how much will you need today and the rest of the week? Nobody is to disturb the manager during this very short but important task.
Red alerts: what MUST be accomplished today and by whom? Write this down on a bulletin board or other highly visible posting place for all to see all day long.
Kudos: post kudos for great accomplishments from the previous workday.
Schedule: review your personal schedule for appointments, conference calls and any other commitments.
Payroll: always do it on the same day or days of the month and at the same time of day.
Memos to Board: once again, same day or days of the month and at the same time of day.
Updating the books: this includes receivables, net worth, assets, debts, payments received, expenses, taxes due, the whole works. Whether you do this or review the work of somebody else who does this for you, take care of it on the same day of the month or quarter, the same time of day, the same way.
And so forth: your particular business will have its own peculiarities. There might be established customers to visit on a routine basis. Your banker or accountant might want to hear a report over lunch at certain intervals. A trusted advisor may want to do breakfast on a certain morning each week.
The point: routines are far more trustworthy than good resolutions. Good resolutions depend on willpower whereas routines carry their own momentum. And beyond the psychology of it all, routines can be related to the business plan in a comprehensive fashion. Routines are like maps: if we follow the routine we get to where we intended unless the routine was wrong in the first place.
At the start of a new year it is good to go all the way back to the beginning: why did you start your business? What were you setting out to accomplish? Are you still intending to accomplish what you set out to do, or has the goal changed? The purpose of a business is like a destination. Before turning to a map we need a destination. Then we use the map to get there. If there is no map we make the map. That's what the business plan is: a map of how to get from where you are to what you want the business to accomplish. So again ask yourself, what is it that you are wanting to accomplish with your business?
The business plan is the map. When the plan needs correcting, do so. Maps often need tweaking, so tweak way! Then comes the routine. Routines in business should be an outgrowth of the business plan. They describe the everyday tasks and activities best suited to achieve the business plan. Following the routine, once it is carefully devised, is the way to stay true to the map. Deviating from the routine is a very good way to get lost.
Many business managers create routines based on what is comfortable for themselves or their employees. This is a huge mistake because such an approach only guarantees that the workday will be comfortable. It does not necessarily advance the cause of the business because it is not based on the business plan but on personal comfort. Certainly the manager should be trying to make things comfortable, but the success of the business as reflected in the business plan needs to be the driving force behind the daily routine. Comfort considerations come next: be as comfortable as is possible within the demands of the business.
To those who say such an approach is not comfortable enough the answer is simple but harsh: you are not up to what it takes for this business to succeed. Making a good resolution, while a good thing to do, will not change that harsh fact.
The beginning of a new year is an excellent time to take a hard look in business management, but at what? Not at our faults so much as at the goal of the business, the business plan and the routines based on the business plan. On a long overland trip checking the map every so often and following the directions will make for a successful trip. The business plan is your road map, and routines guarantee that you are sticking to directions.
So check your business plan and adjust your routines. Have a good trip!
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