Office Clutter…time to take it seriously

Okay, I will admit we all have different work styles.  I myself, prefer order.  A place for everything and everything in it’s place.  I like lists…lists of things to do, lists of things I want do…lists.  A way to keep order and compensate for my horrible short term memory.

Still, I occasionally go into client’s offices and what I see is nothing short of a natural disaster.  It looks like a funnel cloud ransacked the place.  Piles of papers, files, post it notes, magazines, books…you get the picture.  And enviably, they tell me, “but I work best in chaos” and to that, I say…what a crock!

Noboby works well in that kind of situation and let me tell you what I believe the biggest reason for this is (in my opinion)…it’s overwhelming, it’s depressing, it’s a big reason that so many people become “frozen” by their daily work and can’t make any progress.

Additionally, when you keep files and loads of paper in your office, you reduce the efficiencies in your office by slowing down retrieval and access by your staff or yourself to documents you need.  They are not where they should be and subsequently, this slows down the flow of work, sometimes to a crawl as you and/or your staff take precious time to search for what they need, many times that being one piece of paper.

Here is a link to a book on amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/Office-Clutter-Cure-Don-Aslett/dp/1593373325/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1248962895&sr=8-1# that for $9.95 will walk you through decluttering your office space (and along the way address your excuses for not doing so and the rewards of completing this task).

It might not sound important but it is!  It can, in extreme cases, have a large impact on how much you and your staff get accomplished and feel about your workspace and in very extreme cases, cause a compliance nightmare or something to be dropped or poorly handled for a client.

Now get moving!

Call me if I can assist…Ginny

Town Hall Meetings…yes, they really work

In many of my posts this year, I have talked about how important it is to be a resource for your clients, your strategic alliances and your community. 

I recently spent some time on the phone with another coach who is writing a follow up article for one of the advisor magazine’s regarding what is working in this market as far as growing your practice.

We both agreed that Town Hall Meetings are a great way to connect with clients and prospective clients right now. Why?  Because the game has changed and getting new clients is going to require a higher level of trust and comfort than at any time in our history (and this isn’t going to go away for some time if ever).

So what exactly is a Town Hall Meeting?  In my definition, it involves about 7 or 8 couples (about 15 to 20 folks at the most) in a private setting asking you questions, getting answers from each other, talking about what is worrying them with you as the central glue that provides information, keeps the discussion going and allows everyone to voice their opinions, thoughts, fears, etc.

I know there are alot of marketing folks out there that advocate getting speakers or you doing a presenation but honestly, I think that has been “so done” and people are not going to spend their already short amount of time listening to one more presentation.  They want to be able to talk about what’s important to them and have you there as a resource, to answer questions when you can and if you can’t, find out the answer and get back to them.

If you’re interested in this kind of get together, send me an email.   I have a template invitation and can help you with some tips on pulling this together.

Let me know how it goes!

Get over it…

I am frequently amazed when I work with advisors and we begin a discussion of their personal goals, most of the time which include working less hours and then they say to me “Oh, I can’t cut back that much, I’ll be working less than my staff”.  Seriously, this is what they say and I say “Yes?”.

For some reason, you folks have it in your brain you have to be the first one there and last one to leave.  To that, I ask, why are you hiring staff then? 

You are the team’s leader and you have a responsibility to be clear-headed, thoughtful in your actions and forward thinking.  How can you do this if you are always exhausted by working, probably getting very little (or worse, no) exercise AND on top of all of this, during these turbulent markets, worrying about your clients all the time.

TAKE SOME TIME FOR YOURSELF EVERY WEEK!  Take an afternoon off, take time in the middle of day to exercise, read, spend time with your family, whatever but do it away from the office and get over the fact that your staff are there working.  That’s what you are paying them for!

Give it a try and let me know how it goes.