Become a Business Strategy Ninja
BY MELANIE BARR
An appreciation for staying organized started early for me when I worked a full time job and attended college full time. To be a good student, and good at my job, I had to become extremely organized — an organizational ninja.
It left very little time for anything else but I was determined, and I learned to follow leaders who offered motivational and organization tips and ideas. Those skills took a quantum leap when I gave birth to twins. I launched She Built It™ during a time when I was traveling with the twins and our family every three months. I was also managing a home remodel!
The only way I’ve been able to accomplish the things I have is through structure, strategy, and staying incredibly organized. It makes all the difference in our ability to operate at a high level and have downtime to experience joy, family, friends, and make time for ourselves. I joke that the twins also took my organizational skills to another level but the truth is it’s no joke — they did.
Here are five tips to find and manage a business strategy that works.
Set Clear Goals
We hear this all the time but sometimes, we need a reminder — I know I do. My favorite way to set goals is through a weekly accountability partner — for the weekly goals I’d like to crush — and also creating a daily goal list.
The “must completes” are at the top of the daily list and the “I’d like to complete but can wait until tomorrow” are toward the bottom. I write goals out at the end of the day or at night before I go to sleep. It gets the thoughts out of our heads and allows our mind time to process them so, when we go to take on the task, we’re ready and have thought it through.
For the weekly goals, write them out on Friday afternoon or over the weekend so when Monday shows up, you’re ready. It’s also good to have a partner, even if you don’t talk every week. They still can see your list and keep you accountable.
Be a Visionary Leader for Your Team
It’s important that your team has clear goals and an understanding of what you expect to accomplish together. Yes, we want our team to be empowered and succeed but it’s difficult to do if the vision, tools to stay organized, and expected goals are not clearly communicated.
Does your company have a vision for its products that is clearly communicated to everyone involved? This can make all the difference. Whether you are managing a team of a few people, or hundreds, it’s important to meet regularly and have a daily form of communication through apps, or tools like Google Drive, Slack, HubSpot, or other platforms.
If you meet once a week, come to the meeting with a clear list to discuss and conquer. If you're managing hundreds, figure out the best frequency to meet with your direct reports and how often they should meet with theirs. When they meet with their teams they should also have a clear list and report back to you with how each area of the business is going — what’s working, what isn’t, and how it can be improved.
If the strategy isn’t flowing as well as you’d like, ask yourself whether all visions and goals are being communicated clearly. Thank and celebrate your team. I’ve had people and clients I’ve worked with for years. I do all I can to thank them and let them know how much they are appreciated.
Stay Organized
It takes time to be organized, but staying organized creates time for you. I joke about the twins elevating my multitasking skills. I’ll never forget the day both babies were crying and I thought, I can’t pick them both up at once, how am I ever going to do this!?!
I learned to find a strategy and manage chaos. It helps to be prepared and organized. When you show up to a meeting prepared you feel so much better and it boosts your confidence when you are fresh and ready. It also helps accomplish what we set out to do and helps us to be a better leader.
I mentioned my accountability partner. This helps me stay organized and on track. When I feel my daily organization starting to slip, I have a north star and form of reference. It brings me back to what I want to crush for the day and week. Ultimately, this leads to crushing our big life and business goals.
Support Key People
Find key people who you can depend on, and who are excellent at what they do in the various departments of your company.
When I’m hiring I look for dependability, follow through, and excellence at what they do. I also look for innovative people who have a passion for what they do and who will help move the business forward. When you find these people put them in key leadership roles to guide your departments. They will help move your business forward and give your team's confidence.
Also, thank key people in your circle and thank them often. I have a group of people — women and men — who have worked for and supported me and She Built It™ over the years, and I am so grateful.
Ask someone how they are doing, how their day is going, and mean it. We all have good and not so good days. It helps when we work with supportive people who understand that it’s incredibly important to get our work done, but that we are also human beings with real life happening behind the scenes.
Clear Communication
Take a minute to review your communication structure. How do you meet with your team, how often, and are the goals of the company being communicated the way that they should? Are you communicating on the right platforms and with the right amount of frequency? Are you and your team communicating the mission, vision, and values of the company?
It’s important to convey this to consumers but also incredibly important to communicate this to our teams. When everyone comes together to work on a project with a clear understanding of roles, responsibilities, and the mission behind it, success and magic happens.
Until next time! Keep growing and building your business, making the small daily and quantum leaps, and let nothing stop you from living the life that you crave.
With gratitude,
Melanie Barr
Founder & CEO, She Built It™