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Blog: The Organized Entrepreneur
 Is the Big Picture Getting a Little Fuzzy?
Most business owners think of "organization" in terms of managing the daily details of the business. If the filing and bookkeeping are kept current, papers are not piling up on desks and phone calls are tracked and returned in a timely manner, the average business owner would say they feel organized and in control.
While it is critical to the success of any business to have systems in place for managing these mundane tasks, I believe there is a whole other level to organizing. You can call it vision, strategic planning, the big picture or top-level organizing. Basically, it all comes down the fact that the most perfect office systems in the world are meaningless unless they support a goal that makes financial sense and engages the imaginations of owners, employees and customers.
In our crazy-busy modern world, it can take all of our available time just to keep up with the day to day details. It is no wonder that "the big picture" gets out of focus.
Last summer I had planned to spend some time evaluating my organizing business, staffing needs and long term growth plan. Specifically, I needed to determine what my ideal org chart looks like 2, 3 and 5 years in the future. This information was needed to provide guidance in two major business planning decisions.
The summer brought the usual distractions – kids out of school, conferences, family vacations, special activities, new client projects, etc. September came, but my vision for realign's future was no clearer.
In late September, my husband and I made one last trip to the coast (kid free!). We stayed at the beautiful Tarpon Inn in Port Aransas, Texas. Built in 1886, the rooms are quaint, tiny and totally devoid of modern interruptions – no TV, no phones and very few tourists just days after a near-miss from Hurricane Ike. I can't remember the last time I felt such an overwhelming sense of quiet.
On the last morning of the trip, I sat on the porch in an antique wooden rocker and started to re-read Julie Morgenstern's "Never Check Email in the Morning". (Yes, this is in fact how Professional Organizers relax!) In that calm hour, with no sound other than creaking floorboards and the whir of ancient ceiling fans, the vision I had struggled for months to create became clear in a moment.
If you are struggling with a big picture issue and need to do some top-level organizing for your business, try going off-site. Retreat to a quiet place where you can slow down and clear your mind. You will always feel too busy to make this happen. Do it anyway. Your future will thank you.
posted on: 10/4/2008 8:30:00 AM by Shana Prichard
category: Business
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The Organized Entrepreneur
by Shana Prichard
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About Shana:
Shana M. Prichard, MBA owns realign, llc, a professional organizing firm. realign, llc provides small business organizing services including filing system design/implementation, desk and time management and QuickBooks set up and training. realign, llc also provides home-office organizing services to individuals.
Shana's Website:
www.RealignOrganizing.com
What I'm Reading . . .
- "Raising Financially Fit Kids", Joline Godfrey
Common sense ideas and insight into raising kids who are wll-prepared to manage their own finances as young adults.
- "The Success Principles: How To Get From Where You Are to Where You Want To Be" by Jack Canfield
This book really got me excited about pursuing my goals and growing my business. There is a heavier emphasis on materialism than what I am comfortable with, but overall this is an inspiring book.
- "The Organized Executive", by Stephanie Winston
- "No B.S. Time Management for Enterpreneurs" by Dan Kennedy
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www.OnlineOrganizing.com is a service mark of Bradford, LLC.
