Deciding What Should Be First on The List

 

 

 

 

 

It’s Amazing How Things Become Clear with A Limited Amount of Time

 

There are so many things trying to get on the “to do” list and each one competing for the top position. Deciding which one should get that spot is tough. There are so many great and important things that we need or want to do.


It’s easy to say that we have limited time, but hard to actually schedule that way.


My computer’s battery is not lasting as long as it did when it was new. Recently while working out of the office, without the power cord, I had 2-3 things that I wanted to get done before the computer shut down. This limited time forced me to sort and prioritize them.


How do we decide what to say yes to


Emergency situations often require triage. This is the process of prioritizing patients’ treatments based on the severity of their condition and the resources available. In these situations, victims are divided into three categories.

 

  • Those who are likely to live, regardless of what care they receive;
  • Those who are unlikely to live, regardless of what care they receive:
  • Those for whom immediate care might make a positive difference in outcome.

 

These choices aren’t easy and often require a quick “gut decision”. A pre-determined system, training and experience aid in the process and provide for the greatest number of survivors.


Another life and death choice is deciding who gets a transplant when there are a limited number of organ donations available. Take for example a set of twins who both need a liver transplant and their father has one liver to give. Which little girl gets it? The early thoughts of a father would be to give half to each. The problem with this, half would help neither. The final decision will be determined by which one needs it most or which one is most likely to survive.

 


Most of the choices that we make in business aren’t this critical…or are they? The decisions we make can mean life or death for our business.

 

In medical life or death situations there is a system and plan in place before hand. This same type of system should be implemented in our business. We should predetermine how we are going to choose the most important thing to the life of our business. This is where things get hard.

 


What makes one thing more important than another?


 

What should be the highest priority? Should it be production or proposals, record keeping or customer service, marketing or staff? We’re faced with tough decisions in business every day.

 


I can’t answer this question for you, but I’m tired of struggling with this dilemma and plan to design and implement a “business triage” system going forward.


What will give my business the highest chance for survival?

The Most Positive Communication Can Be Negative

 

 

 

 

An Honest No Is Better Than A Yes That’s Really A Maybe

 

Why is it that we say yes to more than we can possibly do? This trying to spin too many plates is a common problem. It’s a problem that’s thousands of years old. In Exodus 18:13-23 Moses’s father-in-law tells him to stop trying to do everything by himself.


Being too busy is no one’s fault but our own. I do think that overscheduling can push us to accomplish more than we would otherwise, but we take it way too far. There are too many puzzle pieces to fit in our puzzle no matter how hard we push. So many important things that need done, but…

 


We can’t DO everything.


Our natural desire to help others is a big driving force behind too many yes’s. There are so many people with so many needs. A servant’s heart leads us to over promise. This can be controlled, but it requires intentional actions. Especially in business, we don’t want to say no to any potential opportunity. Too many yes’s is not a good way to treat customers. Trying to be everything to everybody isn’t a good business plan.


We can’t BE everything to everybody.


Trying to DO EVERYTHING for EVERYBODY has been something that I have always struggled with. There’s just so many great things to be done and someone needs to do them. It never works any time anybody tries it. We have to learn to say no.

 


The big question is how do I know what to say yes to?


This is definitely a big question and one that’s hard to answer. As we begin to approach the end of 2019, I’m beginning to think about 2020 and all the things I want to do. As I think through the list it becomes clear that clarity is needed.


Focusing on the right yes’s is going to be my goal for 2020. After all, 2020 is perfect vision. It isn’t going to be easy, but it can be done. It will require a clear plan of what the highest priorities are and removing things from the list that don’t qualify.

 


There are a lot of good yes’s but only one best yes.


I’ve been thinking forward through the long list of things that I want to do. All things that are good and important, but there are too many to do them all. With God as the Chairman of my Board of Directors, I’m confident that we can get a clear vision for 2020.


There are some new and exciting things on the horizon for this next year. I’m excited and ready to get started.

 

How To Win The Race Of Business

 

 

 

 

You Win by Never Quitting

 

It’s NASCAR race weekend in Kansas City. My brother-in-law and I have already enjoyed Saturday’s race. There were several things that happened late in the race that changed the expected outcome. The winner of the race was not the one who lead most of the race, but he kept racing until the last lap and won.


Currently we are sitting in the hotel lobby, waiting to get back into our room, which we are locked out of and our stuff is inside the room. It appears that the battery on the electronic code reader is dead. Technology’s great…when it works.


I’m writing this on the hotel’s computer in the lobby since my computer is locked in the room.


Most people would say the only way to win a race, is to finish ahead of everyone else. I would argue that there are other ways you can win. For me winning is as much about staying true to values and core principles as it is finishing first. There are races inside of the race. Points accumulated toward the championship, sponsor visibility, etc.


When racing you need to be ready for whatever challenge is around the next corner. (Like being locked out of your hotel room.) There are other drivers, wrecks, breakdowns, all things that are out of your control. Things learned in this race or this season, help me to race better. Winning is how you deal with difficult situations.


This doesn’t mean you should race without passion or a desire to win.

 


In racing there are pit stops and caution flags that give you a chance to catch your breath and regroup. The same is true in business. Take advantage of these opportunities when you get them.


It takes more than a driver to win a race. It takes a good team, a good system and good equipment. Business is no different.


Winning the race is about how you run it.


Galatians 5:7, 2 Timothy 4:7 and 1 Corinthians 9:24


Three hours and we’re back in our room. The hotel was very apologetic, they comped our room, gave us free breakfast coupons and additional points. They had a computer and it served me well.


I’m going to call it a day so that tomorrow we can race another day.

When you win…remember to celebrate.

This video is from the Sunday race, 10/20/19

I Know Why Rome Wasn’t Built in A Day

 

 

 

 

 

It Was A Lack of Web Presence

 

I’ve written a lot recently about the high cost of no communication. I think this might be why it took so long to build Rome. The people in charge of the project struggled to find qualified contractors.


If they only had someone like Stacey with Custom Internet Services to help them with a website.


A few weeks ago, I wrote about rebuilding our Timber Creek Construction website. Drum roll…it’s finished, live and amazing. Check it out here. Like any construction project, I had a dream and a vision of what it would be. I couldn’t be more pleased. Great job Stacey!

 

 


Our reason for having a website is so interested people can find out more about the construction process. Construction doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Our site also includes pictures and information of past projects. This helps customers see what can be done and incite ideas for their own projects.


Most customers don’t have an in-depth knowledge of the construction industry. This includes questions to be asked and answered, what should be expected from their contractor including documents that should be included. The site is designed to help with this too.


Our site had gotten old and stale, as websites go. This was pointed out to me a couple of years ago by Shannon Martin a previous assistant. We’ve been thinking, talking, designing and planning this rebuild, off and on, since then.

 


I was given an opportunity to speak to the Kansas Barn Alliance about the importance of communication through proposals and contracts. Shannon was responsible for this as well.


It was decided that it would be good to have the new site finished by the presentation and we did. Thanks Shannon. 😊


Our goals were a site that was fresh, fun, clear, informational, easy to use and looked great. Mission accomplished.


The Timber Creek Construction site turned out so good, we plan to make some changes and updates to the Solution Building site next.


Check out the Timber Creek site and let us know what you think in the comments below.

How To Balance Passion and Profit In Business

 

 

 

It Doesn’t Have to Be One or The Other

 

Why is it that the owners of small businesses struggle to even make minimum wage? When you factor in the number of hours and amount of stress that most small business owners endure, often it’s less.


I had this conversation with a local contractor last week. The same conversation I’ve had with different contractors, including myself, repeatedly over the years.


Self-employed people are generally in business for one of two reasons. They either love what they do or they’re in it to make all the money they can. The ones who focus on quality and service usually don’t put enough effort into profit. On the other side, the ones who focus on profit, do so while neglecting the quality and service.


Let’s look at some of the reasons for this problem.


In a Score Contracts blog post, “8 Reasons Why Small Businesses Are Not Making Money” they list eight reasons. Most of these you have heard or experienced, but some are worth repeating.


#2 – They don’t know what they’re doing. They are technicians or trades people trying to run a business. They need to have a business plan in place and use it.


#5 – Poor thinking. Most are hard workers but have poor thinking habits. They spend more time planning their meals, vacations and daily chores than they do their life.


#6 – Lack of education. Not formal schooling, rather self-motivated expansion of knowledge like reading, studying, courses, on the job training.


#8 – Self-doubt or fear. Most people quit before they even get started. They look at the options and then talk themselves out of even giving it a real try.

 


Here are some additional reasons that small businesses find it difficult to make money, found in a blog post “17 Truths About Running Your Own Business”. 


#1 – You can’t be everything to everyone. You need to decide what your priorities are, be selective and learn to say no to the things that aren’t.


 

#6 – Your business isn’t a piggy bank. You can’t just spend money on everything you want without a plan. You need to be sure to have money for taxes, equipment or building repairs, investments, etc.

 


#8 – You can’t do everything. You need help. You need a team and they need to be good. You need to know what that looks like and how to get them.


#10 – Your customers are your most important asset. Treat them as such.


#17 – You are your own most important client. You need to spend some time every day working on your business and not in your business. If you don’t take care of the business, it won’t last.

 


What are we going to do to make our business profitable while being true to our passion?


As is the case generally, everyone’s specific situation is different. The important thing is to listen, learn and apply information learned. If you learn new things and don’t use them, they’re worthless.


Application is the hard part.


Because we have struggled ourselves with finding a business system to fit our needs, we decided to develop a user-friendly business system that can be tailored to different business’s needs including training and implementation support.

 

 


It doesn’t have to be only passion or profit; IT CAN BE BOTH.


Here are some previous posts about some of our business system thoughts and struggles.


Building Your Business Is Critical to The Survival of The Business
Be Careful About Short Table Legs
What Does It Take to Be a Builder?
The First Next Thing to Building A Better Business

 

Share business struggles that you or someone you know has had in the comments below. This will be helpful to us as we design the system.

 

 

Rome Wasn’t Built in A Day and Neither Is A Colossal Website

 

 

 

 

 

A Website Isn’t as Important as Rome, But Pretty Close

 

 

We’re in the process of rebuilding our Timber Creek Construction web site to freshen it up and provide a clearer and more informative message. Whether building Rome or a website, both are big projects. I thought it would be good to share –


The reasons behind the rebuild


A sneak peek at what’s coming

 

Why does anyone even bother having a website anyway?


According to How Stuff Works, “A website lends an air of credibility – it lets people know that you’re serious and ready to do business. It’s a guaranteed sales booster and a whole lot less expensive than buying ads.” So, if you’re in business and you want to connect with someone who might need your product or service, having a website is a good thing.


Okay, but we already have a website, why do we need to rebuild it?


 

 

That’s a good question and one that I asked myself. What’s wrong with the site we have? It’s not that old. We built it when we started Timber Creek Construction…in…2003. Okay, so that’s a little longer ago than I thought. It was cutting edge then but now…not so much. It took someone on the outside to bring this to my attention.

 


We need to clarify our message.


There is a whole list of issues that customers typically have with building contractors, almost all of them come down to one thing – poor communication. Good communication takes two, but in a business to customer relationship the majority of this responsibility lies on the contractor. Clearer, better communication is one of the main things that we hope to accomplish with the new website.


One way to improve the communication is to improve contractor’s business systems. Most small construction companies knew how to do their trade when they started their business but didn’t have any idea how to manage the operational part of their company.


As I looked closer at the Timber Creek website, I discovered that both Timber Creek Construction and Solution Building’s messages at the foundation were the same. In both cases we help people find solutions for building their dreams, whether that’s constructing a building or an operating system to run a more effective business.


Helping small businesses develop and implement business systems and informing and educating the customer is the purpose for Solution Building.

 


Let us know about any issues or problems that you’ve have with construction projects or operating your business in the comments below.


We will be sharing progress updates and more details of both Timber Creek Construction and Solution Building in future posts.

Great Things Never Get Done by Under Promising

 

 

 

 

On the other hand, Amazing Things Can Be Accomplished by Over Promising

 


This is not to say that we should make promises and not keep them. Keeping a promise is important and speaks to who we are as individuals. We’ve become lazy in our use of words and the English language in general. We throw words and clichés around without considering what we’re saying.


“Under promise, and over deliver” is one of those truisms that at face value sounds like a good way to treat customers. It looks great on a business card.


What are we really saying if our goal is to “under promise”?


Last week I wrote about the issue of businesses over promising. As I was researching, I found an online article, by Josh Linkner “Why Under-promising and Over-delivering Is bad Advice”. In this article Mr. Linkner speaks to the lowering of the performance bar when we under promise.


He says, …this false wisdom encourages mediocrity. It grants permission to make small, flaccid commitments and then gleefully celebrate delivering them. The very nature of the argument suggests holding back on achievements that can actually be attained. Simply put…


Under-promising is a promise to play small.”


Most businesses don’t want to play small. There are so many great things that we want to accomplish and so little time to do it. This is why we over promise.


It’s been said, if you want to get something done you should ask a busy person to do it. On the surface this appears counterintuitive. It would seem the person with spare time would be more likely to do something than the busy person. In reality it isn’t in the time available, rather it’s in the person’s level of drive. Busy people are doers.


The more we want to do the more we get done.


I’ve come to realize that the tighter my schedule is packed, the more I get done. It’s frustrating to have things left on my list at the end of the day, however when I step back and look at the bigger picture, I can see the benefits of “over promising”.


What we need to do is to rethink the terminology. To come up with different words that better serve our purpose. To be our most productive selves we need to push ourselves beyond our existing boundaries without lying to others or ourselves.


We need to keep our promises.


This is where things get difficult. How can we grow and do more, if we don’t push against the walls and move them out?

 

“I don’t think we have any choice. I think we have an obligation to change the rules, to raise the bar, to play a different game, and to play it better than anyone has any right to believe is possible.”


Seth Godin

 

Be careful to be true and honest, keep your promises to yourself and others as you continue to raise the bar of expectation.

One of the Biggest Issues in Business Is Over Promising

 

 

 

 

Why in the World Do We Do This and What Are We Going to Do About It?

 

 

I received a phone call from a gentleman asking about a problem he was having with a leaking metal roof on his shop building. As normal when confronted by a situation like this I began asking questions.

 


Early in the conversation I found out some important pieces of information. First, he thought he had called his contractor neighbor. Second, they live almost a hundred miles away. I pointed out the distance and unlikeliness of my coming that far to do a project.

 


This didn’t stop him from needing answers to questions.

 

 


As the conversation continued, he shared about his problem and I (being the solution seeking contractor that I am) continued to discuss his situation with him. Then I found myself looking for ideas to solve his problems, all the time thinking to myself, why are you doing this when you know he’s so far away and you’re already doing too much.


Near the end of the discussion, I agreed that if he would send me some pictures and a written description of what the problems were, I would give him an estimate…strictly from a consulting perspective of course.

 


You know you have too much to do. Why did you do that?

 


As we ended the conversation, I told him that I was busy and would get him something as quick as I could. He proceeded to tell me a story about several experiences he had with people in the construction industry that had made promises and then not kept them. He asked why this happens? I’ve asked myself this question many times.


The question of over promising is rampant. I know that in my business it raises its ugly head daily, whether it’s sub-contractors, suppliers, IT people, mechanics or my own schedule. I certainly believe that most of the situations of over promising that I experience are not done from a place of malice. That doesn’t change the fact that it’s still being done.


Why does over promising continue and what am I going to do about it?


 

Maybe this isn’t the right question. Andy Andrews says that “The quality of your answers is determined by the quality of your questions.” I’m thinking that maybe my question isn’t very good.

 

 


This is a big issue, as you can see from these previous posts.

Over Promising Is Easy When You Have A Servant’s Heart
5 Ways to Stop Over Promising and Under Delivering
How to Create Realistic Expectations for Customers – Part 1
Honesty Is the Best Policy – I Don’t Care How Hard It Is

 

 

I’m not going to stop looking for an answer to this question.

 

 

How To Stop The Time Monster From Eating Up All Your Time

 

 

 

By Being Selfish and Not Letting It Have Any

 

 

The time monster will chew up our time if we let it. He gobbles it up as soon as it’s available and doesn’t leave anything but crumbs. This is one case when it’s okay not to share.


Don’t let the time monster have any of your time.


Last week’s solution was about ways the monster eats up your time. I concluded by pointing out that it’s up to me to manage my time, just like it’s up to you to manage yours. Let’s look at how we can get control of the time monster.


The first thing is to acknowledge that there is a monster. Pretending that he’s not out there won’t work. Closing your eyes and putting your hands over your ears doesn’t make the monster any less real. He’s out there and he likes the taste of time.


Next, we have to recognize it. Time monsters come in different sizes and shapes, see last week’s post. Each of our monsters are different. If you’re going to do battle with your monster you need to know what it looks like so that you can protect your time.


Once you recognize it and see how big it is, it’s natural to want to turn around and run. Don’t be overwhelmed by the size of the monster.


When dealing with a big hairy time monster the best weapon is a snowball.

 


The intentional, continuous, focus of small actions over time will bring the monster down. The process, known as the “snowball effect”, is the accumulation of small things upon small things until they become a big thing, like a snowball rolling down a hill.


The snowball effect works the same on time as it does on anything.


Small segments of time used wisely over and over add up to big savings. Saving a minute here and a few seconds there add up over time. If we save five minutes every hour, twelve times per day, we end up with an hour that the monster didn’t get. If you add that hour to another the next day and do that five times a week for a year the time saving snowball would be 260 hours. The monster is not going to like that.


We can’t imagine our little snowball having any effect on that big hairy time monster. At first it doesn’t appear that it does, but if we keep after it, it will. Those little wins add up. Being able to see each of these little wins give us an opportunity to celebrate. The more celebrating, the more winning, the more winning, the more celebrating.


This leads to another nice thing that happens when that snowball rolls downhill, it picks up momentum. This is another benefit of good time management. The better we get at spending time wisely the more wisely we spend time.

 

There are a lot of different ways to spend time and how you spend yours is up to you. The important thing here is to realize that you control the snowball. The only way to get control of our time monsters is to just do it.

 

 


If you take care of the minutes, the hours will take care of themselves.

 

How to Be More Intentional About Being on Time to Meetings with Myself

 

 

 

My Time Is Just as Important As Anyone Else’s

 

Scheduling and planning accurately are a difficult (practically impossible) thing to get right. This includes not keeping appointments with ourselves. I don’t know about you, but I’m much more intentional about being on time to a meeting with someone else…not so much when I’m meeting with me.


We’ve all been given a limited amount of time; we need to spend it wisely!


How we choose to spend our time is going to vary for each of us. What we spend it on is not the issue. The problem is not a lack of time, it’s a lack of control. Why is it that if we have a day full of meetings and appointments we can make it to all of them on time, but if we fill our day with tasks and projects that don’t involve anyone but ourselves we are running late after the first thing?


Here are three major things that can cause schedules to go wrong:


Things take longer than planned – We have all experienced things taking twice as long, or more, to do than we expected. This is called the Planning Fallacy. This is a phenomenon in which predictions about how long something will take to complete is underestimated. Parkinson’s Law is when we underestimate the time needed as a way of accomplishing more. If I think something should take four hours and then tell myself that I can do it in two, I will get it done faster than if I tell myself I have all day, even if it still takes five. We focus more and work harder when there’s a deadline.

 


Too many things on the list – This is another common problem. Most of us have said yes to too many things. There are so many good things that we need or want to do. The more things we think about the harder it is to focus on one thing. This, like the previous point, pushes us harder to get the things on the list done, even though we know we won’t be able to do them all. Having too many things on the list leads me to the next cause for schedules to go wrong.

 


Distractions and interruptions – Our busy lives are full of these, whether self-inflicted or from outside sources. In this fast-paced digital age, there has never been more opportunities to be distracted. The previous two things are more internal than this one. It doesn’t mean that we don’t have any control, it just means that it often comes from outside sources. These can play havoc on our schedules if we allow them.


You can choose to manage your time better or not…it’s up to you.

 

Managing how I spend my time is up to me. If I’m going to manage it better, first I have to decide that’s what I want to do. Second, I need to consider who I am and what works best for me. Third will require developing a system that works for me.


The flexibility of a digital calendar is nice, but I’ve noticed recently that it’s much easier for me to move things back when it’s a meeting with myself rather than someone else.

 


There’s no perfect system for scheduling and planning, but my time is as valuable as anyone’s. I need to be intentional about how I spend it and be on time to the meetings I’ve scheduled with myself.


It’s up to me!

 

Links to similar Solutions:

How to Live A Well-Balanced Life

How to Get Your Puzzle Pieces to Fit

How to Achieve Your Desired Life Results