Great Business in Bad Times

Yes, its a tough economy.  Although things seem to be improving since the first of the year, the economy is still sluggish and money is not flowing like it was 24 months ago.

There are many strategies to help offset this temporary downturn in business (yes, it WILL come back, just as it has for decades and decades).  But one of the most simple strategies is the following:

Call a meeting of your department heads.  Give them one agenda item:

"Bring with you three (3) ideas that will help your department
a.) save money,  b.) improve work flow, or c.) make money.

Don't let anyone off the hook.  They need to bring 3 ideas to the table. 

Then, don't sabatoge their ideas.  ALL ideas at this point need to be considered.  List all of them, one by one.  Then prioritize them based on their ability to impact the business and their ease of implementation.  You will find that some very simple ideas may save lots of money.

I'm reminded about a simple idea recommended by an employee of Starbucks (my favorite coffee shop by the way).  You may know they closed hundreds of stores recently, and the founder, Harold Schultz, came back in as CEO.  It seems they were pouring unused milk down the drain when they had "just a little left over" after making a latte.  This "little" added up to hundreds of thousands of gallons of wasted milk.  When examining the problem, they discovered that there was no mark on the side of the container telling them employee exactly how much milk to add.  The simple solution?  They put a small mark on the side of the container showing the barista when to "stop pouring".  This one little idea is credited with saving Starbucks nearly $10 million per year.

So, call your meeting.  Find new solutions.  Innovate.  You will find new solutions to save money, and more than likely you will find new ways to provide value to your customers and make MORE money.

Dedicated to your success in America,

Jim Worrell

CEO