productivity Archives - Get Off The Wheel

Test Your Commitment to Goals

April 28, 2020

Test Your Commitment to Goals Now that tax season is over, it is time to revisit your goals. You may have big goals, but do you have the passion to bring them to life? Success usually requires a road map and a strategy, but it also calls for an overwhelming drive. Try testing yourself with these questions: Do you feel strongly about the importance of your goal—why it’s necessary to achieve it? Does your idea match your values and beliefs? Is this something you’ve dreamed about for a long time? Is your goal vital to the future of people you
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Succeed with Your Powers of Persuasion

April 21, 2020

Persuasion is a skill you need every day, whether you’re negotiating a big business deal or telling your children to eat their vegetables. Try these techniques for influencing people of any age in any situation: Speak their language. Listen to how people express themselves, particularly when it comes to sensory words. Some people will see things (“I don’t see what you mean”), others will hear (“That doesn’t sound like fun”), and others will feel (“I don’t feel good about that.”) Use their preferred mode of expression back to them (“I see your point … I hear what you’re saying …
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Three Easy Steps To Retaining Your Best Clients

March 24, 2020

We all have those clients we consider our best or maybe even favorite. They are easy to work with, transparent about details and probably personable. But that doesn’t mean they’re loyal. Chances are, if they’re a great client for you, they’ll also be a great client for your competition. Landing new clients is an ongoing effort, but retaining your existing clients is equally important. Here are three easy steps to building strong customer loyalty. Business Checkup Ask your clients for a meeting to perform a business checkup. These can be conducted seasonally, annually or quarterly. A business checkup will give
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Staying Motivated When Work Gets Tough

March 17, 2020

Not every day in the office is a walk in the park. Even if you normally love what you do, sometimes work can get you down. When your day starts without coffee, the traffic is bad, you’re behind on work or others at work are sharing their own stress, it can be surprisingly challenging to stay positive and productive. Often during bad days, even your own mind turns against you and it’s easy to start not just feeling bad about the day, but also feeling bad about yourself. On these days more than any other, it’s important to never give
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Managing Employees: Four Benefits of Finding the Right Fit

March 10, 2020

Finding candidates with the right temperament, skills and passion for your business isn’t easy, and compensation constraints can sometimes preclude the most talented applicants. However, you can save money over the long run by finding the right fit for your office. There are specific monetary and qualitative benefits by opting to pay more for qualified employees. Faster Production Cycle Times Qualified candidates by definition know what they’re doing, which can increase your productive capacity without expanding your workforce. There are all kinds of monetary benefits associated with the fast and efficient cycle times qualified workers can deliver. You can reduce
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Ways to Wow Your Customer

February 25, 2020

People have so many options when it comes to in-person and online businesses today. Options are good for the consumer, but how do you make sure your clients choose you every time? These tips will leave a lasting impression on your clients to be sure they keep coming back to you. Go the Extra Mile Clients will remember a company or individual who went above and beyond for them. This could be something as small as helping them out the door when they leave, or it could be something time consuming like researching a specific good or service they are
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Managing Your Staff & Fostering an Environment of Support

February 19, 2020

When you first hired your employees, you essentially needed them to assist you in performing your accounting services. You’ve probably quickly learned how easy those ‘helpers’ could turn into your ‘work family.’ Now you’re finding yourself in a true leadership and management position, charged with supporting and growing your staff, as well as your business. Here are three suggestions to keep your management on par with success for your practice. Lead By Example You hear this advice often. You don’t want to ask your team to do something you, yourself don’t practice. But it’s so important in leadership and means more
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Increase the Benefits of Delegating Duties

February 11, 2020

How to delegate tasks is an important issue, but which tasks to delegate—and why—are equally good questions. Take delegation to a higher level with this advice: Focus on growth. Use delegation as a strategy for employee development. Assign tasks that stretch your people, not just busywork that’s so “safe” nobody could screw it up. Think big: Delegate tasks that will have an impact on your employees—and your organization. Analyze your responsibilities. When deciding what to do yourself, consider the value of your own time. Would you authorize paying somebody at your salary level to change the toner cartridge? That doesn’t
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Improve Your Self-Discipline

January 28, 2020

Success in any endeavor is a matter of self-discipline. If you can’t stay focused on your goals, you’ll never achieve them. The Ladders website shares this list of tips for improving your self-discipline: Start on Monday. Begin working on your goals on the first day on the week. Researchers say this can help you follow through. Write down the reasons behind your goals. Positive affirmations can solidify your goals in your mind and help you stay focused. Visualize the benefits. Think about what you’ll gain as you work toward your goals and eventually achieve them. They’ll become more real in
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Solve Workplace Quandaries in These Four Basic Steps

December 17, 2019

Some workplace problems are simple. With others, though, the right decision isn’t always as obvious as you would like. If you follow the four-step process described below, you may be able to resolve workplace problems effectively. Evaluate the information. Don’t jump to conclusions. Find out what’s happening (or what happened). Who was involved? Is the source of your information reliable? Do you have all the relevant facts? Consider the people involved. How might your decision affect the relevant stakeholders? Think of your employees, their co-workers, the organization, the community, etc. What issues are important to the people who will be
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