Motivational Monday: "Because it has always been this way."

"Because it has always been this way."

Is an all too common answer to a whole raft of questions.

It is also a pretty bad answer.

Why is this our interview process? Why do we let her decide these issues? Why is the price set like this? Why is this the format of our appraisals? Why do we always structure our AGM like this? Why is this our refund policy?

The real answer is, "Because if someone were to change it, then they would be responsible for the consequences of that change."

Glory or Blame.

Infamy or Fame.

What happens if I don’t like the consequences?

If you are not prepared to accept the consequences then by default you must be okay with being the reason things are the way they are. But are you?

So for this week banish "because it has always been this way" from your vocabulary. Forget this week, banish it forever.

That is all –

David

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How To Keep Your Balance When Life Gets Crazy

Sometimes, when it rains, it pours. And I mean the sky freaking opens. Too much comes at you all at once, and you wonder how the hell you’re going to handle it all and keep everything in balance. 

The typical productivity blog would tell you not to worry, for there are three simple steps to keep everything in check and push that water uphill. But I disagree. Sometimes there’s a flood.

When you’re faced with a nice, wide-open chunk of time – like a week’s vacation, or “every Saturday for a year” it gives you plenty of latitude to decide how you’re going to get everything balanced. But life doesn’t always hand those options to you. More often than not, you’ve got a tight schedule and a seemingly endless set of tasks.

Time is in short supply, and you’re just going to have to do the best with what you have. And that means dealing with a very uncomfortable truth:

You’re Gonna Have To Let Some Of Your Goals Go.

Yes. 

Difficult to accept?

I never said you’d like them. But you may be at the point in your life where you have to face this.

Perhaps the reason you’re so overwhelmingly busy is because you’re treating too many goals like musts, when in reality they are just shoulds or even coulds. 

And there’s nothing wrong with a long list of shoulds. 

Should are good.

But don't mistake them for musts.

Labelling everything as a must is a sure path to driving you crazy!

You Can Do Anything – Just Not Everything.

As much as productivity gurus would like to sell you on the “You can have it all” mindset, it’s just not realistic. You’d need a dozen clones and a dozen lifetimes to scratch the surface of what you want.

So maybe you want too much. Not in a “you’re greedy” way, but in a “why did they put pictures on the menu oh crap everything looks equally good I’m hungry for it all” way. But here’s the thing – you can only put so much food on your plate in one sitting. Too much and you’ll get full before you get a bite of everything.

And you can only stack so many goals on yourself before all you can do is take one bite out each one.

That sucks, but it’s life.

And if you’re so busy you can’t see straight … maybe you’re just too busy by design. Maybe life is exploding at you because you’ve over committed.

And the painful truth is that the way out of that isn’t to become “more productive.” It isn’t to chase after 100 goals that look equally good.

It’s realizing that all your goals aren’t equally good.

Some are critically good, like spending good time with your kids. Some are damned important, like building up a savings account to protect yourself against the economy (or to just get yourself the hell out of a career you’re not thrilled with). And some are important, like chasing this opportunity or this project or whatever.

The challenge comes when we forget that a lot of the things we think are critical … aren’t.

In truth, you could let a lot of important stuff go, a lot of important goals fade, and you’d be happier because you’re nailing more of the “critically good” ones.

Think about it this way – what goals, if you missed them, would make you feel like crap on your deathbed?

Chances are those aren’t what are causing you the majority of your stress right now.

I’m not telling you that you need to do anything right now, except listen to yourself. Listen to the rhythm of your day. Ask yourself if this is what you really want. 
Get honest.

And that’s how you start getting “balanced.” By realising that the reason things seem to be exploding, is because some things shouldn’t be on your list of goals in the first place.

More later. 

This is a lot to think on now.
That is all -
David

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The Real Secret Behind Stress

Are You Settling For The Wrong Kind of Pressure? Would you like to know the real secret of “stress” relief? Turning Bad Pressure into Good Pressure.

Bad Pressure: Stress placed on you by other people that drains you with worry.

Good Pressure: Stress put on you by yourself that gives you something to aspire to.
Focusing on the 30 things people expect you to get done today tends to drain you. It’s called overwhelmed. It’s too much and it feels out of your control.

Focusing on getting the task in front of you done in 25 minutes instead of 30? It’s a race against yourself, a chance for you to prove how kickass you are that will make your focus muscles stronger.

If you don’t like the pressure you’re under, rewrite the rules for how you’re positioning it to yourself. 
Don’t let other people do the positioning – reframe it in your head to put some spin on it that makes the pressure work for you rather than the other way around.

Don't kid yourself that it is about productivity, or organisation, or “peak performance.” 
It’s about feeling good about yourself, shedding some stress and focusing on becoming a more capable person, because that’s something that makes the next 30 minutes easier to deal with.

Do this: Take something you’re stressing about doing and find a way to break it down into smaller tasks you can devote overwhelming short-term focus (10-20 minutes) to. It’s only 10 minutes. Close the office door (pretend you’re on a call if you have to).

Just take 10 or 20 minutes, tell the world to disappear, because instead of stressing about the crushing pressure of the Overwhelming Task, you’re going to focus on the “good” pressure of proving yourself – even if it’s only for 10 minutes.

Do it now. It feels damned good.

Then do it again, and again, and again.
And when all these 10 minute chunks are compiles you have overwhelmed the task and not vice versa.

Don’t settle for external pressure that crushes you when you can leverage some internal pressure that drives you to rock your universe instead.

Get to it.

That is all –

David

Business Tips: Customer Loyalty

Customer loyalty schemes are an effective way to improve your customer-retention levels. The high cost of bringing in new business compared to retaining existing clients is undisputed so increasing your customer retention can significantly boost bottom-line profits. But many compoanies are missing a trick when it comes to building customer loyalty.

In a competitive marketplace where customers find it easy to switch supplier, loyalty schemes are an effective way to increase customer retention and improve your profitability. If you want to build a loyal clientele, keeping the customer satisfied isn't always enough. The fact that your customers are satisfied doesn't stop them from taking their business to a competitor who offers them something extra.

To increase loyalty, you need to recognise and reward your best customers. A loyalty scheme can be used to incentivise and delight your most valued customers. That in turn can do wonders for your profitability.

The Advantages of Loyalty Schemes

Loyalty initiatives allow you to focus on your best customers and improve customer satisfaction levels. Loyal customers buy more and are often willing to pay more, which boosts cash flow. By increasing loyalty, you can increase profitability and extend the customer’s buying cycle – which increases the customer’s lifetime value to you.

Loyal customers are also good for your business because they can become your advocates. They will recommend you to others, providing you with free marketing. A loyal customer's endorsement is more powerful to their friends and family than any advertising campaign.

Devising a Loyalty Scheme

Customers like loyalty schemes because they feel they are getting rewarded for giving you their business. So your scheme needs to offer customers something they will appreciate. However, it should also be devised with profit in mind.

Remember that you're trying to reward customers for behaving in the way that you want. Focus on specific goals. For instance, are you looking for repeat business or do you want your customers to spend more?

The rewards you offer to regular customers can vary from fixed discounts to extra goods or prizes. A hairdresser, for example, could offer a simple card scheme whereby customers get a free treatment for every ten visits. A mail order firm may offer a discount for bulk orders.

Above all, the scheme should be simple to use and the rewards should be attractive and attainable. If customers have to spend a lot to get a small gift, they will be insulted. At the same time, make sure you can recover the cost reasonably quickly.

Knowing Your Customers

The data generated by a loyalty scheme can also be used to improve your bottom line. Loyalty programmes put the spotlight on customer behaviour. They can identify you your best clients - and highlight your worst.

It can be more profitable to lose bad customers than to gain new ones. While your best customers may be bringing in the lion's share of your profit, your worst customers - bargain-hunters that spend little and only buy discounted goods - can actually cost you money. Your loyalty scheme can significantly improve this scenario by rewarding customers and actively dissuading the worst.

Loyalty schemes can also be used to win back lapsed customers. These customers are much easier to win over than cold prospects. They know you and you know them, their buying history and where and how to reach them.

The data generated by a loyalty scheme can offer other valuable insights. It can highlight defection patterns and can also help you improve your product range and stock selection. Knowing what your best customers frequently buy helps you choose which lines to stock - and which lines to expand.

I hope this helps your business be outstanding. 

Just one more thing before you go ... I would like you to do one important thing for me - spread the word about this article.

That is all - 

David

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