Growing Clients

A good friend of mine, Gerrit, discovered the Slow Movement – which had its origin in 1980s in Milan as the Slow Food Movement. When it started it had a focus on enjoying superb wines and food in the company of great friends.  Savour the moment.  Nowadays the movement covers slow food, slow travel, slow technology, slow parenting and a host of other “slows” including slow work.

My friend, a productivity expert, gives a new twist to what he paradoxically calls “slow productivity”.  At some level he and I say the same things.

Man’s capacity to deal with complexity and change is limited. Having an ambitious mission supported by a well-defined vision is essential.

If you are new to planning do start with a bang, Go through the invigorating and sometimes overwhelming process of scenario and strategic planning. Gain clarity about the direction of your company.  Think innovatively. Do this in two days. With broad strokes develop a broad plan.

But then slow down even if you are highly motivated and want to get going at a fast pace. Do not jump in and try to realise your dreams at speed.  A rush forward will fail.

With people slow is fast. Carefully determine priorities and decide for starters on only three important business-building objectives.

Be minimalist but thorough. Develop a small, neat monthly operational plan or balanced scorecard.  During the first few months focus on the current month. And keep your monthly plan uncluttered.  Select one to three priority objectives which build your business.

Attention to detail is important. Focus, be thoughtful and complete this monthly plan in full. It is not a to-do list. Include precise measures, start and end dates and one to three precise actions steps or tasks per objective. Work with only three objectives.

Think outcomes. Think in the future past tense. See it before it happens. Draw the future into the present. Then take the right steps. Aim to achieve measurable movement forward each week on one to three important outcomes that build your business – which will generate a feeling of satisfaction.

Return to your annual plan later – after deliberate planning and execution become somewhat of a natural, routine activity. Then develop a detailed annual plan that could contain a large number of objectives.

And get into flow – at least once each day. I only get into flow, that is, into a zone where I am totally focused and where two or more hours slip by in a flash, if I do something really worth doing.  While in flow I do not think about other issues that would have previously claimed my attention.  Gerrit, my productivity friend, taught me to stash all other issues which require attention into a tidy Getting Things Done system on Outlook.

I attend to the stashed issues when I am ready to do so.

Go slow and get into flow!

Try it.

Albert

keywords: organisation, planning and execution, productivity, slow movement