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2013-10-10 15:18:17
2. Did you achieve your goals? Yogi Berra said, you don know where you are going, you may wind up somewhere else. Do you have a clear plan for where you want your business to go? If so, how did you do relative to your revenue goals, spending targets and profit plans. Too often, plans are made, but then they sit in a drawer, NotHelpful! Get them out and see how your company is doing. If you don have goals, now is a great time to establish them.
Metrics without context are meaningless. If you are told that sales in the northeast region were $45,605 in the first quarter, is that a good thing or a bad thing? Without context you can possibly know. But, if we also told you that the revenue budget for the northeast in Q1 was $43,000, you would know that, from a revenue perspective, it was a good quarter. Goals provide necessary context for your metrics. Additional context can be provided by history and competitive comparisons.
3. What changes are you going to make? Insanity has been defined as doing the same thing and expecting different results. Don be insane! If you aren happy with your results from the first quarter, change what you are doing. Changes can be thought of in three categories:
Strategy Many small business owners don think they need a strategy. That a highfalutin word for big companies. Fair enough, but there is one question that every business owner needs to be able to answer. should a prospective customer buy our product or service rather than a competitor The next question to ask is whether there are enough prospective customers who value the thing that differentiates your offering to sustain your business. If not, what are you going to change? If so, what is your plan to reach this group of prospective customers?
Processes If your processes are broken, the best people in the world won be able to deliver the results you seek. Make sure that your processes are documented and implemented consistently across your company. When a problem does occur, make sure to ask what needs to be done to ensure it never happens again. This is the first step to ensure continuous improvement.
Hopefully, your 2012 is off to a fantastic start. If changes are needed, don procrastinate. There is still time to positively impact your year, but time is slipping away quickly.
Doug and Polly White are Principals at Whitestone Partners; a managementconsulting firm that helps small businesses build the infrastructure they need to grow profitably.
3 school districts seek reactions to consolidation proposal
MORRISONVILLE A survey was mailed Wednesday to voters in the Morrisonville School District to get their opinions on a proposed merger with the Nokomis and Panhandle school districts.
The survey also asks residents how they feel about three other ways to address the challenges the district faces due to declining enrollment, School Superintendent Ann Chandler said.
