Recently, I had a conversation about information overload with a local community college instructor named Don. He and I were discussing the various ways I could attack my biggest project – the renaming of my company from “Mattson Business Services, Inc.” to something a bit more exciting, easier to spell, and more descriptive of what [...]
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The point of getting organized shouldn’t be to “fit more in” – this goes for clothes, tasks, files, or email. Organizing just for the sake of “getting organized” is a bit like paddling in circles – you’re creating movement, but you’re not getting anywhere. What’s the point? The most beautifully labeled filing system won’t work [...]
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Linda is 43 years old, a professional business woman who is great at her job in sales and was promoted to manage several offices around the city. She’s risen through ranks of her company using a combination of personality and smarts. But Linda has a secret. It isn’t a big secret, but it does cost [...]
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Carolyn is an overwhelmed small business owner. She’s juggling a dozen clients who each have specific needs, deadlines, and expectations. Unfortunately, Carolyn hasn’t ever sat down to prioritize her client list. I know, I know – “My clients are all equally important,” you say. And in a sense, that’s true. But let’s also look at [...]
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John is a successful small business owner, and like many other small business owners, he wears a lot of hats. John has taken things one step further and has hired an assistant, Jane. He’s heard over and over that there are “non-income-producing tasks” that he shouldn’t be doing. Interestingly, despite his new hire, John is [...]
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Most times, small business owners call me and exclaim breathlessly, “You’ve got to help me get organized!” And it’s true – they are overwhelmed. Buried in papers, files, mail (e- and snail), cords, computer parts, books, newspapers, magazines, and more. And each person wants to launch into “getting organized” by grabbing a trash bag, walking [...]
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Jean is a firecracker of a woman – smart, funny, and really damn good at her job. She’s filled with gratitude to be able to work because an illness a few years ago made her so sick she could barely get out of bed. As Jean recovered from illness over the last two years, she [...]
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About 3 years ago, I started on a quest to change my business and myself. In reality, I was fine and my business was chugging along fine, but I was restless. Unsatisfied. Cranky. I started my business in 2003 because I very tired of the 9-to-5 grind. I was tired of the kind of jobs [...]
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Recently, I met a businesswoman who is, to put it mildly, vastly disorganized. She spends considerable time on manual and repetitive data entry. She’s drowning in email inquiries. She spends a lot of time telling story after story to prove herself “right.” And unfortunately, she continues to be drawn to sexy “time saving” software that [...]
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There are a lot dynamics at work in teams and small businesses. Individual personalities, differing viewpoints and communication styles. A consultant named George called me recently and admitted that he was really frustrated with his administrative team. He kept saying they couldn’t seem to get him the information he needed. That they weren’t engaged in [...]
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