Reimagine business success

Often, a really good idea that works will eventually evolve into something that does not work, given enough time. Sometimes, it is not the fault of the process, but rather the changes that have occurred around it that cause it to lose effectiveness. For example, let’s look at a nearly extinct model — the television commercial. For decades, manufacturers of consumer goods have used the multi-sensory effectiveness of the television to introduce us to and sell us products. To watch a one-hour show, you had to allow about eighteen minutes of these sales promotions into your home. Many of them are cute or funny and they’re OK a couple of times. But, by the 10th time you see a commercial, you’re wishing you could skip it. Enter the digital video recorder, a device that allows you to record a show and watch it when you want. The other thing it allows you to do is reduce the time that show takes by fast-forwarding through commercials. Now it seems the only welcome commercials all take place during one football game each year.

Throw in a little re-imagining and now, if you are the company trying to market a product, you skip the commercials and just drop the product right into the show. We have Vampires driving Ford Fiestas (spokesmodels that can sink their teeth into you). We have racecar drivers drinking 5-Hour Energy and Red Bull (because their job is boring and they need a pick me up). While the combinations might seem a little unlikely at times, this is a fairly non-invasive way to promote a product and solves the issue of fast forwarding the DVR.

So what in your life needs a little of that re-imagining magic? Maybe you feel like you are not getting through all the things you need to do everyday, and you would like to remove some of the obstacles and time robbers. Reimagine your day. Start at the end before you go to the beginning by envisioning what the perfect day looks like as it relates to the critical things you need to do. What are the obstacles that slow you down? Maybe the 200 emails need a filter. Rather than filtering the bad, try filtering the good. Create a list of people and or domains that come from people you should communicate with and send all of those to the must-read folder. My bet is you will find a good deal of time right there. Do you have realistic expectations of what you can get done each day? Is there a very necessary function that takes up a lot of your time? For me, it is helping my guys with questions or listening to new ideas. Rather than complain about how much time that takes, lower the priority of some non-critical functions you do and embrace the more important tasks.

Since I know many of you who read this are driver types or Type-A personalities, here is another fantastic thing I have learned to help make my days feel more efficient, and it is just one word — NO. Many of us take on too much and then get overwhelmed by the schedules we have created for ourselves. Live in the zone that is best for your business, your effectiveness and your sanity.

Everyone talks about out-of-the-box thinking. Why not try a little out-of-block thinking, courtesy of Michelangelo who said, “I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” By applying your creativity, you can take what you have and reimagine it into something more enjoyable and efficient. Email me your ideas, and I will share it with the rest of our readers.