Should I take time out to review my business?

I spent last weekend with my TEC team on a strategic planning retreat and once again it was confirmed how valuable taking time out to review life and business is.

The world seems to be getting busier – we are all connected 24 hours a day, our business is connected 24 hours a day, our customers expect instant responses, we expect instant responses. We used to have the letter in the mail – that time delay no longer exists!

So all this means pressure to keep up and to keep ahead – so now it is even more important than ever to take time out.

There is of course a huge benefit in taking time out with like-minded people to discuss your challenges and issues. I have always found that it is not possible to do this with friends or family, for the simple reason that they often don’t have the skills to add value to business issues.

Yes, a business coach is a great idea and the right coach can be incredibly valuable, the advisory board is even more potentially valuable as the more brains the more ideas! The TEC system is even more useful, as CEO’s from non-competitive industries come together to objectively look at your strategic plan and question and comment.

The benefit for each member is through the fact that looking at other businesses help you reflect on your own.

This is not an advertising blog for TEC but I really think the process itself is great – so if you can do this with a group of CEO’s go for it.

Of course, confidentiality is critical and to meet with a group of CEO’s is a great way of benchmarking your business, across a range of industries.

I recently spoke to a CEO who said he was very concerned that even though his business was growing and profitable he did not know how it measured against other businesses outside his industry – was he getting the best return on his investment?

Not everyone is in business to get the best return on their money, but I think at least we should know what else we could be doing with our capital/our lives.

So a few tips:

• Do an annual business/life review.
• Have a group of people around you to do this with.
• Check against your one page plan during the year.
• Set up a system to ensure accountability for your plan.

To read more Marcia Griffin expert advice, click here.

Marcia’s latest book, High Heeled Success (pictured left), is a frank account of building a business from a solitary sales person to a multi-million dollar business with 4700 sales consultants around Australia and New Zealand. Contact Marcia to purchase. Marcia’s latest venture is skin care company griffin+row.