Since this column began, the Labor Day column has become a tradition. The challenge is keeping the importance of this significant national holiday for American citizens while simultaneously keeping the information fresh and interesting.
Outside of the barbecues and possibly the day off from work, today is truly a good day to invest some time to think about Labor Day from a different perspective or as Marcel Proust wrote, “the true voyage of discovery is not seeking new landscapes, but seeing with new eyes.”
After working with small business owners and sales professionals for the last 18 years, one consistent observation is the lack of intentional focus on the future. People are continually busy with the day-to-day operations as well as yesterday’s problems or what I call “Sea Level.” Being busy keeps them from seeing tomorrow’s “See Level” opportunities or the 30,000-foot viewpoint.
There remains less than four months to achieve this year’s business and sales goals.
The critical question you may wish to consider is:
What needs to happen in the next four months for your business to achieve your goals?
For example, do you require greater clarity as to your monthly fixed costs? Profit and loss statements are great, yet sometimes they do not provide total clarity.
Recently, I re-categorized a P&L statement for a client. He learned through this regrouping the difference between Quick Book labor costs and actual labor costs. The Quick Books accounting program separated certain costs associated with labor such as insurance and IRA expenses from salaries. When all costs associated with labor were grouped together, an entirely different perspective was seen even though the landscape did not change.
Inactive accounts are the same landscape that may require new eyes. Is now the time to re-prioritize your marketing efforts or even pricing efforts to ensure you are securing the most profitability from your customers?
Finally, in discussions with another client, he has realized that his processes (many of which remain undocumented) must be committed to writing as he works toward succession planning. He along with many other small business owners has been so busy working at “Sea Level” he has not invested the time to work at “See Level.”
Yes, Labor Day is an important day and may become your two-thirds milestone for your current business activities. The more you embrace a different perspective, the greater likelihood is you are challenging YOUR current status quo and have increased the odds of achieving your desired business results by the end of this year.
Leanne Hoagland-Smith is an author, speaker and executive coach. Her weekly column explores issues that impact the bottom line of firms with fewer than 100 employees. She can be reached at 219-508-2859.
