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We hope you find this arcthve useful. A subscription to The Small Business Advisor Newsletter is free. Subscribe now - it's easy! The Small Business Advisor Newsletter for October, 2002 ======================== ======================== I don’t think anyone would argue with the premise that a healthy employee tends to be more productive than an unhealthy counterpart.Many smaller companies ignore this obvious fact. Since the cost of employees is expensive (don’t need to remind anyone of that!) it makes good sense to do as much possible to ensure maximum productivity. Help your employees stay healthy! Here are a few suggestions to get you going. Check with your tax advisor for possible tax advantages. Check with a local health club to see if you can obtain a company membership that would allow each of your employees to join at a reduced cost. (You might even think about paying for the memberships!). Replace in-house “junk food” machines with healthy food counterparts – fruit, for example. Start an in-house league of some sort – basketball, touch football, etc … Keep your premises smoke-free! Have in-house facilities to support employees who jog or “power walk” at lunchtime. (Locker room, shower). Sponsor a company sporting event. Make it competitive. Give prizes! Visit http://www.hopepublications.com/ for health-related posters that can be personalized for your company. If your business is large enough you may be able to add a small workout area with a couple of “universal” machines” for employee use. Provide parking space for bicycles, or if possible a space inside. State a “healthy employee program.” Encourage better health with contests such as a prize for the employee losing the most weight or who bicycles the most miles, etc … be creative. ======================== ENTREPRENEURSHIP MEANS NEVER TAKING EYES OFF THE
DETAILS Most people assume that the exhaustion that can accompany entrepreneurship is primarily related to the sheer numbers of hours worked. That could be, but the real source of burn out could be the fear that keeps the business owner awake at night because, heaven forbid, he or she might have lost track of a crucial detail, one which can bring the company down. Here's a metaphor on this topic that came to me recently: I am happy to say that I am typing this column with two hands, at normal speed. This is not something to be taken for granted. Until recently, three fingers on my right hand were bandaged, forcing me to type awkwardly with my left hand and two fingers of my right. This is more than a nuisance to a professional writer with deadlines looming. With the amount of cooking I do, it's really a miracle that I haven't had a kitchen accident more often. Distracted by children, my business, and usually rushing, or to say it nicer, "maximizing my available time", an army of angels must be working overtime to keep me and my children safe in the kitchen. On this particular day, I was cooking chicken for our Friday evening sabbath dinner. Per usual, the chicken was roasting for a few hours in a big roasting pan. I donned a thick oven mitt on both hands, brought out the chicken to be examined and stirred, and discovered that the oven mitt made it too difficult to handle the spoon I was holding. So, then I did something stupid. I removed the oven mitt from my right hand, stirred the chicken, and then grabbed the lid to place it back on the pot. That's the lid that had been roasting in the oven for two hours. That's the red-hot lid, the one that instantaneously burned three of my fingers because I grabbed it without putting the oven mitt back on first. Seconds later I was cursing, under my breath of course because the children were nearby, while running my fingers under cold water. No amount of ice, medicine, homeopathic remedies, and prayers eliminated the inevitable -- big blisters on three fingers, incredible pain, and a week of awkward typing. Everywhere I went women approached me and said, "burned your fingers in the kitchen?" Seems like every cook has a story, and bandaged fingers inducts a woman into some kind of universal club to which no one wants to belong. I had a lot of time, staring at these bandages, to think about how stupid that mistake was. Just a fleeting second when I neglected to properly protect my fingers, and I could have destroyed that which gives me my livelihood. Counting slowly, my mistake took all of about five seconds. I'm lucky. The burns are healing. There won't be any lifelong repercussions to my stupidity. But what about the entrepreneur who has a bad day, slips up on just one detail, just one out of thousands, but oh, that one -- that's not a detail to be missed. Even the most fastidious of entrepreneurs is entitled to a bad day every now and then, isn't he? It's not human to expect perfection, day in and out, often on less than five hours of sleep a night. Many of you are nodding your heads in agreement. You know that what I say is true, and yet, you also know that this standard of perfection is what we hold ourselves to when we are launching a new business or keeping it solvent. Nothing short of perfection, no room for mistakes. I'd like to deal with reality for a moment. You are going to slip up sometimes. Your fingers are going to get burned. You are a human being, not a robot. The question is, how can you protect yourself and your company from irreversible damage, should you suffer a temporary loss in judgment -- and you will! I have no easy answers, because to offer them would be insulting and pollyanna. The truth is, you CAN destroy your company in one bad day. Don't be haughty enough to assume that you can get yourself out of any mess you might create. So, what's the equivalent of donning oven mitts before putting your hands into the entrepreneurial fire? One, don't make decisions alone. Lean on advisors, partners, employees, customers, friends, your spouse, and a whole team of people who keep you accountable and thoughtful about your actions before pursuing them. Two, beware of rushing. I know you have to seize the moment. But, if you don't do your due diligence, you might just end up with burned fingers and a major set back. Three, if your fingers get burned, bandage them up, whine and moan for a day or two, and then put the mitts back on, and start cooking again. Chances are good, if you spend enough time in the kitchen, you are going to get burned. Return to top of page - Back to Home Page - Back to Archive Index |