Sample "Brass Tacks Tip Lists"

If you have reason to expect that the principal funds provider for your business is becoming uncomfortable with its loan to you, there a some anticipatory preparations you should make.

1. Plan “what if” tactics with your attorney and accountant. Know what your response will be under all probable circumstances.

2. Assume the “worst case” scenario – being asked to pay off your loan and find another cash provider.

3. Begin selecting candidates to replace your current lender. Spend the time and effort necessary to find a good “fit” and to position yourself for better terms and conditions than you presently enjoy.

4. Develop a cash reserve in an account not maintained at your present lender’s bank. But make sure such action is not in violation of your loan covenants.

5. As appropriate, prepare letters to key suppliers and customers indicating that the your business may be facing some “turmoil” with a lender and that it could last over the next few months. Emphasize that the difficulty is not of your making and that it is expected that stability will resume shortly.

From the book: Surviving Your Business Debt by Kenneth Easton www.survivingyourbusinessdebt.com.

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Behaviors that boost productivity

Productivity heuristics are behavioral rules (some general, some situation-specific) that can help us get things done more efficiently. Heuristics are rules intended to help you solve problems. When a problem is large or complex, and the optimal solution is unclear, applying a heuristic allows you to begin making progress towards a solution even though you can’t visualize the entire path from your starting point. Here’s a High-Five List compiled from the article 33 Rules to Boost Your Productivity by Steve Pavlina:

1. Nuke it! The most efficient way to get through a task is to delete it. If it doesn’t need to be done, get it off your to do list.

2. To defeat procrastination learn to tackle your most unpleasant task first thing in the morning instead of delaying it until later in the day. This small victory will set the tone for a very productive day.

3. When you begin a task, identify the target you must reach before you can stop working. For example, when working on a book, you could decide not to get up until you’ve written at least 1000 words. Hit your target no matter what.

4. Batch similar tasks like phone calls or errands into a single chunk, and knock them off in a single session.

5. Once you have the information you need to make a decision, start a timer and give yourself just 60 seconds to make the actual decision. Take a whole minute to vacillate and second-guess yourself all you want, but come out the other end with a clear choice. Once your decision is made, take some kind of action to set it in motion.

Posted on the internet by Steve Pavlina, author of 33 Rules to Boost Your Productivity

http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2007/05/33-rules-to-boost-your-productivity/

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Creating a work environment that allows you to retain key employees:

1) Hire the right workers in the first place. Look for those who share your entrepreneurial zeal and penchant for hard work. Use some simple questions administered as part of the pre-hiring interview process. Continually work to build your knowledge of every employee after he or she is hired, too. Your personal leadership activities must be tailored to the many unique facets of the special workforce you build. Also, conduct exit interviews with departing workers. The best maintenance policies are predicated on an understanding of why things break.

2) Create a culture that ambitious people can buy into. Ensure that your business model promises success, both collectively and individually. The environment you maintain should support the values, ethics and aspirations of your colleagues. Work diligently to promulgate an understanding of this culture.

3) Make sure each team member has meaningful work to do. This means you have to be creative in structuring the nature of the work each person does. Responsibilities beneath one’s abilities “turn off” and “turn out” talent. A job must be continually enlarged, enhanced and embellished in order to keep an employee satisfactorily engaged.

4) Delegate and empower. Don’t knit-pick and hover over your charges. Trust them to do a good job. Be a mentor, not a boss. They should feel like they work “with” you, not “for” you. To make this work, they have to understand the goals of your firm and, ideally, participate in formulating them. Provide the tools, technology and personal example necessary for them to do a good job, Show each team member that he or she makes a big, unique difference. Public approbation and recognition are essential. (Consider what generals accomplish with colored ribbon!)

5) Compensate creatively. Competitive salaries and benefits are merely hygiene factors that keep an employee from harboring negative feelings. To bring out the “gusto,” you will have to consider benefits that recognize a follower’s “specialness.” This requires a thorough understanding of each employee’s hot buttons. Consider a “cafeteria” type benefit plan that covers everything from flextime options to stock options. Think about “golden handcuffs” – benefits that kick in over time – to continually reward loyalty and promote tenure.

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Increase your personal power

Never put too much trust in friends; learn how to use enemies.
Use selective generosity and honesty to disarm your victim
Use absence to increase respect and honor
Play on people’s need to create a cult like following
Play a sucker to catch a sucker - seem dumber than your mark

From the book: The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Green ► http://www.amazon.com/48-Laws-Power-Robert-Greene/dp/0140280197/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197560230&sr=8-2

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