A reminder of how important a rainy day fund is if you’re self-employed

Posted by Jeanne Yocum on April 9, 2013

You may have noticed that this space has been empty for two weeks. The reason for the lack of posts is a bad tumble I took in my office that left me with bruised knees, and, more problematic, a badly bruised right rib cage. After determining that nothing was actually broken, I followed the advised remedy for bruised ribs, which is to do as little as possible. It has been a two steps forward, one step back healing process, but things are finally moving in the right direction and I am trying to catch up on work.

With this episode in mind, I am re-publishing below a post I wrote several years ago, when another health emergency put me out of work. It’s about the importance of being prepared for health emergencies when you’re self-employed.

Perils of self-employment #1: When your health lets you down

Last Thursday, I was reminded once more of one of the big perils of self-employment. My retina specialist informed me that, as I had suspected, I had another tear in my right retina. He put an air bubble in my eye to flatten out the retina on Friday, and then on Saturday he lasered the tear. His first prognosis was that I’d have to stay in bed lying on my left side for four to five days…something anyone who is self employed never wants to hear.

Fortunately, it turned out that the air bubble worked magnificently and I only had to stay in bed through the weekend. Thus, I only missed work on Thursday and Friday, not bad all things considered. The last time I had a retina problem I was totally blind in my right eye for a month before surgery repaired the damage. I could work during that time, but since I was relying on one eye to do all the work, I found I could only work a few hours a day. So in addition to the $2,000 deductible I had to pay for the day surgery required to repair the damage, my income for that month was also down. (I have known self-employed people who opted not to have health insurance coverage due to its high cost; I personally couldn’t sleep nights if I went that route so I’ve always made having insurance a high priority.)

Anyone who is self-employed lives in fear of such events. And, if like me you are also single, there is no Plan B…no back-up plan in which a partner or spouse can help you  if you hit a financial rough spot due to illness.

Such events are something anyone who is considering self-employment needs to seriously consider. Cash flow is king when you’re self-employed. Having an emergency fund to tide you over rough spots, such as a slowdown in business, is important at all times, but it’s particularly wise to amass a rainy day fund if, like me, you have a medical condition that might periodically put your cash flow in jeopardy.

In my experience, it is issues like this that many people do not take into consideration before making the leap to self-employment. I never like to discourage people from following their dreams, but you really do need to consider all the ramifications of such a big decision. Self-employment is definitely not for everyone, and it particularly is not for people who can’t stand the inevitable stress that comes when you can’t work for some reason, such as a medical issue.

I encourage anyone who is considering self-employment to have a realistic view of the potential downsides. Being your own boss is great. I’ve done it for over 20 years and except for the three times when one of my retinas has gone kerflooey and scared me half to death, I’ve loved it. But it is times like I just experienced that reminded me that it’s not for everyone.

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7 proven practices to make meetings more effective plus out-of-the-conference-room approaches to try

Posted by Karen Utgoff on March 21, 2013

My post last month on the “return on effort” approach to meetings, mentioned that I would be sharing some novel meeting formats and a few favorite practices to make meetings more effective, especially in a small business environment. These are all habits that I have found especially useful when – in addition to the specific purpose of the moment – you want to use meetings to enable steady progress by your employees, assign tasks, or delegate  authority.

Why does this matter to a small business? My experience is that improvements in meeting practices can help even high-performing teams increase the “return on effort,” which translates into improvements in day-to-day operations and can even make the difference between success and failure of growth initiatives – especially those that require actions beyond business as usual.

First seven tried-and-true practices:

1. Don’t have a meeting unless you need one! Sometimes more informal, relaxed approaches work better. Spending 10 minutes one-on-one with six people to get their individual views on an issue rather than getting all six into a 60-minute meeting for the same purpose will save time (120 people-minutes versus 420 people-minutes) and may be more effective, especially if you are looking for unconventional wisdom. Even in bigger groups it can be better to have a conversation rather than hold a meeting.

2. Set the agenda in advance. An agenda can be a formal document or a quick email depending on the scale, scope and schedule for an individual meeting or series of meetings. Send it in advance so people know what to expect and how to prepare. This HBR Blog by Anthony Tjan offers good and simple guidance  for constructing an agenda.

For example, “the purpose of the meeting is to get final input on the proposals for a new CRM system. Marketing, sales and customer service will each have 10 minutes to present a list of pros and cons for each option based on their own needs.” Try sending the agenda as a draft, when you want to invite others to contribute ideas to it.

3. Provide information to fuel the conversation. For example, if you are in the midst of strategic planning and having a meeting regarding the SWOT analysis, send background information in advance on the strengths and weaknesses as well as the opportunities and threats you want to discuss along with some questions for attendees to use in preparing for the meeting. For routine meetings such as monthly management meetings or annual employee reviews, it can save time and increase “return on effort” to standardize these items.

4. Make sure participants are mentally as well as physically present. Engaging everyone can be challenging. Start by asking participants to put aside the other things on their minds and, for a long meeting, assure them that there will be breaks. Ask everyone to put phones on vibrate as a cue that the meeting is starting or review the agenda to create focus. Exceptions will come up; handle them with professional understanding, excitement, or sympathy depending on the circumstances. Throughout the meeting keep an eye on participants’ body language, attitude and participation as well as your own.

5. Keep meetings short. While there are times when a long meeting is necessary, make sure there is a good reason. Meetings that last over an hour tax the attention spans of all involved. If you have 90 minutes worth of work and schedules permit, consider breaking it into a one-hour meeting on Tuesday followed by a 30-minute conclusion on Wednesday. Preparation such as sending a good agenda and background information in advance can substantially reduce the duration of meetings.

6. Assign “next steps.” Unless the meeting marks the end of a process, make sure that follow up assignments with due dates are made at the end of the meeting. If need be, send a recap email to make sure that everyone is aware of the new tasks. If another get together is needed with the same group, schedule it before the meeting concludes.

7. Do your homework and expect others to do theirs. Effective meetings often require substantial preparation and follow up. Lack of either can reduce or eliminate what could be a substantial “return on effort.” Set a good example by coming well prepared and following through on any “next steps” assigned to you.

In addition to the practices above, be willing to experiment with other approaches to increasing the effectiveness of your meetings. Some of these interesting ideas might work for you:

Borrow some ideas from Google to get around the burdens of refining notes, long meetings, political maneuvering, and other challenges.

Walk rather than sit to encourage healthy discussion along with healthy bodies.

Stand rather than sit to keep meetings short and to the point.

Which of these practices, formats, or ideas are you using? Which sound interesting enough to try? What else has helped in your company make meetings more effective? Let me know.

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Karen Utgoff, principal of Karen Lauter Utgoff Consulting, is a market-oriented business strategist based in Amherst, MA. Learn more at http://www.utgoff.com.

© Karen Lauter Utgoff Consulting 2013. All rights reserved.

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Why networking is important for small businesses

Posted by Guest Poster on March 19, 2013

Networking is important for businesses of all sizes, but when you are just starting out, the contacts that you make and nurture can make all the difference when it comes to growing your organization.

From spreading the word about your company to expanding your target market and even mentorship or partnership opportunities, there are lots of things that putting yourself out there can accomplish! Here are some of the reasons why networking is so important – and a few tips to help you improve your skills.

A strong network means support

When you are just starting out, it is important to surround yourself with plenty of support and encouragement – and to make contacts that can help you grow your business. Fellow small business owners are a great place to start – you can bounce ideas off each other, share strategies and learn from your collective successes and failures.

Your network can also offer you support in other ways. For example, you may need a printer or a web designer – and if you have built a comprehensive network, chances are you already know (or know someone who knows) a person who can help you get the job done.

Networking is also a great opportunity to find a mentor – someone with experience in your field who you can rely on to provide wise counsel and support. Including mentors in your network will make you better equipped to deal with rough patches – you can learn lots from their experience and support,

Networking can help you grow

Whether you are planning to launch a new product, expand into a larger market or even just trying to raise your company’s profile, having the right contacts can make the process a lot easier. Smart networking will ensure you are constantly in touch with suppliers, shipping companies and distributors to get your products and services out there.

If you are thinking about entering into a new market or supplying products or services overseas, networking in advance can help you act quickly and decisively when the time comes to put your plan into action. By knowing where to go, who to speak to and what to do in advance, you will have an edge over other competitors.

Nurturing your network

Now that you know how effective a network can be in helping you grow and develop your business, it’s time to put your skills to the test.

Networking is as much about nurturing existing relationships as it is about making new ones – staying in touch regularly can ensure you remain at the forefront of your contacts’ minds so they think of you when new opportunities arise.

You can nurture your local network by attending regular industry events or making plans to meet up once a month with other business owners in your area. For international contacts, the process doesn’t need to be much more complicated – scheduling regular conference calls can help you keep your connections strong.

Check out services offering international conference calls – some providers let you record your conversations as mp3s to reference at a later date, doing away with the need to take extensive notes during the conversation.

By building and nurturing a solid network of contacts, you’ll perfectly position yourself for business success!

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Edel Flood writes for SquareDigital, a digital publishing company.

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Start spreading the word…writing press releases for your small business

Posted by MarkAuerbach on March 14, 2013

A concise, well-written, well-targeted press release is your key to opening the door for media coverage that will help bring new customers to your door.

No matter how well targeted your media list is, you can’t attract an editor’s attention without a concise, factual, and well-crafted release.

As for format, remember these essentials.
•Keep the press release to one page if possible.
• Use 12 point type, and skip the italics and calligraphy look.
• Limit the number of hyperlinks.
• Don’t add attachments (as this causes many items to end up in spam folders)
•Your contact information appears in the upper left corner of the release. This includes the date of the release, its distribution timeline, your name, phone and email address.
• Your headline is always in bold type.
• End the release with either -30- or ###, which are editors’ symbols that say “end of story.”
• If you have additional information for the media’s eyes only, it goes below the -30- or ### with the header: Notes to the Press. Here’s your opportunity to say “Photos available upon request” and/or “Interviews with so-and-so can be scheduled via name and contact information.”

And, If you’re writing your release for radio and/or television outlets, be sure to include a pronunciation guide for any unique name or foreign words.
As for content:

•  Your headline summarizes your news. It will also appear in the subject header of your email, so make it concise.

Debbie Gardner, editor of PRIME Magazine and a reporter with Reminder Publications, gets right to the point. “The ideal press release includes the classic “5 W’s” of good reporting–the who the event is about/for; the what the event is; the when the event is taking place – including date and time; the where the event is taking place – including an exact location with directions, if necessary; and the why this event is taking place – e.g. it’s a fundraiser, a commemoration, a lecture, a graduation exercise, a sporting event, etc.”

That said,
• Paragraph #1 contains all the essentials: The Who, What, When Where, How
• Paragraphs #2 and #3 support the opening paragraph with facts, descriptions to back up the information you’re touting in the release, and maybe a quote from someone important.
• Closing paragraph: Also known as the boilerplate, this is a statement about who you are or who your company is, location, and a website the public can access for further information.

You can find several examples on my blog, “Random Notes from a P.R. Guy”. http://mgauerbach.blogspot.com/

Gardner adds, “Most newspapers don’t want to see an attempt at storytelling, that’s our job and we’ll call you up to get more facts if we think there’s a good story behind your release. Another poor approach is a press release that starts with a long-winded lead such as this: ‘There’s still snow on the ground, but soon the spring flowers will be up, and the July 4th parade committee will soon be sending out applications for groups who wish to participate.’ Get to the point with your information.”

When it comes to format and content, consider these resources.
Press Release Format: Media College: http://www.mediacollege.com/journalism/press-release/format.html
Publicity Insider: http://www.publicityinsider.com/release.asp
PR Web: http://service.prweb.com/learning/article/format-press-release/
Press Releasing.com: http://www.pressreleasing.com/tips.htm

As for style:
Most editors prefer either the Associated Press Stylebook (The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law) or the New York Times Manual of Style and Usage. Both are created by editors and are updated annually. One of these and a good dictionary are your key resources. (You can buy them at a bookstore or from online retailers).

Be careful with the adjectives, the hype, and the buzzword. They cheapen your message, and they cross the line from news to feature. Avoid these words: http://ambergoldmarketing.com/2012/12/29/press-release-strategy-and-words-to-avoid/

As for the timing, plan ahead, and know when publication deadlines are.

Gardner adds “Most media – electronic and print – publish notices on their websites that give guidelines for submission of press releases – adhere to the schedule! It’s also nice if you take the time to find out who the editor of a publication / or the name of the calendar editor – and address your request to them personally.”

And a final thought, send your release to more than one person as a blind copy, rather than exposing your entire media list to the media.

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Mark G. Auerbach is principal at Mark G. Auerbach Public Relations, a Springfield, MA, based marketing, public relations, development and events consultancy. You can find more information about Mark at Facebook and LinkedIn.

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Working smarter essential to supporting growth of your small business

Posted by Jeanne Yocum on March 13, 2013

A couple weeks ago I wrote a post about the importance of learning how to delegate. Aside from the importance of empowering employees by giving them ability to make decisions, delegating also means you are freeing up valuable time to concentrate on business growth. Today I’d like to talk about other ways to work smarter and thereby give yourself more time to pursue growth.

First, delegating responsibility to in-house employees is not the only way you can free up time. You can also outsource work. This works whether you have employees or don’t. For example, I use WordPress for this blog. While I find it reasonably easy to navigate through the innards of WordPress, I outsource any design changes I want to make to a company in Georgia called Graphic Technique. Why? Because they can make changes far faster than I can since they are far more familiar with the application than I am. They can usually do in 15 minutes what it would take me a half hour to figure out. So since their hourly rate is significantly lower than the hourly rate I charge my clients, it makes more sense for me to be working on client work and earning money while they are fixing the blog. I’ve also found that they are extremely responsive so they get to things much faster than I ever would on my own.

Yes, I could find someone closer to home to do this work, but I live in an expensive state. So it’s almost certain that anyone I could hire here would cost more than the folks in Georgia. This rate differential is why a colleague of mine hires a virtual assistant who is in Minnesota, instead of hiring someone in the Boston area where she lives. In fact, everyone I know who has a virtual assistant has someone in a less expensive area. Outsourcing work to parts of the country (or even the world) that are less expensive than where you live is just a smart way to work. Virtual assistants are a great way for those of us who work alone to remove time-consuming work from our schedule without adding the costs associated with an employee.

A second strategy for working smarter is to make sure you’re using all the tools are available to you to help with routine tasks. For example, Intuit, the makers of QuickBooks and the company I and millions of others trust their tax preparation to, can help you speed up your payroll function and they even offer some employee benefits designed especially for small businesses.

Another company, FreshBooks, offers cloud-based billing services. The fees for both these companies are very reasonable, but perhaps most importantly, their ease of use makes it simple for you to take care of essential functions more quickly, again freeing up vital time. So before hesitating and saying, “Gee, I can do this on my own and don’t need that expense,” instead ask yourself how valuable it would be to have more time available to focus on bringing in new clients or customers. It’s just smart business to keep abreast of all the new tools that are available to you to streamline your work so you’re freed to focus on business growth.

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Creating a successful marketing campaign

Posted by Guest Poster on March 7, 2013

By: Edel Flood

No matter the size or scale of your business, it’s fairly safe to say you should be looking to raise awareness of your brand among new and existing customers and clients. The key to being successful in this is creating and implementing effective marketing campaigns. However, doing so is not something that ought to be done hastily.

Indeed, rushing ahead with a poorly thought out marketing initiative – even if there are particular goals you wish to achieve urgently – means you run the risk of failing to communicate effectively with your target audience. It’s also worth bearing in mind that a lack of planning may also lead to the inefficient use of time, money and other resources. This, quite obviously, is something you will be keen to avoid, especially when you’re operating a small business with a limited marketing budget. So it’s important to consider every aspect of your campaign carefully before it starts in earnest.

Set your goals - It should go without saying, but I don’t think you should ever underestimate how crucial it is to have a clear idea of what you hope to achieve from your marketing campaign. For some companies, it may be making customers aware of a new product, while others will want to encourage existing clients to spend more money on their services. Whatever you have in mind for your organization, it’s a good idea to set targets well in advance that enable you to judge how successful your campaign will be.

Offer appealing products/services - Again, this sounds fairly obvious, but there’s little point in implementing a marketing campaign if what you’re offering doesn’t meet your target audience’s needs in some way. To be sure your initiative will be successful, it’s a good idea to carry out thorough market research to establish what your customers are interested in. With this knowledge, you can tailor your products and services to ensure they meet customer needs.

Keep things simple - Whether your company is targeting low and middle-income earners or those with a vast amount of disposable cash, you should keep your campaigns as simple as possible, even if you’re selling expensive high-end products. Doing so will ensure that your campaign is understood by as wide an audience as possible. You should also make certain that every facet of your strategy has a call to action that will encourage further interaction with your company. After all, if people aren’t able to get in touch with you to find out more about what you’re offering, there’s little point in running a marketing campaign in the first place!

Budget wisely - Another vital consideration when it comes to running a successful marketing campaign is budgeting. Of course, if you don’t keep a watchful eye on your costs, you may end up spending significantly more money than you originally envisaged. If you’re looking to set up a memorable, yet cost-effective, strategy, I advise that you distribute promotional products to your target audience.

Research carried out by the Advertising Speciality Institute indicates using promotional products can offer a much better return on investment (ROI) in comparison to many other forms of advertising, including TV, radio and print. Specialty items offer these advantages, according to the study:

• More than eight out of ten (84%) of those surveyed remembered the advertisers of the promotional products they received.

• They leave a longer impression; more than three-quarters of the people surveyed by ASI said they had specialty items more than six months after receiving them. Over one-half (56%) of promotional products are kept at home and over 28% at the office.

• Forty-two percent of those surveyed said they had a more favorable impression of the advertiser after receiving a specialty item.

The more useful a promotional gift, the better. Business accessories like promotional USB sticks are highly likely to get repeated use, bringing your name in front of your customer over and over. In fact, in the ASI study, 81% of respondents said they kept promotional products because they were considered useful.

What have your experiences of marketing campaigns and specialty items been like? Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.

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Edel Flood writes for SquareDigital, a digital publishing company.

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Survey shows small business owners are bullish on 2013 growth prospects

Posted by Jeanne Yocum on March 5, 2013

Many small business owners think things are looking up, according to a recent survey conducted by TD Bank. The survey polled more than 500 small business owners across the bank’s Maine to Florida footprint on their plans for 2013. Here are key results:

• 49% say they are somewhat or very confident that their small business will be in better financial shape than it was in 2012, with 25% still unsure and 25% are not confident about their financial health.

• 47% are somewhat or very confident that they’ll exceed their sales performance from 2012, 31% are unsure, and 22% think sales will worsen.

• 59% intend to keep staffing levels the same, but 32% plan to hire at least one new employee, and only 9% plan to downsize their team in the year ahead.

Since the survey was conducted at the end of 2012, developments in Washington regarding the budget cuts that went into effect this week may have caused some small business owners to rethink their optimism. So how would you answer these questions at this point in the year? Are you feeling bullish about 2013, or not so much?

If you are hoping to grow this year, have you updated your business plan to make sure it includes all the action steps you’ll need to take to achieve the desired growth? When TD Bank asked small business owners in their survey how often they review and update their business plan, they found some business owners aren’t paying as close attention to this important document as they should. Thirteen percent said they only review their plan when they are applying for new financing, meaning they don’t recognize the value of a business plan as a working document that can be used to guide decision-making. Thirty-six percent said they review and update their business plan once a year, 30% said they do this every quarter, and 20% said they review their plan each month.

Having a good business plan is always important, but never more so than when you’re pursuing a growth strategy. So if you’re feeling bullish about 2013 – and beyond – you should probably join the folks who are reviewing their plans every quarter or even every month. The pace of change in business has never been faster and the competitive pressures on small businesses have never been greater. You need to have up-to-date strategies in place to support growth so make sure your business plan is a working document instead of just something that gathers dust on a shelf.

Here’s an article from the Small Business Administration on this topic: “How a Simple Business Plan Can Get You From A to Z, and Navigate All Things In-between”

And here’s a post from my fellow blogger Karen Utgoff that should be helpful on this topic: “Make the Most of Your Planning Efforts”

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Learning to delegate is the key to small business productivity and growth

Posted by Jeanne Yocum on February 28, 2013

Earlier this month, I wrote a post about research that showed that employee productivity and creativity are enhanced when people feel they are able to make progress each day, no matter how small that progress is. One of the keys to enabling your employees to make progress is to empower them with authority to make decisions. And this requires that you learn to do one of the things that many small business owners find very difficult –– to relinquish authority through delegation.

Many small business owners start out as one-person shops. During this period, they are wearing all the hats there are to be worn in the business. Once they begin to hire employees, some owners find it very hard to hand over the reins of various functions to others. A dreaded habit of micromanaging sets in, a situation that makes nobody happy, including the owner, who is stressed by “having to decide everything around here.”

Here’s one sign that you may be guilty of micromanaging. Do clients come to you with all their problems? This is a sign that you haven’t effectively delegated authority to your staff and everyone – including your clients – knows this. Think how much time this takes out of your day, time that could be used on pursuing business growth strategies.

What if instead of being the master of everything, you let go? For example, when a new client comes on board, instead of telling them to come to you if they ever have any problem, you could instead assure them that you have full confidence in your staff’s ability to problem solve but if anything ever does arise that leaves them dissatisfied, they can always contact you directly. This should reduce the number of fires you have to put out because you have empowered your staff.

In reality, if you aren’t able to delegate, you are limiting the growth potential of your business because as you bring in more and more customers or clients, you simply won’t be able to keep up if you insist on being involved in everything the way you were at the start. So hire the best people possible and then give them the authority to do the great work they’re capable of doing. They will be happier, more creative and more productive, and the business will grow because you have more time to focus on what really matters instead of being constantly focused on telling everyone else how to do their jobs.

Here are some good articles on the art of delegating to help you learn this invaluable skill:

• “Learning to Delegate,” a white paper from Rice University.

• “Stop Micromanaging and Learn to Delegate,” a post from the Harvard Business Review Blog

• “Learning to Delegate,” an article from Entrepreneur magazine

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Managing the anxieties that come with owning a small business

Posted by Guest Poster on February 26, 2013

By Stan Popovich

A lot of stress and anxiety comes with owning a small business. You need to please customers, keep employees productive and content and make sure the business brings in enough money to pay its bills and, hopefully, earn you a decent income. Here are suggestions on how you can cope with the stresses small business owners face.

The first step is to manage your expenses and pay your bills on time. Develop a budget and do not spend more than what you make. Also learn to reduce your expenses when you can. Learn to pay your bills on a regular basis so your vendors and subcontractors will not be bothering you later on about getting paid.

Learn to manage your responsibilities by assigning certain tasks to others. If you do not have time to do the accounting, then teach your assistant how to do it. You are only one person and can only do so much in a given day. Do what is most important and delegate the rest.

When facing a project that overwhelms you with anxiety, divide it into a series of smaller steps and then complete each of the smaller tasks one at a time. Completing these smaller tasks will make the stress more manageable and increases your chances of success.

Sometimes, we get stressed when everything happens all at once. When this happens, take a deep breath and try to find something to do for a few minutes to get your mind off of the problem. You could take a walk, listen to some music, read the newspaper or do an activity that clears your head and gives you a fresh perspective on things.

Talk with your customers and employees on a regular basis. Find out what is on their minds. Ask for any suggestions on how to improve business productivity and moral. Communicating with your workers and clients will help prevent future problems and conflicts.

Challenge your negative thinking with positive statements and realistic thinking. When encountering thoughts that make you fearful or depressed, challenge those thoughts by asking yourself questions that will maintain objectivity and common sense.

Most importantly, develop a business plan and follow it. Being organized and goal oriented is very important in managing a business. Following a plan or set of goals will prevent you from a lot of stress and anxiety. It is much easier to do something when you have some kind of plan.

Managing a business can be stressful, but the key is knowing how to manage your anxieties. There is a right and wrong way in managing a business. Continue to learn effective techniques in managing your business and improve your bottom line. This will go a long way in getting rid of your stresses and other business problems.

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Stan Popovich is the author of A Layman’s Guide to Managing Fear Using Psychology, Christianity and Non Resistant Methods. For additional information go to: http://www.managingfear.com/

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To make meetings more productive, try thinking “return on effort”

Posted by Karen Utgoff on February 21, 2013

For most business owners and executives a staggering amount of time each week is spent in internal meetings and in all too many cases the operative word is “spent.” Today’s post suggests a refreshing way to approach meetings and to increase their value. If you are one of the many who finds yourself asking, “What do I have to show for the time I spent in meetings last week?” this post (first of a series) is for you.

Invest effort rather than spend time. Low or no expectations will almost inevitably result in low or no results. Asking yourself what “return on effort” is expected from a meeting or from a series of interrelated meetings can help you expect more and focus on results. For example, for an all-hands meeting to introduce a new employee to his/her coworkers, the expected return on effort is a more productive and engaged new employee. Or, for a series of meetings about development of a new product, the return on effort may be alignment of design, marketing, manufacturing, finance and general management expectations and plans as the new offering progresses.

Prepare for success. Once you start thinking in terms of investing effort, it becomes easier to see how and when preparation pays off. In the case of the all-hands meeting to welcome a new employee, preparation might be as simple as making sure everyone knows in advance the new person’s name, what he or she will be doing initially, and that it is important to make him/her feel welcome. For the new product example, preparation will be more complex with agendas, documents, and presentations from the different departments involved, all of which should support alignment across different functional areas.

Engage participants. Thinking in terms of return on effort affords an answer to the question “Why are we having this meeting?” and ideally commands attention. When participants know the meeting has a purpose, it will be easier for them to be mentally present as well as physically present. This need not be a formal pronouncement. A simple statement such as, “We are all here today to make sure we resolve the problem with XYZ. Is everyone ready to get started?” will often suffice to let those present know that their time and attention is valued.

Try to handle bad habits and distractions such as email or texting during meetings constructively at the beginning of the meeting by saying, “I know we are all busy and want to stay on top of our email and messages, does anyone have something that can’t wait?” If the meeting is scheduled to last more than an hour, consider scheduling one or more breaks to take care of urgent emails.

Get started. All changes in attitude are difficult and walking the walk usually works better than making grand proclamations. To see if the “return on effort” approach to meetings might be useful to you, try looking at the internal meetings you attend next week from a “return on effort” perspective. Are you disappointed or pleasantly surprised? If you identify opportunities for improvement, start with a single practical change that is likely to payoff quickly.

For example, if weekly staff meetings are frustrating, you might start by saying, “I’ve been thinking about our weekly staff meeting. Let’s try to resolve more issues on the spot. I’ll send out a list of items the day before we meet so we can address as many as possible quickly.” The challenge will then be to get a few wins that reinforce the change in approach. Once you have some momentum you can turn your attention to applying “return on effort” to other meetings.

In addition to the “return on effort” approach I am advocating here, I have some novel meeting formats and a few favorite techniques that you may want to try. I’ll write about those next time.

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Karen Utgoff, principal of Karen Lauter Utgoff Consulting, is a market-oriented business strategist based in Amherst, MA. Learn more at http://www.utgoff.com.

© Karen Lauter Utgoff Consulting 2013. All rights reserved.

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