(Time to read this Blog is about 4 minutes)

Before we get to the main topic, here are a few things to get you thinking or smiling:

1. My Biz Quote of the week:
   “If it makes no sense to your customers, it makes no sense!”
   …Donald Cooper.
     
2. Quick Biz Tip:
   Do you follow up to see if your decisions were a good idea…or not?
    
   I recently worked with a client who, one year earlier, had implemented a new incentive payment system for her sales Team. I asked if she had documented a specific time by when she would know if this was a good decision…and specifically how she would know that.   What would the ‘success outcomes’ look like?  She hadn’t thought of that.
    
   Not every idea, system, policy or program you implement will turn out to be a good idea. In fact, many of them won’t be.  So, set a ‘Reality Check’ follow-up date and document some specific success criteria.  Then, on that date, follow up to make sure that it’s working.  If it’s not, why isn’t it?  Does it need fine-tuning, or better communication and training…or was it just a bad idea that should be discontinued?
     
3. Global energy ‘fun facts’. Heating and cooling homes and commercial buildings accounts for about 13% of global energy use.  In sweltering Saudi Arabia, air conditioning consumes 70% of electricity.  As air-conditioning use rises in a warming world, this energy burden and its related greenhouse gas emissions will rise dramatically.
    
   Good news!   Scientists at Purdue University have invented a super-white acrylic paint that reflects 98% of sunlight.  This will significantly reduce the cost of keeping buildings cool. 

4. This stock has generated the best historical return. From a century’s worth of data involving nearly 30,000 stocks, the American stock that has risen the most is Altria Group Inc. (NYSE:MO), formerly known as Philip Morris, the maker of Marlboro cigarettes.
    
   Over a 98-year period, up to the end of 2023, Altria’s stock generated a cumulative return of 265 million percent.  One dollar invested in 1925 would have grown to US $2.65 million.
    
   The top Canadian stock is Constellation Software Inc. (CSU-T).  Since Constellation went public in 2006, the stock has generated a compound total return, after factoring in dividends, of 36 %  annually.
    
5. Special Announcement for our fans in the extended GTA. Many of you have asked to be informed when I’ll be doing a Management Program that’s open to the public.   On Friday, Sept 27 I’m delivering just such a half-day ‘Accelerate Your Business’ Super Session for the business owners and managers of Mulmur Township and Dufferin County.  The event is at The Mansfield Ski Club on Airport Road, about an hour north of Toronto.   Admission is just $99.
    
   This half-day transformational Management Program will be followed by lunch and a ‘no-holds-barred’ Q&A and informal coaching for those who wish to stay.  My commitment is to extraordinary outcomes for every attendee!
    
   This event is made possible by the generous sponsorship of one of my amazing Biz Coaching clients, Hill’N Dale Landscaping in Mulmur.  It’s our ‘gift to his community.
    
   For more info and to register, go to www.mulmur.ca scroll down and look for Event link on the right side.  If you sign up, let me know at donald@donaldcooper.com, so that I can look for you on Sept 27. 
    
   By the way, if you’d like to organize a similar Event for your community, wherever you’re located in North America, we should chat.

Now, to this week’s important topic:

10 Tips to create world-class operating efficiency…now!  

In the reality of today’s job-market, you’re going to be paying more to attract less qualified people.  And you’re going to be paying your existing staff more, just to keep them.

Then, you’re paying more for rent, utilities, parts, raw materials, ingredients or inventory. So, your operating expenses are increasing dramatically.

But your customers still demand that you ‘deliver’…on time…no excuses.  And they’ll fight your price increases.  So, how do you still make a decent profit, or any profit, in this situation?  

Do you have ‘Pricing Power’?  If you’ve done the work to create compelling customer value and experiences that ‘grab’ your target customers, clearly differentiate you from your competitors and make you ‘famous’, you probably have some ‘pricing power’ that allows you to increase prices when your costs increase.  For years I’ve been preaching the importance of clearly differentiating yourself by creating and delivering compelling value.   Mediocrity is no longer an option!  So, what’s your clear and compelling value that really matters to your target customers and gives you pricing power?

1. In addition to having ‘Pricing Power’, the 2^nd  way to deal with rising costs and still make a decent profit is by creating world-class operating efficiency in every part of your business.  Along with all your other roles, you need to become the ‘Chief Efficiency Officer’ in your business or department, starting immediately.  Look for ways to work smarter with more clarity and a greater sense of urgency.  Eliminate wasted time and materials and make better decisions.  
    
2. Rethink and reallocate how you spend your time.  Stop working ‘IN’ the business and spend more time working ‘ON’ it.  Do the important work that you’re paid to do, not the easy work that you’re comfortable doing.
    
3. Create an efficient Organization Structure. I just had a conversation with a biz owner who has 25 people reporting directly to him.  This simply cannot work…and it isn’t working.  He can’t effectively coach, challenge, direct, support and follow up with 25 people.  So, all his 25 reporting points are working inefficiently.
    
4. Create a culture of clarity, commitment, urgency and accountability.  Efficiency starts with ‘clarity’. To download my updated Biz Tool #A-4, ‘Your 1st Job Is Clarity’ and calculate a ‘Clarity Score’ for your business, Click Here.
    
   After ‘clarity’ comes commitment, urgency and accountability.  Stop talking about ‘goals, targets, aims and objectives’ and talk about ‘commitments’. Then, every time you assign a task or project, ask the magic 10-word question that changes everything, “By when can agree that this will be completed?”  Negotiate a commitment, document it and follow up. The world is run by those who follow up.  I’ve been flogging this ‘culture of commitment’ insight for years, but only because it’s so important…and most business aren’t doing it yet.  Those that do are transformed.
    
5. Get rid of toxic, lazy or stupid people, no matter how short-staffed you are.  They’re poison.  Your Team will love and respect you for it.  
    
6. Get your entire Team looking for ways to operate more efficiently. Create 3 quarterly ‘Idea Fests’ each year where every Team member must bring at least one idea on how to operate more efficiently.  These are best done with groups of not more than 12 Team members.  Your front-line people know stuff and they hate it when you don’t ask.  After everyone states their ‘efficiency idea’, the Team votes on who gets the $100 prize…or restaurant Gift Certificate…or whatever prize you chose.
    
   You’ll be amazed at what your people come up with.  Below are a few examples:
   • Costco switched from round jars to square jars for their Kirkland Brand cashew nuts. This simple change allowed them to pack 50% more jars per pallet, saving them the cost of 600 tractor trailer loads of shipping cost.
   • Marriott Hotels saved $2 million per year by switching to bacon of uneven lengths.
   • An independent Pizza shop spent $40 on plastic bins and zip-lock bags to control cheese waste.  Cheese is the biggest expense in pizza making and they increased profits by 24%, while delivering a more consistent product.  What are the biggest expenses in your business, and how will you control and reduce them?

7. Implement the systems and processes and install the latest equipment required to make world-class operating efficiency happen in every part of the business.  What does that look like in your business?  Who are the world’s leading efficiency experts in your industry, and what are you learning from them?
    
8. Constantly train, coach and encourage your Team members…and then empower them. 
    
9. More effectively onboard new staff so that they understand as quickly as possible the company, its history, purpose, values, culture and commitments. Explain why what you do as a company matters and why the job they’ll be doing matters. Good people want to be part of something that ‘matters’!
    
10. Measure performance then ‘thank’, reward and celebrate the success of individuals and Teams. Create a culture of celebration! A big part of ‘efficiency’ comes through Staff Engagement.  Engaged Team members are committed to making a difference in the business. 

So, there are 10 insights on how to increase operating efficiency in your business or department, starting now.  Which of these will you start implementing immediately?   If you’d like to chat about how I can help make your business more efficient, effective and profitable, I’m easy to find at donald@donaldcooper.com.

That’s it for this week…

Stay safe…live brilliantly!       

Donald Cooper 

Donald Cooper speaks and coaches internationally on management, marketing, and profitability.  He can be reached by email at donald@donaldcooper.com in Toronto, Canada.