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Name of author Rick Baker, P.Eng.

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Thought Tweet #567

by Rick Baker
On Sep 18, 2012

Thought Tweet #567 If you want to get something out of your system, make it productivity.

 

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

I believe it was James Watt who first said, "If you want to blow off steam, put it to work." [I could be wrong about that one.]

Tags:

Emotions & Feelings @ Work | Humour | Thought Tweets

How To Increase Profits

by Rick Baker
On Sep 18, 2012

After meeting with and investigating 100's of businesses that have been unable to achieve their profit goals, it is clear there is need for a simple process for profit-improvement. The simple process needs to work for all sizes of businesses and work across a broad range of business sectors.

Here is a simple profit-improvement process that works:

The RAISE Process

Review your issues, objectively

Assessment of situation, people, & process

Insight, to create options & best practices

Support, of your solution implementation

Evaluation against agreed benchmarks

 

More details...

Review your issues, objectively:

There are 2 ways to be objective. (1) be a possibility-thinking master of self-discipline and (2) obtain unbiased 3rd party input. Definitely, there are ways to expand open-mindedness, possibility thinking, and creative thinking. Here are 2 examples: Edward de Bono's 'Six Thinking Hats' and John C. Maxwell's 'How Successful People Think'. 

Assessment of situation, people, & process:

These are the 3 basic elements of business. They inter-play with one another. Of course, it is all about people. Yet, the differences in people are often underestimated. People create the process. Yet, sometimes they do not do a good enough job explaining what they have created. And, people regularly underestimate the impact situations have on people's behaviour....especially, tough situations.

Insight, to create options & best practices:

Some people appear to possess a natural gift of insight; some people rarely exhibit insight; any person who works at it can develop skills for insight. Business leadership and business development [sales & marketing] are two areas where insight is most essential. Here is an illustration of the importance of insight - the Entrepreneurial Dilemma

Support, of your solution implementation:

It is impossible to implement a solution if your people do not buy into it. It is difficult to make a good consensus decision; it is really tough to implement any decision without people buying in. For some people - and you will need their help - the path to change must contain small steps...at least, at first.

Evaluation against agreed benchmarks:

Business is an iterative process: building things you believe contain value and testing to determine those things actually do contain value. Here, I am talking about value for clients, value for owners, value for employees...i.e., value, as seen from these and other [different] perspectives. And, all these perspectives must be understood and used as performance benchmarks...to define success and guide behaviour. Then, with benchmarks understood - measure, report, adjust, etc.

Copyright © 2012. W.F.C (Rick) Baker. All Rights Reserved.