Get Your Year in Gear “A 12 Week Campaign for Your 2012 Strong 1^st Quarter Launch”

12 Key Strategies for Your Success

More Profit in Less Time, with Less Stress and More Joy

Make the time to plan your time and execute around your priorities

Some fundamental time use practices for you to master

“The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” – Stephen R. Covey

When asked about the essence of what we do for business owners, I often respond that we help our clients establish, and consistently pursue, a clear focus and their most important priorities.

This strategy is a crucial step in the development of your business success. Disregard it at your peril. This is where you make time to work ON your business rather than just IN your business.

Practice #1. In light of your 3-5 year goals and 1 year goals, keep your 90 day written goals fresh and refer to them often, as you plan your months/weeks/days.

Practice #2. Plan your week the week before and plan your day the day before.

A.  For weekly planning: Find/create a regular weekly time (for example, Friday afternoon, Saturday morning, Sunday evening) where you can invest 30-60 minutes to quickly write out what you have accomplished and learned in the last 7 days and then plan the next 7 days. Typically, there are 3-8 key priorities (big rocks), that represent you accomplishing 80-90% of what’s most important. These may be key relationships, transactions, focused communications, appointments, projects, etc that really move you, your business and your life visibly forward.

B.  For daily planning: 10-15 minutes at the end of the day – review first thing in morning, after a good night’s rest, to make sure it still make sense. Make the time for Daily Strategic Planning.

Try and find 15-30 minutes every day to switch everything off, find a sanctuary, close the door and allow yourself the time to think and plan. Do NOT allow yourself to be interrupted.

Reflect on what you’re hoping to achieve that day – or the following day/week/month etc.

Do this at a time when you are fresh – not tired – whether you’re a morning, day or night person.

This is primarily the time when you organize your ‘to do’ list for the day ahead. Whether you use a personal organizer, a PDA or a PC, the rules are the same:

• Make a list
• ABC the list
• Prioritize the A’s, B’s, etc

Practice #3. Fully utilize your “peak energy periods”, to most effectively address your highest priorities and biggest challenges.

Most people have 3 1/2 – 6 hour time periods when they have an abundance of seemingly unstoppable energy. For most people, it’s the first part of the day – simply stated, address your most challenging, complicated, intricate, creatively demanding and meaningful priorities then.

Upon the foundation/momentum of those achievements, you can address lighter situations later in the day, other required administrivia, etc with much greater ease and execute all a lot quicker.

Practice #4. Always remember that you can only do the best you can do and no other.

Keep yourself vigilant about continuous training and improvement – do whatever you have do to keep yourself highly inspired, energized and well-taken care of – can’t give away what we don’t have – model an exceptional personal and professional life – exercise well, sleep well, eat well, love well.

Practice #5. The Power of Completion and Celebration – find multiple ways, big and small, to celebrate appropriately with those you work for and with! Enjoy the ride – relish your process of accomplishing as well as your accomplishments, as you beat your most pressing challenges.

Click here for a bonus Team Meeting Guide.

Additional Bonus suggestion – recommended book/reading?

(Considered by many as the best life and time management book ever written)

First Things First [Paperback]

http://www.amazon.com/First-Things-Stephen-R-Covey/dp/0684802031/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

Stephen R. Covey (Author), A. Roger Merrill (Author), Rebecca R. Merrill (Author)

“I’m getting more done in less time, but where are the rich relationships, the inner peace, the balance, the confidence that I’m doing what matters most and doing it well?

Does this nagging question haunt you, even when you feel you are being your most efficient? If so, First Things First can help you understand why so often our first things aren’t first. Rather than offering you another clock, First Things First provides you with a compass, because where you’re headed is more important than how fast you’re going.”

That’s it for this week – let’s talk again soon – good luck in the coming days. See you next week!!

Get Your Year in Gear “A 12 Week Campaign for Your 2012 Strong 1^st Quarter Launch”

12 Key Strategies for Your Success

More Profit in Less Time, with Less Stress and More Joy

“The price of excellence is discipline. The cost of mediocrity is disappointment”

William Arthur Ward

Welcome back for Week 3

Further detailing out your business vision, philosophy and written goals.

Stage 2 – Mission Statement

OBJECTIVE: To map out broad vision for yourself and what you are trying to become and do.

“Who am I? What do I do? Where am I going?”

A mission statement is a statement of the purpose for your business. The mission statement should guide the actions of your business, spell out its overall goal, provide pathways, and guide decision-making. It provides “the framework or context within which your business strategies are formulated.” Your Mission Statement gives you the opportunity to define the following terms:

1. Who are my clients?

2. What are my clients’ needs?

3. What products and services will I use to satisfy those needs?

Stage 3 – Investment Philosophy

OBJECTIVE: To define the services, products and strategies that you offer to differentiate you the most, and set you apart, from your competitors, while best serving your highly valued clients.

Note: Don’t confuse your Mission Statement with your Investment Philosophy. Although not required, you may want to write a separate Investment Philosophy, as a set of guiding principles that inform and shape your investment decision-making process. Keep in mind that this stage best be brief and to the point. This is not the place for goals or actions; merely objectives.

Stage 4 – Longer-Term Goals

2-3 Year Longer-Term Projects

OBJECTIVE: Define specific goals and objectives that relate to your Mission Statement.

Goal-setting is a result of conscious, deliberate planning for achievement and acting to bring our goals into reality. It is one of the strongest human forces for self-improvement. Without specific, written goals, our efforts are often neither focused nor directed. Written goals force us to clarify our thinking and serve as a basis for measuring goals. Please make sure that you are creating SMART goals – defined as Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Tangible – the beginning of successful achievement. The following metrics should be part of your goal planning:

1. Commissions generated broken down by year.
2. Assets gathered broken down by year.
3. Asset management
4. Value-added client services.
5. Team building and/or team management
6. Referrals.
7. Target Markets.
8. Time Management
9. Computerizing your business
10. Product Knowledge

Your objectives are (1) to crystallize your thinking in terms of increased in net new assets, production and new accounts, and (2) to look at developing various target markets via relationship building, providing new services to clients and establishing benchmarks for future success.

Stage 5- Short-Term Goals
6 Months – 1 Year

OBJECTIVE: Set yourself up to win!! Remember to keep your goals SMART

(SPECIFIC, MEASURABLE AND ATTAINABLE, REALISTIC and TANGIBLE)

Short-term goals should be a direct reflection of your long-term goals. There should be at least one if not several short-term goals listed for each long-term goal. You can start by carrying forward your commission and asset gathering goals for this year from your long-term goals. From there, you need to go through each long term goal and develop several goals that can be completed in the next 12 months that will work toward the achievement of that one specific long term goal. This may require some brainstorming but remember the more thorough you are in this stage, the easier your plan will be to execute. Please remember that you need the small victories. It would be much wiser to achieve the goal in 6-8 months and raise it then to set a goal that’s unattainable. This is the time to identify projects that need to be implemented.

That’s it for this week – let’s talk again soon – good luck in the coming days. See you next week!!

With sincere and deep appreciation,

Don

Week 2 Immediate Follow-Up

To further support this week’s biz development message, you may want to refer to the 1 page biz plan flowchart.

BUSINESS PLAN DEVELOPMENT FLOWCHART

Many have reported that this flowchart gives a simple, easy-to-grasp, visual snapshot of where we are going.

Let us know what you think. Til the next time, best of the upcoming weekend, to you and yours.

Get Your Year in Gear “A 12 Week Campaign for Your 2012 Strong 1^st Quarter Launch”

12 Key Strategies for Your Success

More Profit in Less Time, with Less Stress and More Joy

Week 2 – Have a strategic business development plan that supports your vision

Welcome back – this week, let’s talk about your strategic business development plan

Today, we will lay out some key principles and ideas for developing, refining and/or reinforcing your strategic business development plan and also encourage you to itemize your benefit list.

It is important at the onset of this process to let you know that this is an ongoing, organic, living document. The completion of this Business Plan is not the end of a project but the beginning of a new way of doing business. It is a plan that will change and grow just as you & your business do.

Developing a comprehensive Business Plan is a primary motivator behind achieving dramatic results in production and asset gathering. You can expect a substantial increase in your business by devising a well thought out Business Plan. We expect this plan to provide you with a path to guide you to a running a more efficient and successful business. As you write this plan over the next several weeks, please feel free to use all of the resources available from us to assist you with whatever questions you may have. We are here to make this process go as smoothly as possible.

Your Business Plan will be written in stages. It is imperative that each stage be completed before moving on to the next. You’ll be receiving constant follow-up to ensure that you are on the right track. Please feel free to e mail your stages to us for any insight we might be able to offer. Examples will be provided on the way. If more are needed, please do not hesitate to call upon us.

Stage 1- Benefits

Objective: First of all, ask yourself questions to identify the personal benefits and rewards of reshaping your business service model and/or doubling your performance/production/revenues.

The first part of writing your Business Plan is probably the easiest and likely the most important. Sit down with a clean sheet of paper and spend some time writing down the personal benefits of this process for you and those you most care about. At least 7-10 clear benefits, even on an index card. What you transcribe onto paper will become your personalized, motivational fuel behind this whole growth process. While this stage will not physically be in the final draft of your Business Plan, we highly suggest that it best be read every day, to harness your highest energies and strengthen your prioritized focus. Often times, family members can also be of assistance, as you brainstorm and work yourself through this exercise. Ask yourself key questions, such as:

A. What real benefits could come to me, by reshaping my business and/or doubling revenues?

1. How would extra income affect my life and the lives of those I most love?

2. How would this impact my long term financial security and my own peace of mind?

3. How would this affect my relationship with my clients, stakeholders & future growth?

Bonus suggestion – recommended book/reading?

The One Page Business Plan, Financial Services Edition James T. Horan Jr. (Author)

http://www.amazon.com/Page-Business-Plan-Financial-Services/dp/1891315056/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1322693134&sr=8-8

About the Author

Jim Horan regularly wows audiences across the country. His popular and practical workshops help financial services executives and producers make their businesses more profitable. Mr. Horan is also author of the bestselling The One Page® Business Plan Series. Over the past 16 years, his company has assisted over 100,000 businesses and firms achieve sustainable cash flow and profitable growth by helping them create clear, concise and actionable business plans. Jim has the unique ability to take complex business situations and make them simple. Tom Peters, author of Thriving on Chaos and In Search of Excellence, calls The One Page Business Plan an out and out winner… Period! Peters has been quoted as saying ‘It makes great sense to me as a so-called business thinker. The One Page Business Plan = the proverbial better mousetrap’

We look fwd to expanding our relationship and work together in 2012. See you next week!!

With sincere and deep appreciation,

Don