Welcome to Amanda’s semi-regular blog, where she writes about how to improve business profitability
Are you pouring money down the drain?
We wouldn’t pour money down the drain, however, when it is disguised as staff time, we often do it without realising it.
Why are we so afraid of difference?
I recently engaged in the services of a virtual assistant. I had two really great candidates to choose from in the final lineup, and quite honestly could have engaged either one of them. In order to make a decision, I decided to pick the one that was least like me. Whilst it’s often tempting to recruit people like us, from a business and productivity point of view, recruiting for difference is often the smarter move.
Going the extra mile
Some years ago I found myself on a project in crisis. If it could go wrong, it had. If we accept my premise, that the productivity culture of an organization lies at the intersection of people, process and price, this organization was in trauma.
What motivates me, doesn't motivate you
I was recently asked what motivates me, and what are the drivers I see that motivate others. It was a real gem of a question (thank you!) and has caused me to reflect further.
Do you have a team of sherpas?
One of the challenges of growing a business is ensuring that the staff you employ are as productive as you used to be when you were delivering the products or services. I know when I used to run a software company, we were never as productive once I stopped writing code. There are so many reasons why this might be the case, and one of these lies in the engagement of the people in the business.