January 2006

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=3 height=120 BGCOLOR="#CC3333" TEXT="#080000" background="099b85a3.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" ><B>Visiontheme</B></FONT><B>    </B><B> |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Visiontheme"><B>home</B></A></div> <div> <A HREF="_customer_care____myth_and_reality.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="November 2003">November 2003</A>   |   <A HREF="growth_is_the_key_to_survival.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="December 2003">December 2003</A>   |   <A HREF="january_2004.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="January 2004">January 2004</A>   |   <A HREF="id54.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="February 2004">February 2004</A>   |   <A HREF="id35.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="March 2004">March 2004</A>   |   <A HREF="id36.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="April 2004">April 2004</A>   |   <A HREF="id37.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="May 2004">May 2004</A>   |   <A HREF="id38.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="June 2004">June 2004</A>   |   <A HREF="id39.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="July 2004">July 2004</A>   |   <A HREF="id40.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="August 2004">August 2004</A>   |   <A HREF="id55.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="September 2004">September 2004</A>   |   <A HREF="id56.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="October 2004">October 2004</A>   |   <A HREF="id57.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="November 2004">November 2004</A>   |   <A HREF="id58.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="December 2004">December 2004</A>   |   <A HREF="january_2005.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="January 2005">January 2005</A>   |   <A HREF="id62.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="February 2005">February 2005</A>   |   <A HREF="id63.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="March 2005">March 2005</A>   |   <A HREF="id64.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="April 2005">April 2005</A>   |   <A HREF="id65.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="May 2005">May 2005</A>   |   <A HREF="id67.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="June 2005">June 2005</A>   |   <A HREF="id68.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="July 2005">July 2005</A>   |   <A HREF="id69.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="August 2005">August 2005</A>   |   <A HREF="id70.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="September 2005">September 2005</A>   |   <A HREF="id71.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="October 2005">October 2005</A>   |   <A HREF="id72.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="November 2005">November 2005</A>   |   <A HREF="id73.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="December 2005">December 2005</A>   |   <B>January 2006</B>   |   <A HREF="february_2006.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="February 2006">February 2006</A>   |   <A HREF="march_2006.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="March 2006">March 2006</A>   |   <A HREF="april_2006.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="April 2006">April 2006</A>   |   <A HREF="may_2006.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="May 2006">May 2006</A>   |   <A HREF="june_2006.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="June 2006">June 2006</A>   |   <A HREF="july_2006.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="July 2006">July 2006</A>   |   <A HREF="august_2006.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="August 2006">August 2006</A>   |   <A HREF="september_2006.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="September 2006">September 2006</A>   |   <A HREF="october_2006.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="October 2006">October 2006</A>   |   <A HREF="november_2006.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="November 2006">November 2006</A>   |   <A HREF="december_2006.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="December 2006">December 2006</A>   |   <A HREF="january_2007.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="January 2007">January 2007</A>   |   <A HREF="february_2007.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="February 2007">February 2007</A>   |   <A HREF="march_2007.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="March 2007">March 2007</A>   |   <A HREF="april_2007.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="April 2007">April 2007</A>   |   <A HREF="may_2007.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="May 2007">May 2007</A>   |   <A HREF="june_2007.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="June 2007">June 2007</A>   |   <A HREF="july_2007.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="July 2007">July 2007</A>   |   <A HREF="august_2007.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="August 2007">August 2007</A>   |   <A HREF="september_2007.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="September 2007">September 2007</A>   |   <A HREF="october_2007.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="October 2007">October 2007</A>   |   <A HREF="november_2007.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="November 2007">November 2007</A>   |   <A HREF="december_2007.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="December 2007">December 2007</A>   |   <A HREF="january_2008.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="January 2008">January 2008</A>   |   <A HREF="february_2008.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="February 2008">February 2008</A>   |   <A HREF="march_2008.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="March 2008">March 2008</A>   |   <A HREF="april_2008.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="April 2008">April 2008</A>   |   <A HREF="may_2008.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="May 2008">May 2008</A>   |   <A HREF="june_2008.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="June 2008">June 2008</A>   |   <A HREF="july_2008.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="July 2008">July 2008</A>   |   <A HREF="august_2008.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="August 2008">August 2008</A>   |   <A HREF="september_2008.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="September 2008">September 2008</A>   |   <A HREF="october_2008.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="October 2008">October 2008</A>   |   <A HREF="november_2008.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="November 2008">November 2008</A>   |   <A HREF="december_2008.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="December 2008">December 2008</A>   |   <A HREF="january_2009.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="January 2009">January 2009</A>   |   <A HREF="february_2009.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="February 2009">February 2009</A>   |   <A HREF="march_2009.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="March 2009">March 2009</A>   |   <A HREF="april_2009.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="April 2009">April 2009</A>   |   <A HREF="may_2009.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="May 2009">May 2009</A>   |   <A HREF="june_2009.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="June 2009">June 2009</A>   |   <A HREF="july_2009.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="July 2009">July 2009</A>   |   <A HREF="august_2009.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="August 2009">August 2009</A>   |   <A HREF="september_2009.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="September 2009">September 2009</A>   |   <A HREF="october_2009.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="October 2009">October 2009</A>   |   <A HREF="november_2009.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="November 2009">November 2009</A>   |   <A HREF="december_2009.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="December 2009">December 2009</A>   |   <A HREF="january_2010.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="February 2010">February 2010</A>   |   <A HREF="march_2010.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="March 2010">March 2010</A>   |   <A HREF="april_2010.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="April 2010">April 2010</A>   |   <A HREF="may_2010.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="May 2010">May 2010</A>   |   <A HREF="june_2010.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="June 2010">June 2010</A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#CC3333" TEXT="#080000" background="09a0c0e3.jpg"> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=360 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I>January 2006</I></div> <div> <I>The following article was first published in the Eastern Daily Press' 'The Business'  on 11 January 2006</I></div> <bR> <div> <B>What are you going to do to make your business a success in 2006?</B></div> <bR> <div> It's a New Year - may I wish you and your business a very happy and prosperous 2006!  </div> <bR> <div> Now that the felicitations are out of the way, may I ask what you're going to do differently this year to ensure that prosperity?  Many of us set New Year's resolutions, often at the urging of friends or loved ones, frequently in an attempt to improve our health or make living with us more tolerable - to stop smoking, to join a gym, to be more tolerant of another's foibles. In any case, they are usually promised in good faith but broken all too quickly.</div> <bR> <div> For those readers who own and run their own business, now is a good time to review the year just gone and to assess honestly what went well and what didn't.  This can help you set one or two New Year's resolutions for your business - things that can help you achieve your business objectives this year. This assumes, of course, that you already have clearly set objectives; if not, setting some clear goals (and ways of measuring your progress towards them) might be your first resolution for 2006!</div> <bR> <div> Looking back over some of the articles I've written for this column in the past couple of years got me thinking about the most important issues facing business owners that I come across regularly in my work.  I thought they might be a good starting point for setting some other resolutions that might help your business:</div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700dc00000000.png" HEIGHT="15" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Understand your numbers:  I am astounded at the number of businesses owned and run by people that simply haven't got a clue about the key numbers - of leads, of customers, of turnover and, most important, of profit.  If you don't know and understand your numbers, make it a priority to change that this year.</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700dc00000000.png" HEIGHT="15" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Focus on customer service:  without happy, well-served customers, any business is vulnerable.  Looking after them well should be the number one outwardly-focused activity of the organisation.  If it isn't, make a real effort in 2006 to delight your customers - it will pay back handsomely.</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700dc00000000.png" HEIGHT="15" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Look after your people:  this is linked directly to great customer service.  In today's highly competitive marketplace, just being able to provide a good product or service isn't enough to succeed - it's merely the `entry ticket' to the game.  The best businesses differentiate themselves through their people.  Happy, engaged employees look after customers better and are more productive.  As the boss, take stock of what you do to ensure your people are genuinely your most valuable asset and are treated accordingly.</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700dc00000000.png" HEIGHT="15" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">Learn to delegate effectively:  often one of the hardest things for owner-managers to do, but the key to growing value in any business and to creating more time for the owner to work `on' their business, not just `in' it.</div> <bR> <div> These are just a few of the many issues I see every day in the businesses I work with, but are certainly amongst the most important.  If you set only one or two New Year's resolutions that, if achieved, would improve your performance in one of these key areas, it would make reviewing 2006 in 12 months' time more enjoyable, wouldn't it?   And, to help maintain your resolve, don't be afraid to share your ambitions with someone else - a work colleague, a spouse or partner or an outside advisor - and ask for their help in holding you accountable for doing those things that will make a real difference in your business this New Year. </div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" width=180 BGCOLOR="#CC3333" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>