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Breaking the Inertia and Old Workplace Systems

Breaking the Inertia of Current Life

The implementation of transformative business practices and increased digital processes have been a direct result of COVID-19. At breakneck speed, a significant change has occurred in the way we work, and it is frankly long overdue. The traditional workplace systems have pivoted, and as employee safety continues to be our priority, we have transitioned to remote, or hybrid models and become proficient in videoconferencing, adopting better methods of communication, task tracking, and collaborative team practices.

Current Economic Environment

We know that it has understandably not all been smooth sailing through COVID; however, people and companies have adapted by changing their workplace systems. We will continue to be in a state of flux until a vaccine is available and need to ensure that we implement sufficient measures to retain and improve our company culture for our employees. Many employees miss the in-person day to day interaction, helpful side-bar conversations, and the energy that comes from working in a physical space together. On the flip side, McKinsey’s research has indicated that ’80 % of people questioned enjoy working from home. Forty-one percent say that they are more productive than before and 28% that they are as productive.’

 

Workplace Systems

What To Do Now

It is now time to focus on rethinking the way we work, reinventing the business structure, removing unnecessary boundaries, and reshaping the way we attract, develop, and retain talent.

 

 

Ten questions for you to ponder:

  1. Reimagine how you can improve your workplace systems. What work is essential in-person, and what can be done remotely for the long term?
  2. How can you reinvent your workplace and redefine your physical business space?
  3. How will you ensure that company culture remains a priority?
  4. How will you create an excellent experience for employees, whether they are on-site, remote or working in a hybrid model?
  5. Will providing the option of remote, or hybrid hires increase your talent pool?
  6. What additional safety precautions should you provide in addition to social distancing, wearing masks, hand-washing stations, and restricted entry and exit protocols?
  7. Can you improve the utilization of flex office space?
  8. What level of employee upskilling, training and support is required for employees?
  9. How can you improve or integrate seamless online and in-person collaboration?
  10. How can you utilize technology and data in your organization to speed up decision making?

Workplace Systems

 

 

Leaders are breaking the inertia; many have implemented significant changes as a direct result of COVID. These changes have resulted in a ‘reset,’ or ‘unblocking’ of stagnant ways, and the ability to indeed lead with a visionary focus.

Get in Touch

If you need help breaking some of your long-standing Workplace Systems issues, developing your team, or planning the next best steps to take within the organization, please email askme@jennyreilly.com or book a 15-minute complimentary strategy session directly on

 

Workplace Systems

 

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Small Business Owners – Know Your Numbers in Four Easy Steps

Small Business Finances

Finances are at the top of mind as many small business owners are now at the stage where they can regroup and have the energy to reassess their financial situation after dealing with the aftereffects that COVID-19 has had and continues to have on businesses.  Understanding your numbers is not exactly an exciting task to add to your ‘to do’ list, however, keeping an eye on these figures will help attain a realistic view of your business and determine what the future may hold.

 

The numbers are one area that tend to receive the least attention in small businesses. Having an understanding, learning more, and setting up simple processes to give you an overview of the numbers quickly will help you keep an eye on what is driving your business.  It will help you tweak activities, pivot where necessary and focus on that aspect of your business that needs the most of your attention.small business

 

Getting your small business financial house in order this upcoming quarter is an excellent objective. Being informed will help you feel more confident about your financials, promptly pay vendors and suppliers and focus on getting your working capital back to targeted levels.

 

Understanding the Basics

As we enter our third quarter this week on July 1st, it is time to get back to the basics and carefully examine numbers. As a small business owner, I appreciate that your days are full of endless activities required to keep your business running. At the end of the day, the last thing you feel like doing is looking at your financials; however, I cannot stress enough how important this activity is to your business’s success. Even though you probably have an accountant and bookkeeper to assist with your taxes and payroll, it is your responsibility to understand the basics to help you keep your business in the black. Blocking off a couple of hours per week, preferably at a time when you are at your best will help you keep track of the critical financial figures you need to know, what is being spent and what potentially can be trimmed or cut. Before looking at the recommended tasks at hand, an overview of simple terms may be of assistance.

 

Cash Flow: Your operating cash flow provides an overview of your business. Subtract your operating expenses from the money your small business generates. Your accountant can help you work out the depreciation of your net income for working capital, receivables and inventory. If your operating cash flow is more than your cash outflow, you are operating in the black. If this is not the case, it is time to take a deep dive into reviewing your income and expenses. Every month, you need to have the cash flow to meet your monthly payments.

 

Net Income: This is your net earnings and profit. From your income, subtract your expenses and taxes (do not include depreciation); this will provide you with a quick indicator if you are earning or losing money.

small business

Profit and Loss: Your P&L statement provides a snapshot of your sales and revenue minus expenses. I would suggest you look at your P&L weekly, monthly, quarterly and annually. Keeping on top of this can be a great motivator in setting focused direction, making plans for the future and setting short- and long-term goals.

 

Sales: The most critical activity in a small business is sales. Through COVID, companies tend to have fallen into two categories being thriving or surviving. Ensuring you keep a close focus on numbers can help you work out where you have to pivot in the company to increase your sales numbers. Your sales numbers help you determine if you are on an upward or downward trajectory. Your reaction time on the trajectory is essential in keeping the business running.

 

 

 

Price Point: Knowing your price point is critical in small businesses. This is where you know how much it will cost to purchase a good, and then at what point to sell it to make a profit. What is often neglected when working out a price point is the cost of overhead expenses (e.g. utilities payroll and tax).

 

Gross Margin: This is also referred to as gross profit; it reflects how much money remains after the actual cost of merchandise is deducted from the selling price. If this figure is too low, it will not be sufficient to cover your operating expenses (e.g. salaries, rent, utilities, marketing…). It may also indicate that you are not charging enough for your services or products.

 

Total Inventory: Inventory is something that has to be looked at a minimum every week. This will help you determine your sales process problems and fix them before you encounter adverse effects such as excess inventory, storage costs, potential waste, and reduced profits.

executive coach Vancouver

Your Recommended Tasks:

Knowing your numbers will give you an advantage, you will have a better understanding of your story behind the numbers, and it can lead to being one of the most crucial components of your planning for long term success:

 

 

Step 1: Start by assessing how much money you have in your business account, and then list the amounts of your business credit card, line of credit, loans, and outstanding bills. The objective is to know how much money you have at the commencement of the third quarter and your debt load.

 

small businessStep 2: List all of your monthly expenses in two columns. One for reoccurring monthly expenditures and the other for one-off costs. This will also allow you to review reoccurring monthly costs and see if there is anything that can be cut or reduced. For every line item, ask yourself if the spend at this time is necessary. Notate the withdrawal date of the expense and from what account monthly. For your monthly reoccurring expenditures, if any are related to subscriptions or memberships, ensure you document cancellation or renewal dates to keep on top of the decision to make if continuation is required.

 

Step 3: Highlight staff member related expenses. Again, assess if each of the costs is necessary.

 

Step 4: Project revenue over the next six months, subtract the money you have right now and divide your revised monthly expenses for six months. The amount will be your runway, and it is essential to know what you have if you need it. This will also motivate you over the next six months to adjust your expenses even more and help you focus on what you need coming in.

coaching Vancouver

What do your numbers tell you about your business?

Measure everything in your business to monitor progress including revenue, expenses, and customer acquisition costs.

 

 

Need Help?

All small businesses should have advisors to help them develop, plan and execute their business strategies. If you need coaching assistance or support during this process, please reach out to me. Book a free 15-minute strategy session here.

 

I am also happy to pass on an excellent recommendation for accounting and bookkeeping services in Vancouver, my go-to for small businesses is JWL Accounting.

 

Enjoy getting to know your numbers.

 

Make it a great week,

Jenny

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COVID-19 = Transformative Professional and Personal Change

COVID-19 Changes

COVID-19 restrictions were put in place near eight weeks ago in Vancouver. During this time, our doctors, nurses, paramedics, and medical staff have been working tirelessly, saving lives, and caring for those infected. The 7 pm cheer, hearts displayed on house and apartment windows, and posters along routes to hospitals are visually demonstrating the community’s sincere gratitude and support to our medical community.

 Professional and Personal Changes

We have all been affected in some way professionally or personally by the pandemic. We have moved through stages as we navigate the pandemic from immediate crisis management to practicing social distancing, working remotely, and climatizing to our new conditions. We have had to redefine priorities and critical areas of importance, for many, re-boot our businesses, pivot our services and products, and execute strategy quickly and to the best of our resources. How we worked before COVID-19 will not be how we work in the future. This crisis is acting as a catalyst for many to pivot direction. It is and continues to be a period of transformation and fluid change.

 Mental Health

How we turn up to work, greet, work with, and are present in our jobs is now different. We have felt exacerbated levels of stress through the pandemic, and mental health and wellness practices have taken on a new level of acknowledgment as we encourage our teams and colleagues to take care of themselves and their families. Eat better, sleep well, exercise, meditate, and stay healthy as the ramifications of the pandemic will be endured for many months to come.

 For Leaders

Leaders, be kind to yourself, you have been managing your human capital remotely, and the energy that is taking is immense. The increase in communication, the cadence of contact and the time taken as you help individuals cope during this period have been significant. On top of that, you have your day-to-day professional responsibilities, pivoting work practices while paying attention to the bottom line, and for many simultaneously balancing family and relationship roles on the home front.

 Elevated Support

My clients are from a range of industry sectors, and all have focused on elevated employee communication and support. Checking in on how individuals are coping personally, being transparent as new information comes to light, and clear on direction and the next best steps to take. Morning zoom huddles focused team meetings, and the integration of an online social connection, for many being virtual happy hours, has been essential to bolster individual and team spirit. Zoom meeting malaise or fatigue has set in for some, so focus on meeting practices has been emphasized. Each meeting must have an agenda and plan, and required pre-reading is sent in advance to enable thoughtful discussion and action item focus.

 Questions to Consider

The coronavirus pandemic has left us with health and economic challenges; however, it also provides the opportunity to evaluate deeply, refocus, pivot, and plan for an optimistic future.

 

I encourage you to answer the following questions:

  1. What have you learned about yourself since the pandemic commenced?
  2. What is now clear to you that is important personally and professionally?
  3. Post COVID-19 what are you going to stop doing, keep doing, and START doing?
  4. What is your story going to be post COVID-19? What do you want to focus on and achieve, and how are you going to ensure you execute the required strategy to do so?

 

Stay healthy, stay focused, and stay safe.

 

If you would like to continue the conversation, please reach out to me at jenny@jennyreilly.com.

 Medical Field Coaching

If you are or know of a health care worker who has been working on the front line who would benefit from a coaching session, please let me know. I am gifting five coaching sessions weekly to those in the medical field.

 

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2020 It Is Your Year!

We all have great intentions at the beginning of a New Year, the first day of the first month brings the promise of starting with a clean slate. Don’t be like the estimated 40 percent of North American’s who make New Year’s resolutions, of which only eight percent achieve. Instead, design a well thought out professional and personal roadmap for your success in 2020.

Now I know you may want to earn more, lose those extra few pounds gained over the festive period, have more time with family, travel someplace exotic, etc.…so do I!  Unfortunately, these generic statements don’t make things happen, so let’s give it a real try this year and be more focused and intentional on what we want to achieve in 2020 and how we are going to spend our time.

There is real value in setting aside time to first reflect on the past year:

  1. What did you accomplish in 2019 that you are really proud of?
  2. What worked well for you in 2019?
  3. What did not work well? Do you intend to improve in this area, or simply cut this action/process in 2020?
  4. What would you like to be doing more of in 2020?

My 2020 Professional and Personal Plan is my roadmap, it is something that I will often review, consists of 10 professional and personal goals and required action under each goal that I plan to focus on in the upcoming 12-months. My morning routine involves a quick review of my goals, and I define three action items daily to move goals forward. I review again at the end of the week and the quarter. I am not frightened to pivot if something is not working; as an entrepreneur and small business owner, the ability to move quickly, pivot, change, and adapt is necessary. My goals or action items often do change throughout the year. If something is not working, I pivot. Don’t feel tied to what you are writing down, it may need to be tweaked, and it is your plan, so you can change it as often as you feel necessary.

Time to write down your 2020 Professional and Personal Plan in seven easy steps:

STEP 1: Review and reflect. What worked for you and what has not this past year. Of the items that worked, ensure you carry forward these practices in 2020. For those that did not, it is simple, don’t do them again.

STEP 2: Think Big. Now is the fun part. Set a timer for at least 10 minutes but no longer than 50. Now, write down without judgment or doubt any professional or personal goal you have for 2020. Open your mind and write; keep writing until your timer goes off. When I do this exercise, I write each of my goals on a separate post-it note; this makes it easier to categorize and shortlist. It also provides an easy visual for the next steps required to make great things happen.

STEP 3: Categorize. Of your long list, categorize and group the items into seven to ten personal and professional goals. Write your goals in the past tense as though you have already achieved them – this will keep you motivated when you are planning the tasks for each goal. This step may initially feel overwhelming, but trust me, what usually occurs is that many of the items you brainstorm end up being actual tasks within an overriding goal.

Think of the Pareto Principle, also known as the 80/20 Rule. The rule suggests that 80 percent of your results will come from 20 percent of your effort. After categorizing your goals determine the top 20 percent that will provide you the best return on your time, then you’re ready for the next step.

STEP 4: List Tasks. Now write down the tasks necessary under each goal. Writing the tasks down in order will assist you in setting timelines and prioritizing what you do first, second, third, etc. The important thing here is to take the first step, and this will enable you to move forward and gain momentum. For each goal, define at minimum the first five tasks that you will complete.

STEP 5: Set 90 day/Quarterly Targets. Assign your goals to quarter time frame periods (i.e., January – March, April – June, July-September, and October-December). Many of your goals may span the entire year. Allocate tasks to quarter periods, and this will provide you with a visual roadmap to follow in 90-day increments.

STEP 6: Schedule Time. Set a dedicated, uninterrupted time every morning to work on your defined goals. Diarize time in your schedule to make this happen – you just need to prioritize it, schedule it, and start. Simple!

STEP 7: Change your Mental Focus. Make the mental shift to focus on your identified goals and simply DO. By making the simple shift of thinking of goals within 90-day windows and by setting aside specified, concentrated time to work on your goals, I guarantee you will have increased performance, productivity and experience better results in 2020.

Are you as excited about 2020 as I am? It is going to be a GREAT year!

I have completed my roadmap for 2020 and am excited about the stretch goals I have set professionally and personally.

How is your 2020 looking?

If you are stuck, I would be happy to jump on a brief 15-minute zoom connection with you to help you prioritize your roadmap for success in 2020. Send me a message and I will be happy to coordinate with your schedule.

Happy New Year! 

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It is good to feel good!

Yes, we all have days, sometimes weeks, where we may hit a drudgery zone. I prefer to feel good rather than bad, don’t you? I prefer to be productive, have a plan, and be making a difference rather than feeling stuck. Even in the most complicated circumstances, I am always thinking about the next best steps to take. Even if it is a small step, it provides momentum and the ability to move forward.

I have had three separate in-depth conversations this week around professional and personal engagement. The challenges of individuals on the professional and personal front have been difficult, stressful, and not predictable. In these situations, it did not matter if the individual was an entrepreneur or employee, nor their level, profession, or industry sector.

Although an individual may have the technical know-how or academic background to do their job well, if a positive mindset or good habits are not present, it is tough to overcome challenging periods. There is little to no training in mindset and not enough provided on professional work ethic in an academic setting; these traits are attained through practical training and exposure to others that have the strength and know-how to achieve, maintain and retain a positive mindset.

I read an interesting HRB article on engagement and a study this week from The ADP Research Institute, entitled The Global Study of Engagement: Technical Report 2019. Many of the factors referenced for professional engagement, I also believe, mirror what is required for personal engagement on the family front and within relationships.

Productivity, focus, and satisfaction levels require effort. Some of these points may resonate with you:

  • If you are not receiving the feedback you need, don’t wait for it, step up and ask for it.
  • If you do not have the required skill set to do your job more effectively or life skills to deal with a situation, then seek them out. Utilize training and if it is not available, seek it out personally. The free training and development resources available online through edX, the Khan Academy, TED Talks, and YouTube are extensive. As Marya Angelou said “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
  • Work at developing trust; it does not just occur. If trust is broken, accept it and move on.
  • Be very conscious about your level of communication and work at it. Don’t assume that others know what you are trying to say. Verbal and written communication skills need continual development.
  • Demonstrating full presence is challenging, with all the distractions we have thrown at us daily. Consciously be attentive and develop personal activators for every interaction to ensure that you are present.

What can you do this week to feel better professionally and personally?

#jennyreillyconsulting #engagement #productivity #leadership #positiveattitude

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