Tuesday, August 05, 2008

Don't blame the Economy

Please help me welcome guest blogger, Cynthia Kyriazis, of Productivity Partners, Inc. Time Management Guru Cynthia Kyriazis Don't blame the economy... As a professional organizer, time management consultant and certified Coach, I keep busy and in this type of economy I’m VERY busy. I’m usually working on helping someone de-clutter their office, identifying and working on priorities and generally getting people out of their own way. I’ve come to realize my clients basically breakdown into three groups. The first group doesn’t know what to do or how to do it – that’s a matter of education. The second group knows what to do but now how – that’s a matter of training. The third group knows what to do and know how to do it, but they’re not. This is a matter of performance And their performance is based in how they think…which trumps how we behave, because thought comes first. My entire year has been spent working with the third group. Business owners claim business this year isn’t: A) as good as it has been in the past or; B) as good as it could be today because of all the talk of a slow economy. Top and bottom lines aren’t looking healthy and they begin thinking of new ideas. It raises questions about breaking old habits that die hard. Some actually think about what they ‘should’ be doing. Most of the owners I work with have been in business long enough to know what they should be focusing on and consistently doing…they’re just not. Other things get ‘in the way’. They moved away from the basics and their priorities got lost in the fray - assuming they even identified and marched towards those priorities to begin with - and now it’s hurting more than ever before. If business owners aren’t calling me for their own challenges, they are calling about their sales staff. Some sales pros have simply gotten into old, non-productive habits over the years yet have continued to make their quota, but their old approach isn’t working so well anymore. Those who want to cherry pick accounts no longer have that luxury. And those who are too young to have ever worked in a slow economy are listening to everyone and everything. Result? Less sales. No sales. Enormous ‘head trash’—I realize not a very technical term, but you get the point. They have let their thoughts sabotage their ability to do what they need to do in order to get what they need to get…more sales, the ability to earn and living and keep their job. They have quit focusing on basics and started focusing on fear. So if you’re thinking that this economy is to blame, I would suggest that it’s just another challenge we face in the business of life. Go back to basics, identify priorities, keep the gremlins at bay and see what happens. ©2008 Cynthia Kyriazis
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