Busy Work: Fresh Perspectives on an Old Problem

At our latest Around the Horn session, the room was packed with some of the best and brightest minds in Manhattan.

The first person we heard from was an executive who could not find enough time for business development because he was consumed with busy work. The solutions offered from the professionals in the room focused on attitude, behavior, and technique:

• To increase business growth, one speaker mentioned cold calling. Cold calling every day is like swimming laps in a cold pool – if you’re used to it, you look forward to it every day. If you miss 3 or 4 days, you have to force yourself to jump in.

• Another view was that it could be a time management issue – doing the easy things first will cause time to run out for business development. It’s important to allocate time to generate new business, and then stick to that schedule – don’t go back into busy work. If you have tasks that somebody else can do, hire an intern to do them.

• Know what your motivation is. If you need immediate gratification, business development won’t give you that. Think of it as an investment: Did I invest the time today that will pay off in 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, or longer? Operate on the idea that you’re not going to make a call or send an email and get business immediately. It has to be cultivated.

• You’re only as successful as you see yourself. If you see yourself as a slacker that’s what you’ll be; if you see yourself as a successful person, you’re more likely to be successful.

The issues we discuss during Around the Horn tend to be universal problems that often have multiple approaches that work. The method that you employ will depend on your style. That is one of the reasons why Around the Horn can be so valuable. You and your peers can attack problems encountered by everyone from every angle to find the approach most suitable to your style.

Which business or ethical dilemma is taking up your system resources today?

Dave Bresler
President of Network!Network!
Phone: 914-924-1297
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