Lean Times—A Call to Action!

If you spend enough time watching the major news networks these days, you can see a thread weaving through all the rhetoric, fancy graphics, pomp and circumstance. It’s all about OPINIONS. Everybody has one!

Every news program shares the results of opinion polls or seeks to enlighten us on a number of issues using a panel of “experts” who tend to leave most of us frustrated that no REAL solution is offered.

My opinion? You can’t run a business, a country, or anything else on opinions, nor can you effectively manage one that is bogged down in CHAOS! But, now and then comes a voice of reason, a breath of fresh air, a light in the darkness (if you’ll indulge me in a few clichés)—a viable solution that actually has enough merit to be taken seriously.

Years ago, such an idea sparked a dozen-year journey that found me up to my eyebrows in a work that has transformed not only my business, but also my life. I have learned that order CAN come out of chaos—but only after serious planning and hard work.

I was raised to believe there is (or should be) order to everything. There’s enough history to prove that to any thinking human being. Cause and effect, we call it! On the other hand, I don’t believe order just comes naturally to most human beings. It didn’t to me!

When I was a boy, I lived, ate and slept in an amazingly clean home. But, since I wasn’t called on to effect that kind of order inside Mom’s house, you can imagine my amazement when I moved out and into my OWN home—how such cleanliness and order did NOT just follow me. Like so many other human beings, although constantly frustrated by my mess, it took me years to realize I had the power to change it, especially after I discovered the POWER of good systems.

I am, by nature, a walking poster child for all the “slobs” of the world who struggle with personal organization. How many marriages and relationships fail over one person leaving their mess in another’s space? What would our military be if order was not demanded of them? How many companies (whole countries, for that matter) struggle with and fall victim to CHAOS?

It doesn’t have to be that way!

Let’s be honest, SOME mere mortals have a serious flaw—they actually relish chaos; they are not comfortable with order. Many still believe that chaos is normal, especially in business.

My opinion? It’s time for us to get a handle on chaos and implement real solutions, if we are going to turn our businesses and this economy around!

In the past few years, I have been able to visit with hundreds of business owners across our nation, and I’ve heard a resounding complaint, “Not enough time, too many problems.” CHAOS!

Maybe YOU are struggling to get a handle on what is actually going wrong INSIDE the operation of your business, because you don’t have the reporting ability to see the full picture at any given moment. I’m thankful to say the kind of business systems that we developed and implemented several years ago have allowed us to operate LEAN, so that we might be sustainable during such times as these.

WHEN this economy turns around (and I believe it will), will you have already thrown in the towel?

Or, will you have sought solutions to help your business survive these lean times?

My opinion? LEAN times call for lean actions. CALL me—let’s talk solutions!

Did I mention—Great systems work!

To invite Philip Paul Beyer to speak for your conference or other event, contact Ebiz Products/System100, 615-425-2652 or email susan@ebizproducts.com. Philip Beyer’s book, “System Busters: How to Stop Them in Your Business,” is available through the Printing Impressions bookstore.