In the New York Times Best Seller, “Profits Aren't Everything, They're the Only Thing,” one of the chapters is titled “Eat Your Vegetables First.” It’s a subject we've talked about in prior blogs, and when boiled down, it stresses the importance of owners developing and keeping a daily schedule, from which the most challenging tasks of the day are tackled first.
If you are the owner of a business, then you are the leader of the free world within your four walls. No one can impact what happens in your life, other than you. No one can change the direction of your company, other than you. If you let others do it, then you have abdicated your responsibilities and have lost control.
If you choose to be a free spirit, floating around and making everybody feel good, that's your right as the owner. But, if you really want to maximize sales, profit, and cash flow, and you want to grow from being a good company to an extraordinary company, then you should have a tone, message, and consistency to what your day is going to look like; and that doesn't mean you can't change it up.
It doesn't mean you can't throw caution to the wind and radically adjust your daily schedule, but it does mean your decisions and actions should be held accountable to bettering your organization. If you want your folks to follow you through fire, walk on hot coals, and do what you would do, then you need to set the tone, and the best way to set a tone in my simple opinion, is to have an agenda for yourself.
Maybe one day your agenda includes meeting with customers and vendors, and then working on your business plan. Maybe the next day’s focus will be on your succession plan. Maybe the following day you’re going to spend three hours with your financial person, dissecting every number on your balance sheet, income statement, cash flow, flash reports, and strategic plan so that there is no nuance you are not familiar with.
If your goal is to have an extraordinarily successful business, your first focus should be on your schedule and your agenda. I'm not saying work harder, I'm saying work intelligently so that the folks in your organization can see that you are leading from the ground-up, and from the top-down.
If you have questions about getting the most out of your agenda, connect with me on Twitter @MoscaSmallBiz.
