Business Management

Are you stuck in a pressure cooker?

In need of tips to reduce the stress you are under? 

You may want to consider some of the following options in order to lessen the impact or negative effects on your business operations:
- Know your body signals: excessive heart rates, headaches, anxiety may be signals and suggest a need to find time to wind down.

- Don’t procrastinate and postpone decision making. Difficult decisions are not made easier because you postpone them. At times conditions may worsen if issues are not resolved.

- Take 10: Without really ducking a decision, stress can be relieved if you just take a short break or switch tasks for change of perspective.

- Stay fit. A program of regular exercise can help your body and mind deal with difficult situations that may arise from time to time. Try to maintain a healthy diet to support your overall health.

- Achieve balance between work and other family and personal activities. Enjoy time away from the job to let you recharge your batteries. Plan periodic vacations or days off. The organization is unlikely to collapse because the boss is away for a short time.

- Delegate:  No one has a monopoly on all of the good ideas and ways to resolve problems. Let staff participate as part of team that enjoys successes and faces difficulties on the job as well.

- Network: within and outside of the business to share ideas and issues with. Trust people to help with business issues. Working in isolation is rarely a good idea.

- Manage fairly: It’s nice to want and demand high standards but an obsession with perfection can destroy a business and the people that surround you.

- Monitor: Make sure key support people including those managing the finances keep you up to date. Since cash flow is a key marker make sure expenses are kept under control and systems to improve productivity are reviewed often. A well run business with good information flow is a key to stress reduction. Eliminate surprises.

These suggestions won’t eliminate all of the stress in your business but I find they help keep stress at a manageable level. Please let me have your comments.

Gerry@polarisgroupmc.com