How To Get Significantly Better Results In Less Time

Posted on July 14, 2021 by harborcapitalgroupinc

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Get Better Results In Less Time

No one has enough time, especially business executives.

We always try to do more, learn more, and produce more.

But there are only 1,440 minutes in a day, and no one gets more time, no matter who they are.

But there are ways to get much more done and better if you know how to use your time correctly.

Start by asking yourself these questions.

What do I love doing?

What is my expertise?

What do I hate doing?

What do I do that isn’t a priority?

Here is the first step if your goal is increased productivity and faster results.

Get rid of the jobs you hate to do and those that are not a priority.

If you hate doing them, you are probably not very good at them either.

Plus, they take more time than they should. Time is not a renewable resource.

Maybe someone in the company loves that kind of work and would be happy to do it.

If not, hire someone from the outside to do it. That’s probably less expensive than you doing it.

You have just saved time and used it on higher priority projects like driving revenues and profits.

Wait, there is another way to use your time more effectively.

What if you closed your office door, turned your phone and email off, and told people not to disturb you for three or four hours.

The result would be no interruptions, no time-sucking chit-chat, no distractions from emails that were not critical, and more.

Imagine four hours free of disruption –every day –what you could accomplish with that much extra time.

I’ll bet significantly more than twice as much.

Conclusion

Now, you can focus on the priority jobs where you have the expertise.

That’s how you become an exceptional leader that gets results.

Jim Zitek

Harbor Capital Group

P.S. Check out our website for more information on how to get results

P. P.S.It’s a short week so I made this short to save you time 🙂

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How To Turn Problems Into Opportunities

Posted on February 19, 2021 by harborcapitalgroupinc

How To Turn Problems Into Opportunities

Being a founder or CEO of a growing company means you are always stressed to do more.

There is too much to do, too many problems to solve, and too little time to do it all.

Yet, on top of all that stress, you have issues that crop up almost daily.

So, how can you turn problems into opportunities and move forward?

Anyone can turn problems into opportunities using problem-solving techniques, and you don’t have to be a genius to do it.

However, you have to learn a little about the different kinds of problem-solving strategies and techniques.

20+ Problem-Solving Techniques

We are working on creating a series of over 20 ways anyone can turn problems into opportunities.

We explain how each one works. You can’t simply read one after another and understand that technique well enough.

You need to know if that technique works for you or if a different one would be better.

We encourage you to try each one. Some methods you can do quickly, and others take more time.

But, each one will teach you how to become a better problem-solver.

Your Mind Is Pre-Wired To Solve Problems

According to Danial Kahneman’s book: “Thinking Fast And Slow,” Your mind is pre-wired to go problem-solving.

It can switch your thoughts from thinking fast (having an instant answer or a Eureka! Moment)

to thinking slow (digging deep into your knowledge base for breakthrough ideas).

For example, Einstein’s theory of relativity. Your mind switches back and forth between the two thought processes as it searches for the answer.

This process lets you see a bigger picture and more problem-solving options.

In addition to fast and slow thinking, you need to have a positive attitude to solve problems.

You can’t focus on the negative (“why are sales slowing down”).

You have to reframe the negative problem into a positive (“how do we get customers to buy more”). That way, you are focusing on a positive solution.

Pretty easy so far, right?

Next, you can begin to look at the many problem-solving techniques that will help you solve your problems.

A good place to start is with Michael Michalko’s books, especially the “Thinkertoys” book with many problem-solving techniques.

He divides the techniques into two groups.

One group focuses on a linear method using words and illustrations to probe your thoughts.

Some people are more comfortable working with word concepts.

The second group of techniques is more intuitive and relies on intuition and insight to arrive at the solution.

People generally prefer one group over the other just based on their individual preferences.

There is no right or wrong technique.

You can use any of the techniques to solve your problem. You do want to become familiar with all of them.

Each has a unique way to structure and process information that leads to a solution.

Some techniques will seem easy, and you will like using them. Others may give you answers, but the process isn’t as comfortable as some others.

Also, some techniques will give you the confidence you need to believe that you will solve the problem.

Never underestimate the power of confidence. You have to believe you can solve the problem.

So you pick the technique that works best for you or try several of them on your problem to see what results you get.

All Problem Solving Techniques Will Be Covered

We will be covering all of these problem-solving techniques on our advisor platform.

But, you can’t simply read about a method and quickly move on to the next one.

You need to go through a problem-solving example so you can get the idea and feel of how that technique works.

Working through an example is the only way you can judge how they work and if you are comfortable with that specific problem-solving technique.

Three Factors That Will Help You Turn Problems Into Opportunities

Brian Tracy, in his book “Creativity and Problem Solving,” offers three factors, among many good ideas. That helps you be creative:

1. How intensely you desire a goal (the more you want to achieve that goal the more ways you will find to achieve that goal).

2. How serious the problem is to your life or business. Once you have identified what is holding you back from an important goal,

your mind will start generating ideas to solve that problem.

3. How do you focus on the question. (the more precise and focused you are on the question, the more rapidly your creative reflexes operate to generate workable answers

Using these problem-solving techniques, you will be able to

1. Generate ideas at will

2. Create new business opportunities

3. Modify ideas until you come up with innovative and powerful ideas

4. Improve old products, services, and processes

5. Develop solutions to complex business problems

6. See problems as opportunities,And much, much more

Conclusion

As an entrepreneur or CEO, our hectic lives are continually being interrupted by challenges and problems that need creative solutions, short-term, and long-term solutions.

And everyone is capable of innovative solutions.

It’s a matter of learning the methods and techniques of creative problem-solving and practicing them.

Remember, the worth of the idea you create will depend to some degree on the way you define your problems.

For example, write down the problem. Translate it into a positive opportunity. It is impossible to be creative if you are focused on a negative.

You have to look at the problem broadly. This broad approach is true for problem-solving techniques as well.

Try all of them and select the ones that work best for you.

We would love to hear your comments about problem-solving, good or bad.

Avoidable Mistakes Made Preparing Business Plans For Investors (part two)

Posted on November 13, 2020 by harborcapitalgroupinc

Do not be too technical.

People with technical backgrounds or specialized products often fill the document with jargon and concepts with no meaning for the non-technical person. Investors are interested in how the product works, but only in reference to how it solves the problem.

For example, when Steve Jobs introduced the iPod, it had 5 gigabits of storage. No one other than engineers knew what 5 gigabits were, so the way he explained it was to say with the iPod, you could put 1,000 songs in your pocket.

If investors are interested in your opportunity, they will have engineers look at the technology in depth. You can also detail the technology in a separate document.

No risk analysis

Investors are in the business of balancing risks versus rewards. Some of the first things investors want to know are the risks inherent in your business and what has been done to mitigate the risks.

The key risks of entrepreneurial ventures

Market risks: Where people actually buy what you have to say, will you need to create a major change in consumer behavior?

Technology risks: Can you actually deliver what you say you can? On a budget and on time?

Operational risk: What can go wrong in the day-to-day operations of the company? What can go wrong with manufacturing and customer support?

Management risks: Can you attract and retain the right team? Can your team pull this off? Are you prepared to step aside and let somebody else take over if necessary?

Legal risks: Is your intellectual property truly protected? Are you infringing on another companies patterns? If your solution does not work, can you limit your liability?

These risks are, of course, just a partial list of risks.

Even though you may feel that the risks are negligible, potential investors will feel otherwise unless you demonstrate that you have given a lot of thought to what can go wrong and can take prudent steps to mitigate these risks.

Poorly organized

Your plan should flow in an excellent organized fashion. Each section should build logically on the previous section, without requiring the reader to know something presented later in the plan.

Although there is no single correct business plan structure, one successful design is as follows:

Cover page: This is the first thing the reader will see, so keep it simple and professional, and be sure to include your contact information so the reader can reach you easily.

Executive summary: This is a brief, 1 to 3 page summary of everything that follows in the plan. It should be a standalone document as many readers will make their initial decision based on the executive summary alone.

Background: If you are in a highly specialized field, you should provide some knowledge in layman terms since most investors will not have advanced degrees in your area.

Market opportunity: Describe how businesses and consumers are suffering and how much they are willing to pay for a solution.

Products or services: Describe what you do and how your solution fits into the marketing opportunity.

Market traction: Describe how you have succeeded in attracting customers, marketing and distribution partnerships, and other alliances that demonstrate that experts in your market are betting on your solution.

Competitive analysis: Identify your direct and indirect competitors, and describe how your solution is better.

Distribution and marketing strategy: Describe how you will get to market, how are you will price your products etc.

Risk analysis: Identify primary sources of risks, and describe how you are mitigating them.

Milestones: Showcase a strong past track record and describe key checkpoints for the future.

Company and management: Provide the basic facts about your company – where and when you, Inc., where are you are located, and give a brief biography of your core team.

Financials: Provide summaries of your P&L and cash flows and the assumptions used to come up with this. Also, describe your funding needs, how are you are using the proceeds and possible exit strategies for investors.

As stated earlier, there is no right structure; you will need to experiment to find the one that best suits your business.

This article completes part two. The third and final article deals with the financial aspect of the business plan.