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Ask Jean
Question:
What is the first thing I do when I have to cut back on expenses?
Answer:
Put a financial dictatorship in place. Don't allow any expenses except those that assist production and promotion.
Put a ceiling on those expenses which easily run away with money:
- Phones
- Cell phones (particularly)
- Travel - ensure that all travel is related to either closing sales or production
Question:
Why is it when production is not high - office politics is?
Answer:
When staff produce, their morale is high. When morale is high, people think and act positively.
There's an old, but very true saying - "the devil makes work for idle hands." So keep your staff productive - even if there's a
lag in production, you get the staff unclogging the offices, renovating,
cleaning out old files. Physical work is also good for
non-productive people.
Question
I work long hours but don't seem able to produce anything.
Answer
You will find that you are doing someone else's job or they are creating unnecessary work and preventing you achieving your
products.
Keep a log on your desk and note down who interrupts you and for what reason. Note down whose job you are actually
doing and send the work right back to them.
Note down all the decisions you have to make which someone else should be deciding on.
At the end of the week see whose name appears the most and take the necessary action.
Continue this until you start achieving your production targets.
Question
I constantly find myself doing someone else's job.
Answer: Take a look and see if you are not always bypassing them. For example, if you have given
someone a job to do and he doesn't seem to be getting it done in the expected time:
- do you find out why he is not getting it done, handle that and then let him get it done? --or
- do you just take over the job and do it yourself?
If it's the latter, then you will never have a team of people who just get on with their jobs, as
you jump in when
they hit a difficult point and get it done. So, they just sit back and watch you do it.
The answer: get your staff trained to do the job as well as you do. After all, the only reason you are better than
they are is because you are trained to do it, have the experience, and your intention to get it done is far higher. So get them
trained, let them have the experience and their intention will follow.
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