The Importance of Friends

Matrix Key:  Relationships - Friends

"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: 'What! You too? I thought I was the only one.' " - C. S. Lewis 

When it comes to relationships, we often think only of the significant other in our life.  But what about friends?  We must also be in relationship with the broader community around us, and develop friendships that will enlighten, support, and enrich us.  A person can have work friends, school friends, church friends, friends from every area of your life, and enjoy different types of relationships with each one.

Just as with your significant other, your relationship with your friends needs to be nurtured and tended.  You may talk to some friends only sporadically through the years, and each interaction is as fun and fulfilling as the last.  Or you may have some friendships that demand more of your attention, and require additional effort to remain viable, but are worth the extra time.

The WholeLife Matrix shows that the keys to a good friendship are very similar to those of a successful significant other relationship:

1. Affinity and Respect
2. Mutual Commitment
3. Time Together
4. Common Interests

 Allowing yourself to be open to new friendships and connections with people in your environment will yield amazing results.  Because everyone needs friends to share the good and bad times, the losses and the wins.  And as C. S. Lewis points out, we each need to see ourselves in the eyes and heart of another as we navigate this life.

Are you ready to win?

Estimating and Pricing System

Matrix Key:  Financial Viability - Profitability - Estimating and Pricing

"And when is there time to remember, to sift, to weigh, to estimate, to total?"  - Tillie Olsen

Within the Financial Viability quadrant of the WholeLife Matrix we have included a section on the importance of  an Estimating and Pricing System.  As any good bargain shopper will attest, it pays to know what things cost in the marketplace, and what it will cost you to source materials to produce your product.  Your production cost doesn't include just materials either...time is an equally precious commodity.  You must have a clear understanding of your costs and be able to accurately estimate them if you want to be profitable.

               The four requirements of an estimating/pricing system are:

1.      You must have estimates for time and material

2.      You must be able to compare estimates to actual results

3.      There must be a system to track the percentages of time and materials used

4.      There must be a system to deal with significant variances from your estimates

If your business is not as profitable as you think it could be, review your systems for the four above principles.  An accurate cost accounting system with help you determine your gross profit margin, track your expenses, and calculate your net profit.  Estimating and pricing take time, but the potential savings can show up as big wins on your bottom line. 

Are you ready to win?

Start With the Self

Matrix Key:  Personal Awareness - Self

"Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart.  Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes." - Carl Jung

Why is it important to be self-aware?  Why do we include that as a component of the WholeLife Matrix?  Because everything we are and do in life begins with the self.  The essence of being begins with the self.  And if we take time to be in tune with our self, we will be much better equipped to contribute to the world around us...our relationships, our business, and our community.

So how do we become self-aware?  The WholeLife Matrix breaks self-awareness into four key components:

1. Psychological Awareness
2. Energy Field
3. Embodiment
4. Physical Awareness

Our "self" is much more than just some thinking about what we want to do and be.  Our "self" is an intricate cross section of several integral concepts and thoughts.  In order to be truly self-aware, we have to devote time and energy to discovering our "self."  Scheduling time in your calendar to develop your self-awareness will show up in all your activities, and will give you the power to live a happy and fulfilling life.

Are you ready to win?  

Vacation Plans

Matrix Key:  Health and Well-Being - Vacation/Time Off

"Vacations are necessities, not luxuries." - Linda Bloom

This probably isn't the first time that you've read about the importance of vacation and time off.  No one can function at a peak performance level without occasional rest and relaxation.  Time away from your business gives you the chance to adjust your perspective, to refocus on the big picture and less on the details that come up every day. The most important thing about vacation, however, is how it impacts your physical health, and your ability to contribute in all areas of your life - relationships, business and community. 

So why is it so hard to take vacation?  Remember our model of the table...each quadrant of the matrix is a table leg.  If we neglect our well-being, our table will fall.  If you're still not convinced, let's look at some of the key components, and outcomes, of time off:

1. Opportunity to Decompress
2. Beautification
3. Absence of Pressure
4. Time Away from the Daily Environment

So how do you make those vacation plans a reality?  You have to schedule them in your calendar and treat them as being as important as any board meeting. When you show up for vacation you'll get more than souvenirs to bring home...you'll get a fresh perspective that will help you to stay in the game of business and life.

Are you ready to win?     

Production & Delivery Procedures

Matrix Key:  Financial Viability - Production and Delivery - Procedures

"A bad system will beat a good person every time." - W. Edwards Deming

We've often talked about how a good business shares many of the characteristics of a winning sports team.  No team can win the game if they don't know the rules.  As we can see from the WholeLife Matrix, your business will not win if you don't have production and delivery procedures in place. Imagine trying to create a product if your team has no idea how to make it?  You must create specific procedures for all aspects of your production system, and you must review and update them regularly.

Here are four things to think about when developing your production procedures:

1. Systems - Break down your production flow into logical steps.
2. Standards -  Define how to make your product the best it can be.
3. Quality - How will you know if the product meets your standards?
4. Customer Service - How do you respond to your customer?

Developing procedures takes time and effort, but it is time well spent.  The trick is to have specific actions that your employees and staff understand.  They also need to grasp the "why" behind the "how."  If your procedures make sense and clearly make a contribution to the end product and to customer satisfaction, your employees will take more ownership in doing the job right.  When they know the rules, they can win the game.

Are You Ready to Win?

Family Relationships

Matrix Key:  Relationships - Family

"A happy family is but an earlier heaven." - George Bernard Shaw

They say we can't choose our families, and yet family relationships are among the most important personal connections we will ever have.  From birth, we are connected to, and in relationship with, our family.  You could even say that without relations, there are no relationships!  So why are some of us blessed with close, loving interactive families, while others haven't spoken in years?

In the WholeLife Matrix, we've taken a deeper dive into what makes family relationships work.  In order to have a high functioning family unit, the members must prioritize the following key concepts:

1. Connection
2. Responsibility and Commitment
3. Management Structure
4. Communication

These concepts seem to come naturally to some families, while others must put more time and attention into them.  No matter what, a healthy family must value that family structure, and be able to understand its importance to a well-balanced, fulfilling life.  Your family should be a source of love and support, not a drain on your well-being.  When you take the time to be aware of how the four key concepts impact your family dynamics, you can better understand and embrace your family's unique relationship to you.

Are you ready to win?   

Post a comment - let me know how you see the key concepts operating in your family!