Time Management for Effective Meetings

Hello, welcome to another Biz Whiz Blog, I'm Becky McKinstry owner of Open Lines Training. 

Time management is an elusive intangible hard to get a grasp on concept when it comes to managing meetings. I would like to share some ways that will help you grab some of that intangible air so you save time, get more done and create measurable results. If you can incorporate a few good habits when it comes to meetings, you will feel more in control of your time and get more done. If you are running effective meetings, your time management skills impact you and everyone attending the meeting so you want excellent skills in this department. 

So how can you use time wisely when it comes to organizing meetings and helping everyone stay on the same agenda? You can accomplish this by following a few basic rules so you get more done, become great at delegating responsibilities and create timely follow-up steps for those time sensitive projects. You will also make a habit of setting an agenda, holding others accountable to their commitments and cutting down on the number of meetings you need to have.

To run an effective meeting in person or on the phone, set the tone of the meeting by sharing with each participant what their involvement will be ahead of time. Clearly explain what they will need to bring to the meeting, what you would like to accomplish and who else will be involved.  Next discuss how much time the meeting will take, the location or call-in number of the meeting and the follow up steps. A few of these details may change for the follow up but you have taken the time to set the expectation and have built a strong foundation for the meeting and the follow up. 

You can avoid having multiple meetings by taking time to prepare up front. If you spend a lot of your time in meetings, you know how much time can be wasted if people are not prepared. Rather than being frustrated from the lack of results, incorporate these meeting tools to make meetings productive, less time consuming and more fun.

This works with every meeting whether you are in charge or not and will save you hours  every week. You can create an effective meeting that allows you to have a clearly defined goal. If you are being ask to attend a meeting, ask a few questions before committing your time. These questions could sound something like: What will I need to bring with me, what will I be responsible for and what would you like to accomplish by the end of the meeting.

If you take a few minutes to learn more about the reason for the meeting, it gives you the option to opt-out if you find out there is not a real need for you to participate. Someone else may think you need to be there but with a little discussion you may have saved yourself some of that valuable time that has a habit of slipping quietly away. Following a meeting agenda allows you to be more productive, helps you track projects more effectively and you get more done working with people who need to be directly involved. 

Promise yourself you will be a responsible meeting guru and surprise your team with amazing meeting management skills.

For additional business building tools, visit www.openlinestraining.com.

Until next time..... 

Just Pick 3

Are your calendar and to-do lists overflowing to the point of overwhelm?  It's easy to convince ourselves that all the things we think we have to do, we have to do right now.  Although multi-tasking is truly necessary sometimes, in reality the things that have the biggest impact on our goals take some concentrated focus to the exclusion of all other distractions.

What are the tasks that are directly connected to reaching your goals?  Pick 3 a day that have the greatest opportunity to impact your bottom line and focus intently on doing those 3 things first.  Block time, turn off your phone and email, stay away from Facebook until you can cross those items off your list.

Get clear on what your priorities really are.  Is it essential for you to get in front of prospects?  Block time to make appointments.  Are close-in opportunities hanging because you need to follow up with more information?  Do it.

You'll feel more productive and less overwhelmed when you deal with what's essential first.  You might even find that you can eliminate some items off your to-do list all together.

What's Your "Why"?

Have you stopped to think lately why you’re in the business you’re in?  What is the pull about what you do that keeps you going when times are tough?

Having a strong “why” is the very foundation of success in business and in life.  It gives us focus, conviction, strength and courage to overcome objections, take action and go the distance.  The “why” makes the hard things easier and brings a sense of joy and accomplishment to make the victories sweeter.

So, what’s your “why”?  It needs to be more than just earning a paycheck and paying the bills.  What does success look like to you?  How does success enrich your life, and empower you to share with the people you love or the causes close to your heart?   What’s your BIG DREAM?  Write it down.

Being clear on your “why” will simplify goal-setting and priorities.  Shift your focus to the activities that are directly connected to your picture of a successful life!

Community for Treasure Valley Women in Business

Treasure Valley
Women in Business
Growing in Harmony…

Standing for Each Other

Does the idea of connecting with other women business owners to share experiences, compare notes and support one another’s growth appeal to you?

Open Lines Training is excited to offer Treasure Valley Women in Business (TVWIB), an exciting new membership forum for the purpose of helping each other strategize, stay balanced, strengthen our foundations and achieve success on terms that don’t compromise who we are. 

This is not a leads group, but rather a community.

Join us!  Space is limited to the first 20 women who register. 

When:
Monthly on the 3^rd Wednesday
Beginning May 16, 2012
3-5pm

Where:

ICON Credit Union

485 W. Overland Rd., Meridian 83642

Cost:

$49.99 per month
Refreshments Provided

Register today!  Click here.

Strategies for More Productive Networking

Have you ever left a networking event feeling like you’ve been assaulted? It’s an awful feeling to be smothered in schmooze, or dealt flying business cards ala drive-by style, or product dumped-on.  All of this by people you don’t even know!  It’s our civic and professional responsibility to stop the madness before it goes any farther!

Let’s get back to basics, shall we?  What’s the point of networking anyway?  Networking is about making meaningful connections with like-minded people.  It should not be viewed as isolated events, but rather a process of building relationships. 

If you get the heebie-jeebies just thinking about attending networking events, you need to connect with yourself first.  People typically behave in unusual ways when they’re uncomfortable or afraid of their environment…a.k.a. “assaulters”.  It definitely takes a respectable level of courage to walk into a room full of people you’ve never seen before and get involved.  I believe things go wrong when we go in with a preconceived notion of how we’re supposed to act instead of being who we are.   We’ve all heard it at one time or another…”just be yourself – everything will be fine.”  So – BE YOURSELF.  Understand how you best communicate and how you get your bearings in unfamiliar territory.  If you like to observe a situation before you jump in, then do that.  If you are more comfortable being introduced around a room, make arrangements in advance to have that happen.   Look for someone you’ve met before and break the ice with that person.  Your comfort level will rise as you acclimate to the situation.

Next, make sure you’re clear about your expectations.  Don’t put undue pressure on yourself or set unrealistic expectations for the outcome.  You’re setting yourself up for disaster and disappointment if you think you’re going to walk away from a networking event with new clients.   Networking is simply the venue, the forum, the opportunity to meet people and begin to build a relationship with them.  It’s up to us to decide which forums suit us and our situations the best, and to discern which relationships we are most interested in building.  This takes time, focus, a sincere interest in and curiosity about others, and a true appreciation for what it takes to earn another’s trust. 

Take some time to set your strategy for networking and devote time consistently to deepening relationships with people you’re connecting with.  You are creating an environment to foster referral business, which grows in value over time!

Showing Up

Did you ever consider how you’re showing up in your life and your business?  They’re connected, you know. 

A couple of weeks ago we talked about the ABC’s of Great Leadership.  How about the ABC’s of Having a Great Life and Business?  Authenticity, belief system and compassion are key components of living a fulfilled life and doing great work. 

Our lives begin in complete authenticity and freedom.  As children we make choices totally based on our own fulfillment.  And then the world happens to us, and we get conditioned to live based on other people’s choices for us.  It’s natural and has to happen to some degree to protect us and so that we can function in society.  At some point, though, we all have to reconnect with ourselves… rediscover ourselves… get back to the core of who we are and choose the beliefs that support the highest and best of ourselves.

I work with small business owners all the time who talk about potential – the business has potential, their staff has potential, this new idea has potential.  Reading between the lines of what isn’t being said, what I hear is “we could be successful if only…..”  I would be rich if only I could win the lottery Saturday night.  Does that kind of thinking help us confidently spring into action, or does it cause us to resist doing anything because we think we aren’t enough, don’t have enough and don’t believe enough to get it done? 

To be authentic and to show up that way, we need only to focus on now and recognize that we have everything we need at this moment to do what we can do today.  Then do it.  We are free to choose a belief system based our growing capacity instead of an “if only” potential mindset.  Show yourself some compassion – accept and love who you are.  You are the only person in the world who can do what you do in the way that you do it. 

When you can show up in your life and your business as the best YOU that you can be, the world will happen for you.

The ABC’s of Great Leadership

"Example is leadership." ~~ Albert Schweitzer

Take a look around our community and, like many other communities, you will see effects of the past few years’ economic conditions.  The question I’d like to pose to you today is how, under the financial stress of recent times, have some companies managed to not only stay alive, but to thrive?  Leadership is the key to what makes or breaks a company.

Having so recently lost one of our own great leaders, Steve Appleton, it’s natural to look at his example.  Micron has certainly not been exempt from hardship.  It’s how Mr. Appleton responded to hardship that made him a great leader.    How many business leaders do you know who have forfeited their own salaries for the good of the company?  That’s just one of a string of examples you could draw from in a discussion of Steve Appleton’s mettle as a leader.

What are the core qualities that separate great leaders from mediocre leaders?  Let’s call these the ABC’s of Great Leadership.

Authenticity:  Great leaders are real people first.  They are secure enough in who they are to surround themselves with talented people who are strong in areas they are weak in.  They lead by example and not a “do as I say, not as I do” mentality.  Great leaders roll up their sleeves and don’t expect their people do things they are not willing to do themselves.

Belief System:  Great leaders operate from a belief system based on integrity.  They know the right thing to do and they do it, even when it’s hard to do.  Great leaders engage in positive reinforcement and encouragement when times are tough.

Compassion:  Great leaders know that the strength of their organizations relies on the strength of their people.  They recognize that we are all people first, workers second.  Great leaders treat people with respect, compassion, courtesy and humanity in all situations.

Great leaders don’t profess to know everything, but they recognize that they have the capacity to learn the right things and assemble the right teams to get the job done.  Every challenge increases their capacity for greatness. 

Are you a great leader?  Do you have the capacity to be one?  Get clear on who you are, what you stand for and how you impact the other people in your organization.  Be the example you want your people to follow.

For a Big Impact on the Bottom Line, Invest in the Top

Climbing the corporate ladder usually results in good performers being promoted into management positions, or people striking out on their own.  In either case, people find themselves in charge of running the show and managing people without necessarily having the training or background to take on the new responsibilities effectively. 

Different skills are needed to motivate people, resolve conflict, translate strategies into action plans and evaluate performance.  These skills don’t come naturally to all people, nor are they developed quickly without guidance.  More and more companies are investing in executive coaching to shorten the learning curve and provide their key staff the tools they need to effectively transition into leadership positions.

When it comes to defining coaching, the International Coach Federation (ICF) states that coaching is about “partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.”   Coaches are trained to provide objectivity and accountability while building on individual and team strengths.  They provide resources in areas that need improvement.  In short, coaching promotes doing and doing impacts business results.

Studies conducted by leaders in organizational development have shown that companies realized significant improvements in productivity, organizational strength, bottom line profitability, customer service and quality, and reduced rates of staff turnover as results of executive coaching.  The value of coaching was considered far greater than the money and time invested.

Invest in your company’s leadership team and watch the bottom line grow!

Matters of the Heart

Running a life gets complicated. Our roles with families, friends, business, health, and community have a tenacity to become a blurred line. Sometimes it feels like we are underwater without much oxygen left. Being pulled in many directions is not productive nor is it very much fun. In matters of the heart, stepping back and evaluating what is most important and eliminating the more stressful aspects of what life throws out will keep you happier and healthier. Taking the time to reflect and qualify the areas that matter most to you will help keep the focus on what adds sanity and stability to a crazy life. Choice is about clarifying what is most important and not depriving or ignoring the people you have life commitments to. Balance, planning and taking a breath will clear the debris from your path and build momentum for the future. Take care of your heart, take care of your life.

Live well.
Becky

What's Bacon Got to Do With It?

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My sweet husband only gets his favorite breakfast on the weekends.  It's not my favorite, but he loves it and I love to make him smile, so I figure over the course of 16 years I've made over 800 bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches.  A nice deli sandwich bun, lightly spread with canola margarine and broiled to a lovely light brown...topped with a hard fried egg covered with shredded cheddar cheese (melted, of course)...finished off with crispy strips of bacon.  Man's favorite food.

Bacon has risen to rock-star status over the last couple of years.  Bacon doughnuts, bacon flavored lip gloss, pork belly this and that all over the Food Network.  So wouldn't you think there would be some quality control?  This is what drives me crazy.

My sister-in-law uses the "dump it all in the pan and it'll work itself out" strategy.  I like to prepare the bacon in the microwave - it's super crispy, not greasy, and I feel it's somewhat healthier, somehow.  But in order for me to achieve bacon perfection, I need to be able to get the dang stuff out of the package in nice, neat little strips.  I've tried every brand...expensive, on-sale, store brand, out of the butcher's case...and still I find skinny little strips mixed in with super thick strips.  Either they won't come apart in the first place, or they don't cook evenly, and my husband's perfect breakfast is spoiled by the expletives coming out of the kitchen.

What would happen to all of us in our businesses if sometimes we did things consistently and sometimes we just cut things a little skinny?  What if the 16 oz. package really didn't hold a pound of bacon?  The latest bacon incident - fresh in my mind because it was just this morning - got me thinking about the parallels.  If there's no quality control in bacon, what's next?  There are whole restaurants focused on bacon - there's one here in Boise.  Wonder if they feel my pain?

I guess the only thing to do is raise my own bacon.  No, that won't work.  I know me. And I could never convince the neighbors it was a bulldog.  What do you feed live bacon anyway?

What About NOW?

It’s hard to believe it’s almost the end of January!  How are you doing with your goals so far this year?  Are you making progress?  Are you feeling stuck?   How are you talking to yourself?

Dictionary.com defines catalyst as “a person or thing that precipitates an event or change”.  Be a catalyst for your own growth! 

Rather than get caught up in thinking about what you don’t have that’s keeping you stuck, focus on the resources available to you right now – today – and use them to your advantage.  Acknowledge your skills and experience.  Remember challenges you’ve overcome in the past.  Stay connected with your support networks and others who are invested in your success.

Most importantly, when limiting thoughts pop up and have you convinced that you can’t achieve your goals, ask yourself this question.  “What evidence do I have today to prove that I can’t?”  I bet there is no concrete evidence.
  

Keeping your focus on what you can do today will help you be a catalyst for positive growth in your own life and the lives of those you touch.  You can do it!

Related articles

• The Catalyst (xtonycz.wordpress.com)
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Review and Change Eliminates Stagnant Quo!

January is a good time to review goals, mission and vision statements. There may be some changes that took place since your last review and some tweaking to be done. Status quo sometimes turns out to be stagnant quo. Are there some things that just are not working for you anymore? What is different in your company or your life this year? When was the last time you inventoried skill sets, products, direction, people and your customer base?  What is working well?  Where do you want to grow? What do you want to change? Start by reviewing one area at a time, taking on too much will stall progress. Read your vision statement, what does it mean to you? Does it still fit the vision of your company and the direction you want to go? Does your mission statement relay a clear message of how you deliver the product or service you provide and what’s most important? Do you feel in sync with the message you display for the world to see? Are your goals aligned with both your vision and mission statement? A good way to avoid stagnation is to take the time to review and update these important tools. 

A toast to getting out of the rut and moving past status quo!

How do you create lasting connections?

Becky McKinstry of Open Lines visited today with Carolyn Holly of KTVB about creating connections to build your business and help your customers build their businesses, too!

Check it out here!

A New Take on SMART Goals

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With the New Year fast approaching, almost everyone I know is thinking about what they want to accomplish next year.  Though few express it, I believe there's a bit of overwhelm in the air as we all go about this ritual of committing to goals that will help us better ourselves, our businesses, our health, our surroundings. Why the overwhelm?  I think we feel overwhelmed at the beginning of the process for the very same reason we find ourselves on the brink of abandoning ship on many of our goals before we accomplish them - they are things we think we SHOULD do and not things that we truly WANT to
do.  Let's turn the overwhelm into overdrive!

What if we made our goals about making shifts that truly build on our strengths and cultivate new habits that support our growth?  What if we kept our thoughts about ourselves positive?  Just because there's something you could do better or something else that you need to start or stop doing altogether doesn't make you a miserable person or a failure if you have to go at it more than once. Be kind to yourself on this journey!

As I'm putting my goals in place for 2012, I've decided to not only make them SMART goals, but to make them energizing goals. I truly want to achieve these goals because they're MY goals - they mean something to me, I know that achieving them will make me feel great and open my mind to fresh possibilities.

Here's a new way to look at SMART goals:

Specific/Simple:  Be specific, but keep it simple.  Don't be tempted to make things more complicated than they need to be.  We can change the world by starting with our own little piece of it. If gaining control over your paperwork happens to be one of your goals, "getting more organized" isn't a goal...it's a wish.  Commit to a system that will help you operate more effectively.  For example, each time you return from a networking event, immediately enter the contact information and pertinent notes for all the people you met into your database.  Then file or toss the cards. No piles of business cards all over your office and wondering why you have them a month later.

Measureable/Meaningful:  Why track something that doesn't have a real impact on your life?  As you think about your sales goals for the New Year, quantify absolutely everything.  How many appointments do you need to gain one new account?  How many new accounts do you need each week to meet your goals for the year?  What will it mean to your life and your business to meet your goals?  Think about all the benefits, not just the monetary ones.  How will your life improve when you're not buried in mounds of paper and worried about what you've forgotten to do?

Attainable/Authentic:  Here's where the SHOULD's should be tossed out the window.  Not only do your goals need to be attainable, but for you to succeed, they need to have heart.  Your heart.  What do you truly WANT?  What will make you feel successful, satisfied, confident, worthwhile?  Authenticity is the key to unlocking your greatness.

Relevant/Rejuvenating:  If your goal is really important to you, you'll find a way to achieve it.  And because you begin with the end in mind, getting there will be half the fun!

Time-Based/Timeless:  Funny about us humans...we're so time-conscious, if we don't give ourselves deadlines, we can just procrastinate ourselves out of doing something.  Either we do it by MM-DD-YY or we assign it the "whenever" designation.  We all know that doesn't work.  Give it a date and make it something that will make an impact well beyond the foreseeable future.  Maybe you want to shed a few pounds or exercise regularly each week or start an IRA.  Achieving those goals can impact your life forever.

I know we can achieve what we really set our minds on!

To Great Success in 2012!


     

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Get Social!

Image by budcaddell via Flickr

Social media continues to rise as a key component of overall marketing strategy.  Great time to get started if you haven't already...chances are your competition has!

Check out this report.

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How to Build a Successful Sales Team

Becky McKinstry, owner and founder of Open Lines Training visited with KTVB's Carolyn Holly today on her "It's Your Business" segment.  Check it out!

Training Your Sales Team

Top 5 Ways to Beat the Holiday Momentum Busters

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Yes, Santa Claus is coming to town, but I highly doubt that his bag is full of new clients for us…no matter how good we’ve been.  Don’t be lulled into believing this is the time of year to slow down and kick back.  This is actually the perfect time to kick your business up a notch or two!

1. Close all the business you can before year-end.  What have you done to make a compelling case for your prospects to see the advantages of buying now?

2. Make sure the pipeline is full going into 2012.  Have you checked in with your existing clients to see how satisfied they are with your product or service?  If there was a problem, did you swiftly and courteously correct it?  Have you asked for referrals?

3. Take an objective look at your systems and processes.  Do they support your business-building efforts?   Are opportunities to provide value and say ‘thank you’ to your client base part of your process?

4. Check your attitude.   How do you respond when you get a ‘no’?  Are you focusing on the right stuff and truly hearing what your clients need?
 
5. Write down your goals and dreams for next year.  What do you need your business to look like in order to create the life you love?
 
Use the last few weeks of this year to your advantage, and start 2012 prepared for the best year ever!

Related articles

• Creating momentum - first think, then ACT (olsonsalesandmarketingservices.wordpress.com)
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The Giver Mentality

Image by betsyweber via Flickr

How do you sell your products and services?

Are you getting the results you want?

Do you work with strategic partners who serve the same target market?

How do you add value?

Do you know how to be a good referral partner?

It all comes down to giving more than you take and focusing on relationships instead of selling.    

Remember to ask people what they need and how you can help them.

Remember to share information with your clients that is pertinent to their business.

Remember to say thank you....
thank you for your business...
thank you for the opportunity to earn your business...
thank you for the referral...
thank you for thinking of me...

ASK

LISTEN

SHARE

APPRECIATE



Related articles

• Build A Quality Referral - Based Business (brooksj.wordpress.com)
• Six golden rules of customer retention (premierlinedirect.co.uk)
• 7 Essential Qualities for Customer Relationship Personnel (smallbizbee.com)

It Doesn't Have to Be So Hard

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I meet with clients all the time who are struggling with the very systems that are supposed to make their lives easier.  They've got CRM's, smartphones, processes, tracking mechanisms, calendars, reminders, you name it...and they still feel more overwhelmed and less organized than ever.  Technology is great, but technology overload can be paralyzing.  The best systems in the world won't work for you if you don't use them.

My suggestion is to stop and take a good objective look at two things:  1) what details are critical for you to manage in order to be productive in your business on a daily basis, and 2) how do you work best?  I'm a visual person, so I need to have my most important tasks and projects right in front of me when I'm working.  I use a combination of high tech and low tech solutions...writing down certain details cements them for me.  Some of my colleagues think it's funny when I break out my old-fashioned planner, but hey, it works for me.

As we all cram more and more into already packed schedules and sometimes cluttered minds, it's important to keep the things that can be simple...simple.

A great friend and mentor of mine shared this tidbit with me some time ago, and it pops up for me almost daily.  Maybe it will help you.  When you're responding to an ever-changing list of shifting priorities, details to be managed and other demands, evaluate them using this criteria:  What's ESSENTIAL?  What's EFFECTIVE?  What's ENOUGH?

Put your energy into what's essential and effective and enough to support your workstyle and business.

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Are you thinking about starting your own business?

 

According to the US Census Bureau, more than 18 million people in the US are self-employed.  But the SBA reports that only about 44% of new businesses survive four years.  Why do most people take the leap into business ownership?  

Given the state of the current employment situation in our country, people who have lost their jobs often feel they would create a better situation for themselves if they were in control.  They are burned out on the restrictions and lack of freedom that most traditional jobs offer.  And the illusion of security, that exists when you work for someone else, is just that…an illusion.  There are no commitments in the “at will” employment community, and benefits that companies once considered a cornerstone of their cultures, are disappearing because of rising costs. Aside from freedom and control, probably the number one reason people decide to start their own business is because they offer a service, or they’ve invented a product that they’re passionate about.  And the only way they can engage in their craft is if they’re independent. Our economy and our psyche are totally ready for the courageous individuals who take the plunge to bring to market their unique take on a service or a new product that could potentially create more revenue to pump up our local larders.

How can they prepare themselves?  They may make the best product, or have the most innovative service and of course, they know their product or service inside out and backwards.  But if they don’t know the business basics, they will end of up part of the 56% that don’t make it beyond four years.  A must read for anyone contemplating starting their own business is The E-Myth Revisited.  Author Michael Gerber explores the difference between working in your business – what you do.  And working ON your business – how you do what you do.  This is the information that not enough of the 18 million take the time to check out, and contemplate, and incorporate into their business plans. 

Yes, you may have invented the next best thing to sliced bread, but if you don’t have systems to run your business…if you don’t have a marketing plan and a method for executing it…if you don’t have a clue how to sell (and the thought of selling makes you feel geechy…), recognize that if you want to be one of the elite 56%, you should first assemble a team of professionals who have the experience and passion to do the things you aren’t trained to do or interested in doing.  So you can continue to invent the next best thing…and the next…and the next.