Measurements of Performance

Matrix Key:  Financial Viability - Production and Delivery - Measurements of Performance

"In God we trust...all others bring data." - W. Edwards Deming

In business, you can't just amble along and hope that things are going OK.  The only way to measure your success is to do just that, measure your success.  But what do you measure?  And when?  There are literally hundreds of potential performance measures.  Using the WholeLife Matrix, we divide these measurements into four key areas within your production and delivery system:

1. Management - how do you know if your executive leadership is doing a good job?
2. Company - what do you measure to best showcase your company's financial performance in the marketplace?
3. Individual Job Descriptions - how do you and your employees know what is expected of them?
4. Rewards and Consequences - how do you hold the organization accountable for your measurements of performance?

It's important to develop standards that are relevant to your company and that are challenging,  yet attainable. Too many metrics make the focus of your production on the metrics and not the product.  Too few takes the focus away from "doing it right."  You must take the time to develop a set of performance measures that you can calculate quickly and review often.  You can't win the game of business if you don't have some way of keeping score.

Are you ready to win?

Health & WellBeing - Exercise is a habit

Matrix Key - Health & Wellbeing - Exercise and Fitness

Exercise is one of the best examples of a habit.  You can create a habit, or you can let a habit create you.  When you talk to people who are strong in this quadrant, you realize that exercise is an essential part of their daily routine, much like brushing teeth or eating breakfast.  They don't consider if they will exercise, only when they will exercise.  

The key to building a lasting habit is to focus on creating a new identity.  Rather than thinking "I should start working out" and leaving the gym after two weeks, decide what kind of person you want to be.  "I am a person who exercises.  That is just something I do."  Change your focus from if you will exercise, or feeling like you have to exercise because you made a resolution, to just asking yourself when you will exercise in a given week.  As always, schedule this time in your calendar, and treat it as seriously as a doctor appointment or office meeting.

In the WholeLife Matrix, we identify four key components in establishing a balanced exercise and fitness routine:

1.   Exercise Plan

2.   Strength Training

3.   Flexibility

4.   Cardio

If you have an established exercise plan, take a few minutes for a quick review.  Have you incorporated all these components in your practices?  Like everything else in the WholeLife Matrix, a balanced approach is important.

If you find yourself weak in this quadrant, why not start with a walk around the block?  Ask a friend to join you and strengthen your Relationships quadrant at the same time!  Remember that doing something, anything, and repeating it, will instill the habit.

Are you ready to win?

Measuring The Projections

Matrix Key:  Financial Viability - Profitability - Measuring the Projections

"It is often said that there are two types of forecasts, lucky or wrong." - Unknown

Even the best business projections and forecasts are meaningless unless you compare them to your actual performance.  One of the most important facets of Financial Viability is to measure your projections, that is, to measure your company's performance against those projections.  If your results vary widely from your projections, you should take action immediately to either stop the bleeding or make necessary adjustments.  So what's the best plan for measuring against projections?

Here are four weekly actions to take to stay on top of your projections:

1. Accounting department meeting
2. Production department meeting
3. Sales department meeting
4. Estimate department meeting   

Each of these parts of your business need to constantly review their costs, labor, and time, as well as report on any unusual circumstances that will skew the results higher or lower.  A forecast is a critical tool for success, but it is just that, a prediction that will be lucky or wrong.  The proof is in the pudding, and measuring your results is a key ingredient your recipe for profit.

Are You Ready to Win?

We are all connected.

Matrix Key: Personal Awareness - Environment

"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children." 
Native American Proverb

We are part of a great network, the environment.  Much like the different areas of a fish tank share the same water, so too we are interconnected  with the world around us.  

Many ideas spring to mind when thinking of the environment - our relationship with the people and things in this great network, the value and distribution of natural resources, and assurance that these natural resources will be around for many generations to come.

In the WholeLife Matrix we identify four keys to environmental awareness:

1.   Equity

2.   Ecology

3.   Economy

4.   Relationship with Nature


At the end of the day, I think everyone wants to preserve that experience of awe and wonder at the heart of our relationship with nature while enjoying the benefits the natural world has to offer to us.  Issues such as an equitable distribution of resources and balancing our need to use and profit from natural resources while ensuring preservation for future generations are issues that often cause conflict.  As we explore these conflicts in future blogs, we will keep our common goals in mind.


Are you ready to win?

Mutual Love

Matrix Key - Relationships - Significant Other 

Mutual Love

"Love isn't finding someone you can live with...it's finding someone you can't live without." - Rafael Ortiz

"He loves me, he loves me not."  Can you picture picking the petals off the daisy as you repeat this phrase?  An age old question to be sure, but an ageless question at the same time.  Often we know when we have feelings for another person, but unless the feelings are reciprocated in a mutual love relationship, the relationship will break down.  

Mutual love includes those fuzzy good feelings one experiences at the start of a relationship. As the relationship develops, that physical attraction remains, but is reinforced and strengthened as the two people get to know each other on a deeper level.

With the WholeLife Matrix, we have identified four elements that define a mutual love relationship:

1. Attraction
2. Affection
3. Enjoyment
4. Honesty

Some of these elements may be more important to one partner than the other.  In general, men are more concerned with the physical attraction and enjoyment of shared activities.  Women, on the other hand, generally place a higher value on affection and honesty.  Rather than dismiss the other person's needs, committed couples find ways to honor and validate their partner's needs.  And as they say, "what goes around comes around..." when the love is reciprocal and mutual, one person's happiness can motivate them to acknowledge the other partner's most important wants and needs.

Are you ready to win?

Decompression

WholeLife Matrix - Health & WellBeing - Vacation/Time Off - Decompress

"There is time for departure even when there’s no certain place to go." 
 Tennessee Williams

The concept of decompression comes from deep sea divers: the longer they stay deep in the water under pressure, the higher the risk of sickness as they come back to the surface.  So too with us. A good gauge of our need to decompress is the length of time it takes us to settle in on a vacation day or week.  Can you instantly feel at ease?  Does it take a few days to settle in? Maybe you can't disconnect at all, constantly taking work calls and checking emails while the rest of the group rides the roller coasters or swims in the pool?

With the WholeLife Matrix, we recognize the importance of getting away from everyday stress to keep your mind and body healthy.  At a minimum, it is important to decompress after high stress day.  One of our favorite ideas is to schedule a "do nothing day."  This is a day that you set aside to intentionally do nothing.  You can sleep all day, start something and change your mind, anything at all.  The important thing is to stop your normal routine and let your body recharge.

We have identified four ideas that relate to the concept of decompressing:

1. Absence of Worry
2. Not answering the phone
3. Mindless Activities
4. Putting Self First

Some people have found it helpful to have a separate phone or email account for family and friends.  You can stay connected to people without being sidetracked by work concerns. Mindless activities are the ones that let you turn off the chatter in your head and just exist with whatever you have chosen.  Many would say the most important piece is to put yourself first, and use your decompression time to restore yourself so that when you reengage with the world, you are at 100%.

Are you ready to win?

The Sales Pipeline

Matrix Key:  Financial Viability - Marketing and Sales - Sales Pipeline

"It's not your customer's job to remember you.  It's your job to make sure the customer doesn't forget you." - Patricia Fripp

It's rare that anyone sells something at the very first client meeting.  Sales is a process, and your sales pipeline consists of customers at different stages of the sales cycle. The WholeLife Matrix gives you the tools to develop a discipline for your sales pipeline activities. A good sales person can effectively manage customers at all points of the sales process, and manage a constantly flowing pipeline without dropping anything out.

Here are four necessary actions for building and managing your sales pipeline:

1. Qualifying Potential Clients
2. Consistently Adding Names to the Client Database
3. Keeping the Client Database Current
4. Staying in Touch with Clients

We will address specific sales actions in other blogs, but it's crucial to first create a structure for tracking clients, prospects, and deals as they make their way through the sales cycle.  Your client database is the foundation of your sales pipeline, and the framework for a winning sales plan.

Are you ready to win?

Information Management - What Do You Need to Know?

Matrix Key: Financial Viability - Resource Management - Information

 "Knowledge is power." - Sir Francis Bacon

Take a look at all of the Financial Viability components on the WholeLife Matrix. When you run a business, you quickly learn that you must manage all kinds of information if you want to remain financially viable.  It helps to break that information into two distinct categories - internal and external.  Internal information are all the performance metrics your company produces that tell you where you stand financially and productively.

Just as important are external reports that highlight how your business is performing compared to the marketplace.  How do you stack up?  How are you perceived?  How can you track your influence on the market?

Here are four key pieces of external information that you should be tracking:

1. Market Research - what is the appetite for your product or service?
2. Prospect Research - who buys that product or service and where can you find them?
3. Client Database - who buys that product or service from you?
4. Competitor Research - who does as good a job or better at selling your product or service?

 Imagine if a company started up today and tried to sell covered wagons to young families.  A ridiculous example to be sure, but one that shows the importance of keeping your finger on the pulse of what's happening in the market, and how it impacts your potential customers.

Are you ready to win?

Creating Community

Matrix Key: Personal Awareness - Community

"What should young people do with their lives today? Many things, obviously. But the most daring thing is to create stable communities in which the terrible disease of loneliness can be cured.” ― Kurt Vonnegut

With all of the technology buzzing around us today, in some ways we are more connected to others than at any other point in evolution.  But some would say the connections are shallower, and focused on ourselves rather than the people and world around us. 

How often do you move straight from your car through the garage to plug into an electronic device at the end of your day?  When is the last time you stopped and chatted with your neighbor?  What helps you take a break from yourself and do something with and for others?

With the WholeLife Matrix, we have identified four key elements to connecting with and building community:

1. Participation

2. Service

3. Beautification

4. Legislative

Consider taking some kind of action to reengage with your community.  Get out and do things with other people.  Get to know your civic and community leaders.  Find a place to belong.  Share your ideas and concerns.  As you engage in conversations and activity with others, you may be surprised by the possibilities that open up for you.

For conversations specifically focused on the WholeLife Matrix, join the community taking a Deeper Dive into the WholeLife matrix.  The group meets every other Tuesday from 11am - Noon Pacific time for a group phone conversation.  Email me to sign up - Ralph@Consulting2Win.com.

Are you ready to win?

Fueling your Engine

Matrix Key - Health and Wellness - Nutrition

"You are what you eat.  What would you like to be?" - Julie Murphy

GIGO.  Garbage in, garbage out.  We are careful about the choice of fuel we put in our cars, the air we breathe, the downloads we make on our computers...but sometimes we overlook the input to our most precious asset.  Ourselves.  

We cannot escape the fact that food is our fuel.  We clearly see the connection between quality inputs in other items in our life, but sometimes overlook the connection of garbage in/ garbage out with respect to our bodies.  We can have the best of the best in the other three quadrants of the matrix, but a poorly functioning body slows down even the best efforts in those other quadrants.  

With the WholeLife Matrix, we have identified four facets of the Nutrition quadrant:

1.   Lifelong Eating Plan

2.   Professional Support

3.   Emotional Impact

4.   Weight Management  

No matter what conditions you want to place on the food you consume, there is an abundance of advice and opinions out there.  The noise of all that advice can be overwhelming.   Enlisting professional support is a great way to design a lifelong eating plan appropriate for your body.  And people who have a balanced approach to their food often note the weight management takes care of itself. 

What is fueling your life?

We are Spiritual Beings

Matrix Key: Personal Awareness - Spirit

 "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience.  We are spiritual beings having a human experience." -  Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

When describing the spirit of a person we might think of the energy they share and convey.  When we talk of spirit we also consider the awareness of a life force beyond the human person.

Think about someone you admire - a person with a high quality of life.  Chances are they have some awareness of life outside of themselves.  People with a spiritual connection often have more energy, better health, and a happier outlook on the world around them. 

The WholeLife Matrix identifies four elements of discovering and embracing your spiritual nature:

1. Spiritual Practice
2. Higher Power
3. Life Purpose
4. Enlightenment

Spiritual practices can be anything that helps you connect with the world around you - watching the sunset, physical practices like Tai Chi, contemplative practices like meditation, whatever suits your personality and situation   Out of spiritual practices people discover and strengthen a connection with their Higher Power and their Life Purpose.  Exploration of these three elements leads one towards Enlightenment - an increase in understanding, awareness and insight. 

Here at Possibilities Unlimited, we think the spiritual side of your life is essential to a well-balanced life.  If you are not giving time and attention to your spirituality, your table will remain unbalanced, and you will have a harder time achieving success in the other areas of your life.

We continue to offer our Deeper Dive into the Whole Life Matrix, a free bi-weekly discussion of different elements of the WholeLife Matrix. To join the Deeper Dive, email Ralph@Consulting2Win.com, with "Deeper Dive" in the subject line.  We will send you the log-in information for the call.

 Are you ready to win?

 

Cash Flow Forecasting

Matrix Key:  Financial Viability - Profitability - Projections and Plans

“Cash Is King.”

Few components of the WholeLife Matrix carry as much weight as profitability.  For many people, profit has negative connotations.  But without profit, you don't have a business. Cash flow forecasting is essential to the success of every business, and should include the following:

1. A schedule of receipts and disbursements
2. Liquidity measurements
3. “What if” scenarios
4. Accounts Receivable to Cash projections

Here’s the bottom line…if your business runs out of cash, you are out of business.  You need cash to pay vendors.  If you don’t pay them, they will stop selling to you.  You need cash to pay employees.  Few employees are willing to volunteer their time.  You need cash to pay off debt.  Banks are picky about being re-paid.  Cash is King.

You must monitor your cash flow at all times.  How quickly will your Accounts Receivable convert to cash?  What if your customers pay you three months late?  What is your percentage of cash to inventory?  A close look into all of these questions is worth your time and effort.  A little planning now will keep the wolf from the door later and will keep you on a winning path.

Join us for an ongoing conversation about my blogs every other Tuesday at 11am Pacific Time.    Send me an email (Ralph@Consulting2Win.com) with "Deeper Dive" in the subject line, and I will send you the login information.  

Are you ready to win?

Projections and Plans

Matrix Key:  Financial Viability - Profitability - Projections and Plans

"Failure to plan is planning to fail." - Unknown

We've devoted a major quadrant of the WholeLife Matrix to the practice of Projections and Plans.  Most good entrepreneurs know that planning is essential to success.  It's easy to let planning drop down the priority list though, when the day to day responsibilities of a growing business become more time consuming.  Here's the thing...without consistent, good projections and plans, your business is being run by the circumstances.  That's like the tail wagging the dog.

The four principles of good Projections and Plans are:

1.      A reliable Cash Flow Forecast

2.      A reliable Sales Forecast

3.      A projection for your Sales/Expenses/Profit

4.      A System to Review and Adjust all of these projections and forecasts

Don't let the market determine where your business will end up.  There are too many easy and efficient tools you can use to stay out in front of your company's performance.  Use your own ideas as your guide and head down your chosen path.

Are You Ready to Win? 

Good Accounting System

Matrix Key:  Financial Viability - Profitability - Accounting System

"The company accountant is shy and retiring.  He's shy a quarter of a million dollars.  That's why he's retiring." - Milton Berle

There's a good reason that the cornerstone of the WholeLife Matrix is having a Good Accounting System.  The accounting system is the road map of your business.  Without it your business is basically blindfolded and wandering aimlessly.  All the hard work you put into your product, your employees and your visibility in the market vanish in a heartbeat without a good accounting system. 

The four requirements of a good accounting system are:

1.      The system must be Tracked Daily;

2.      You must have Someone Accountable;

3.      There must be a system of Checks and Balances; and

4.      There must be Capacity for Growth.

Look at your current accounting structure – can you identify each of these requirements in your system?  As the above quote hilariously implies, your accounting system is only as good as the people who run it.  Depending on the size of your business, you might need only one person to manage the accounting system or you might need a whole department.  Make sure you invest in a quality experienced financial accountant.  That's a winning bet for your business' long term health.

Are you ready to win?