Make Your Office 'Green' (Part I)

Now some may assume the title of this post is in reference to transitioning your office to a more environmentally friendly place and protecting the eco-system with your work space. Not to disappoint, but this will be about something more immediate and likely more crucial for your personal future than using your sleeve in lieu of Tissues or working from candlelight instead of using that 75 watt bulb or trying to connect that hamster-powered generator to your laptop. This ‘Green’ is in regards to one of life’s most critical sources of power: the Greenback- our very own US Dollar.

As of late, for many people, it has become increasingly difficult to generate revenue for their company, which often times directly affects them on a personal level as well. There are any number of actions we can take and things we can do to be more productive and help our company (and therefore ourselves) be more profitable. So please, think and come up with these on your own and more importantly, implement them! But to give you a start, I am going to take this week and the next couple weeks to offer several thoughts on increasing the revenue you generate for your company and how to ‘Make your office Green’.

This week, I will focus on two simplistic but very effective ways to accomplish our task at hand.

First: New Business Development. Now some may think this is up to the marketing department or to the VP of Business Development; well, it’s at least in part up to you! New business is NOT just business from new clients; it is new business, period. This comes (and should be in large part) from old and current customers. To do this, it doesn’t mean simply ‘not neglecting’ them, it means diligently serving them, following up, and following through- ensuring that they are not just satisfied, but are happy.

Remember that getting new business from past or existing customers saves a lot of marketing dollars, and it is much quicker as you don’t have to start from scratch. They are (or should be) already sold on you and the services/products you offer. Due to this, it should be much easier for you to glean new business from them. Nurture those relationships and always strive to under-promise and over-deliver!

Likewise, always be looking for new clients- even if it isn’t in your personal job description. If you have done a good job with past customers, you have earned the right to ask for referrals of new clients from them. The power and reach of the Internet is both extensive and ever-growing; so network on there in the many facets that are readily available, and extend your company’s breadth by getting the word out to others.

Second: Work Smart. This has much to do with being effective and efficient. The mantra of working hard from the last generation still resonates- and for good reason; but it is all but futile if not combined with working smart. I am right-handed, so for me to write notes left-handed would be hard work- but similarly less-effective, less efficient, and much dumber for me to do.
Many know the basic principles of time management, so I won’t reiterate all of them here; but if you know them, DO THEM! Identify your priorities, focus on them first, and complete them. When the biggest stumbling block to efficiency and effectiveness rears its ugly head (that would be distractions and disruptions), remain focused! Allot yourself appropriate breaks at certain points along the way to completion (not random times throghout the day), and embrace every distraction you can at that time.

Also, don’t just do things the way you always have. It is too easy to get into a habit of accomplishing tasks the same way every time. The result is the same- and probably good; but often times there is a faster (and sometimes easier) way to do that if we put some thought into what we must do and how to get from Point A to Point Z. Plus, doing this gets those mental juices flowing and bodes well for additional creativity; it adds a little newness and diversity to our rote daily tasks.

Thanks for reading; until next Friday,

Jason Weaver
Executive Search and Placement
Jason@ESandP.net