We are always learning and will continue until dead. There is always something that could be improved and, to figure out, knowledge will facilitate the process.

I agree that many entrepreneurs develop their business skills with blood, sweat and tears, as I did. I co-founded two high tech start-ups and, after 25 years of “bloody times” and two companies, I decided to get my MBA.

In theory, having a couple decades of experience in running a business, I should already know almost everything about business management and development. But, actually, getting the MBA, I learned, rooted and improved a lot of processes and knowledge that I was already using, and also, I learned a lot of new things (state-of-the-art techniques, theories, new writers, new strategies, new “gurus”, and so on). I learned all that, even being a compulsive reader of everything about management, strategy, globalization and entrepreneurship, and had read hundreds of books about the matter, before deciding to return to school.

I think, that if small entrepreneurs want to go to the “next stage” a little more smoothly, they really need to have more base, more knowledge, more tools to define strategies, controls, costs, sales and marketing plans, know how to manage people and even to get better terms in a negotiation.

The MBA will not solve all the problems, inclusively maybe none, but it will give the path to go deeper in subjects that are relevant, in some moments, to the entrepreneurs.

Also, teachers’ profile and methodologies will be fundamental to the learning process of entrepreneurs. I believe (a little utopian) that it should be different the process of teaching entrepreneurs from the process to teach recent under-graduates (profiles are different, as well personal objectives and knowledge).

So, maybe the choice of the MBA, school and content, will be fundamental, but that it will add knowledge can not be questionable.

I would advise, if possible, to get an MBA.

The greatest evangelists of open markets are now trying to change the rules, again, focusing on their benefits. In the 80’s Regan and Thatcher promoted globally that all countries should open their markets, go for the privatisation of their public companies and services, let financial markets work freely worldwide, and so on.

The argument and the theory was that with more openness the gap between the rich and the poor will be mitigated, that the overall commerce will increment and every one will gain, directly and indirectly.

They had the support from International Monetary Fund and from World Bank to enforce their will. All countries that needed money from IMF were forced to follow the neo-liberalism policy if they wanted to get the money.

And it resulted in the Mexico, Russia, Asian, Argentina and Brazil crises.

Now with “Buy American”, what is exactly the message that they are trying to pass?

Should it be: We were wrong for decades, sorry but our experiment didn’t work in your countries and now, as you will not be able to buy our stuff, we need to protect our markets from your stuff?

Or is it: Well, we are changing the rules again, as we did in the 70’s with the “Nixon Shock”, when the United States unilaterally terminated the convertibility of the dollars to gold?

Or is it: We forgot the recent history and the consequences of closing markets as it happened in the end of the 30’s, when the Hawkey-Smoot Tariff Act increased all taxes of the foreign products and worsened the global crisis?

Or is it a little more profound and they want to re-evaluate the Chaos Theory, and to see if a one sentence “Buy American” may cause a tornado on the other side of the world?

–

Mario is a seasoned manager and entrepreneur with a broad technical background, coupled with multi-cultural experience and multi-lingual skills, co-founded two high tech start-ups, and now is developing a non-profit project to leverage globally the business development of small entrepreneurs.

A smile is a fundamental action and reaction that it is crucial to our lives, as human beings who must interact with others on a daily basis. Besides having the capacity to break down emotional and mental barriers, a smile is also an indication of a happy spirit and is a source of energy, for you and for others.

A friendly and sincere smile can win friends and influence even the most stubborn and difficult people.

The smile energy can neutralize any assumption of rudeness from others and will vaccinate you against bad feelings and negative thoughts.

Begin a smile-rich day in the morning by smiling in the mirror and seeing good things flowing around you as you go about your business. Try to keep a smile in your mind as you step out to face the world. To make this easier, remember all the good things that life has given to you over the years. Smile regularly and remember to laugh at all the quirky incidents that punctuate your life on a daily basis. You will notice that people become friendlier and more cooperative, little irritations will disappear, and many problems will be resolved quickly with little or no conflict.

Smiling doesn’t imply a careless attitude – actually it sends a message that you are psychologically balanced, approachable and capable of solving problems without allowing stress to encroach on your interaction with people.

It is a fact that if you smile often and maintain your serenity, you will improve efficiency and efficacy in solving complicated problems in the workplace and at home. You will transmit peace and confidence to your colleagues, friends, family and the world around you.

A smile is an extremely powerful tool in our day-to-day activities. Use it generously and sincerely and you will definitely see a difference in your life as each day unfolds.

To find out how other Ticklers and readers responded to these questions click here

What is God?

Mario: God is everything and it is nothing. It is the whole and the emptiness. God it is inside you and surrounding you. God it is a state of mind and spirit. God is an untouchable definition and by itself indefinable.

God or the Big Bang?

Mario: I see it not as alternative “scenarios” but as sequential or simultaneous “scenarios.” The problem of the sequence approach is to define what time is.

God or Darwin?

Mario: Both. The “division” between science and religion in Christianity came with inquisition in the Middle Ages, when they burned alchemists, women – whom they called witches- books, and anyone or anything that could be a threat to their hegemony and dogmas.

God or Darfur (How can Darfur happen if there is God?)

Mario: Darfur was provoked by men’s greed. This has nothing to do with God’s or God’s will. Men have the free will to decide what they do.

Who is God’s God?

Mario: It is you and your conscience and your actions.

Will the real God please stand up? (Why do we have so many religions?)

Mario: Actually, we have only one God. Religions were regional perspectives from the same wholeness, with local culture and costumes adaptations (or visions). With globalization (this actually began with the navigations and explorers from the old times), religions expanded globally. Also, religion had, and has, a political and economical component, which enforces its domination in some regions or groups. We also could see it as the story of the “Six Blind Men and the Elephant”. Each was totally convinced he discovered the “truth”, and actually they all did. Rooted on their individual experiences and restricted perception of reality. If they could have a chat and merge their understanding and perceptions maybe they could see the elephant as a whole, and also see that it is only one elephant and there exists only one truth.

Is this just a big lab and are we just guinea pigs and God just a researcher?

Mario: That is an interesting perspective. As we know, by the quantum mechanics theory, when we observe a phenomenon, we change its reality and result. It is like the Schrödinger cat. So, if exists a greatest force that observe us, it could change or reality.

Does unexplained phenomena = God?

Mario: If we could explain or define God we would be able to solve all problems of the Universe.

The effects of the failure can be observed, for example, on organization, processes, product or service, finances, marketing and sales.

The causes can be related to strategic planning, implementation, management, control, human resources, absence of competitive intelligence and external factors like market dynamics or government regulations.

If we are talking about new ventures or small enterprises with less than two years, the most common reason for failure is related with financial problems. The most common cause of the financial problems is related with managerial faults and a weak strategic planning.

Managerial faults can be rooted in poor organizational control, follow-up, course corrections, the wrong people in the wrong place, underestimation of the target market, unrealistic cost estimation and so on.

A weak strategic planning, or inside the drawer, is one of the key factors contributing to business failure. A strategic plan is a dynamic document. As the enterprise evolves, so does the market. The defined strategy must be updated and in the course of time, corrections must be made to keep the boat on the right course with the right velocity.

Talking in a global context, each cause has its origins in the business environment, the global region and the profile of the entrepreneur.

But all problems usually start with managerial faults and bad planning.

Also, small entrepreneurs usually have a small cash flow, which makes o a “second chance” almost impossible. If a large enterprise makes a wrong investment and fails, it is only a bad investment and shareholders (or the government) will pay the bill. Small entrepreneurs do not have that chance.

Now, if we are talking about well established enterprises and large companies, usually the problem starts with managerial incompetence and expands to financial problems.

Well established enterprises need to have a continuous process of reinventing themselves. They should follow the procedures of learning organizations – always learning and upgrading. They must be in line with market trends, new products, new demands and they must control costs, prices and margins. They must also have an effective process called competitive intelligence.

We are in the ‘Knowledge Era’ and in a globalized world, so the horizon of business changed radically in the last two decades. Companies that do not follow this trend, complacent in the old market share already achieved, will be vanquished by new entrants, new products and new ways of doing business.

Similar thought should be used by new entrepreneurs. They should explore the new technologies, the internet, social networks, blogs, chats, and so on. New entrepreneurs need to create competitive advantages with these new technologies to enter and enlarge their market and exposition. There are plenty of tools at a low cost or even free of charge, already available on the web.

In summing up, be sure to develop a consistent strategic plan, take care of day-to-day operations with continuous follow-up and control. Take time to carefully chose the right people for the right positions. Work closely with your collaborators; hear and understand their feelings, needs and aims. Watch the competitors. Keep close to your clients and be sensitive to their feedbacks and needs. Remember – fortune favours the bold.

The Collins Dictionary defines ethics as moral beliefs and rules about right and wrong. An ethic of a particular kind is an idea or moral belief that influences the behaviour, attitudes, and philosophy of a group of people. Webster Dictionary defines ethics as a discipline that deals with what is good and bad and with moral duty and obligation, or as the principles of conduct governing an individual or a group. Larrouse, a French Dictionary, defines ethics as a part of philosophy that focuses on the fundamentals of moral, or as the set of moral principles that are the base of conduct of anyone.

What induce more noise in international negotiations are the cultural aspects, which are misunderstood and confused with ethical differences.

The cultural aspects that need to be highlighted are: the protocol, the religion, the use of colours and their meaning, the corporal language, meal customs and gifts.

There is, also, another perspective about different cultures, which is from Geert Hofstede, and analyses cultural dimensions. They are: Power Distance Index, Individualism, Masculinity, Uncertainty Avoidance Index and Long Term Orientation. One possible use of his method is in International Businesses. The score of many countries is available on his web site.

Business is business and ethics are ethics. The grey area that many people try to develop, to be used as excuse to fail or to allow, or endorse, unacceptable ethical situations must not exist.

When a reporter asked Peter Drucker what he would teach in a lecture about ethics, he answered that it would be the shortest one in the world. He would just say: “If you can’t look yourself in the mirror for something you’re about to do, don’t do it.”

Ethics is about morality and not bringing damage to anyone, to the business, environment, colleague, partner, neighbour, friend, and so on.

A common idea that I read about a lot is that bribery is expected and usual in some countries. Bribery is wrong in any place of the world. It is difficult for me to believe that there are some people, serious people that endorse that practice and say that it is natural in some places.

For bribery to exist, we need to have at least two actors, the one that “donates” and the receiver. The powerful offer advantages, gifts and bribe to have their interests attended quickly, and that process in some world regions becomes more usual. It is easier to buy the guy than to explain what one wants.

In 1999, a diplomat from a developed country said, in an emerging country: “Who has the money makes the orders.” I think that I don’t need to make more comments about how bribery has expanded in some regions.

Then it is said that each country makes or interprets their business ethical standards. I believe that it is, also, not true. Each country has a level of “corruption contamination” that should be the reference. Corruption is not only a characteristic of poor countries. We find it also in developed countries, and frequently.

So, ethics is one thing, business rules and cultural aspects are another. How to deal with cultural aspects depends on the study and interest of each one that wants to develop international business.
 
To kill, to steal and to harm others aren’t morally acceptable behaviours in any place in the world. Business rules are made by the human beings and followed in a moral or immoral way, as their conscience and education says.

What make me develop this article was to contradict the people that suggest the worst scenario for our future.

I will confine my comments to the Brazilian macroeconomic environment. I will also not get into the current stage of development of the business and social environment in Brazil, because to really understand it, one needs to come here, especially to Sao Paulo, to see, feel and negotiate.

With around 20 million people living here, Sao Paulo has one of the most sophisticated gastronomy worldwide, shopping centres, theatres, infrastructure and business centres with the same sophistication as in any top capital of Europe or USA. Obviously, it has also serious problems with security, identical to any large city, New York, London or Paris.

We have global companies like Vale do Rio Doce, a mining company, operating in five continents and with more then 100 thousand employees, we have Embraer that is one of the largest aircraft manufacturers with more than 20 thousand collaborators, and here we can also find almost all of the transnational companies and banks as Santander, HSBC, Citi, J. P. Morgan, UBS, Siemens, Bosch, Mercedes, Mittal, Telefonica, TIM, Telmex, IBM, Microsoft, HP, Dell, Google, Samsung, Motorola, and so on.

Despite the predictions of bad times for developing countries, and before give some important figures about Brazil, I would like to suggest, that before assuming as a truth any opinion or prediction, to check the source of information and if there isn’t any other interest of the writer. Example: If it isn’t connected with any investment fund.

So, the sources of information that I will use are from Brazilian government finance minister and central bank.

Brazil had, from 2004 to 2008, a sustainable average economic growth rate of 5%.

The Public Sector Net Debt is 38% of GDP.

It has around 200 billion dollars in international reserves.

The crisis impact on Brazilian car manufacturers’ production in January 2009, related to January 2008, was -8%, in USA -36%, Japan -19%, Germany -14%, Italy -32%, Mexico -28%.

Brazil is not a very open market so the exportation represents only around 14% of the GDP and the universe of customers are not only in developed countries.

The currency is stable, despite recent events, it sustains its value and the inflation is estimated at level of 4.5% in 2009.

The internal market maintains a good level of consumer confidence and the demand did not diminish to the extent it did in the developed countries. Industrial activity in January 2009 already reflects improvement in some sectors.

The Brazilian Central Bank is still working with a prospective GDP growth rate of 3% in 2009 and the private banking system is working with a 1.5% growth rate.

According to the Basel rules about security assets’ level of the banking system, the suggested level is 11%, in Brazil the average is 14%.

We could continue with more figures, to demonstrate that in Brazil the economic environment is controlled, but the already exposed figures give a perspective of a balanced situation. Obviously the crisis has arrived here, but the shock wave is mitigated and the consequence will be far from dramatic as in developed countries or in economies structured to supply services, commodities or products that don’t have a strong internal market.

Another common sentence is that you are born a leader, that it is a natural gift.

In some aspects it is. But, there are some attitudes that can be acquired to change that perception.

A born leader – or so called – is an individual with charisma. He has a natural empathy with people and can convince them to do what he wants. He has a global vision of situations and quick answers to the problems. He keeps himself cool when the world is exploding around him. He remembers names and profiles of anyone around him. He is a multi-task professional. He can control different areas of business and even different businesses. He is a natural negotiator, internally and externally, on business environment. He manages people naturally. He evaluates, knows how to choose and attracts the best professionals to work with him. He is a visionary. He is a reference to the novice and also to the professional savvy, and so on.

Wow! Seems an endless list to accomplish!

Actually, those skills can and should be achieved by anyone that aims to have a senior position, to manage any organization, team or group.

First of all, you should make a self-evaluation to know if you want or not to be a leader and have more responsibilities and to dedicate energy to achieve that goal. It is not an easy path, often shifting from success to failure and from failure to success very quickly, and many times it is a lonely path.

Be careful with promises like “10 step to become a leader”. There is no magic, or recipe or formula to transform you into a leader. To be recognized as one it takes a long path and a natural evolution.

But you can prepare your self to, when comes the opportunity, be ready to assume the responsibility.

Below you can find some suggestions to prepare your journey:

To lead you need to have followers, though first thing is to know how to deal with people. Improve your people management skills, have at least three different references or methodologies and techniques to achieve it. Read some books and take some courses, short-time courses with highly recommended or recognized professionals, not the first one that you discover on the web. People management is easy to teach, difficult to practice. You will be dealing with feelings, empathy, motivation, egos, power disputes, accommodations, fears of changes, and so on. Nowadays, also, cultural aspects are fundamental, we live in a globalized economy and connected world, and awareness of different cultures is essential.

You need to know how to make presentations and to speak in public. Related to speech and presentation is also the ability to conduct, control and start and finish productive meetings.

Negotiation is another basic skill. You negotiate internally in your organisation and also with business partners. You negotiate almost every day in many situations and in many places.

Be a strategist. Scenarios development, evaluation of situations and figures, and decisions based on truly reliable information will be a daily activity. Improve your strategy skills. Read Sun Tzu, Mintzberg, Prahalad, Porter, and so on.

Prioritize your activities, organise your agenda and have always a daily moment to new insights and to assess trends. It is important to stop and self-evaluate what you are doing and results achieved, and always to search for innovation and to think out-of-the-box.

Benchmarking is another important activity; learn with other leaders, where they had success and where they failed.

Keep up to date about news, political, economical, and cultural, and business related.

Nurture your networking, professionally and personally. Join the winners, your reputation will be, many times, measured by your links. There is a quote that says: tell me who you know and I will tell you who you are.

Balance your life and work. There is a tripod between work, money and family pay attention to all three. If you have one unbalanced area, it will cause stress in all others. Professional success is not every thing in life.

Nowadays, the time of the “smart guy” is surpassed with all the issues that we are seeing globally with this international crisis – social and environmental responsibility and governance.

To finish, don’t rush. Hurry is an enemy of perfection. Again, as already said, leadership is given not taken. You will need to be prepared and with a broad spectrum of skills and experiences. Anything that comes very quickly also goes. So to have a strong and rooted ascent it needs time, perseverance and self-confidence which only well prepared people will be able to achieve.

–

Mario Luis Tavares Ferreira is a seasoned manager and entrepreneur, with a broad technical background, multi-lingual and multi-cultural experienced, co-founded two high tech start-ups, developed business in half dozen countries and is developing a non-profit project to leverage small businesses and start-up development.

Since the end of last century we are seeing global changes never seen in recent or old history. The iron wall collapsing and the Soviet Union breaking in pieces are unique events in history because never a large empire disappeared so smoothly. Coupled with what we saw in China, moving from communism to capitalism. Never thought!

Now, with the global warming we are also seeing the burning of trillions of dollars!

Without doubt we are in a special moment of humankind.

What can we learn?

First, nothing is for ever.

Second, we need to have a longer vision and prospective scenarios without greed and special interests, and thinking global and acting global or our children will not have a world to live.

Third, the markets need control without any possible doubt even though many “easy money factories and agents” do not agree.

Fourth, remember a basic strategy: Never keep all your eggs in the same basket, referring to the investment of all your reserves in one economy or market.

Fifth, balanced global power (economical, political and military) is fundamental to a democratic world and the mitigation of inequalities.

Sixth, we are in a changing world, nothing is static, no one is the owner of the truth of the right way of doing thinks, team work and uncompromised actions are more than ever necessary to get things on path again.

Seventh, we are on daily basis learning!

Eighth, this is an endless list.

Now, let’s talk about market control and threats, and put on practice the third lesson. I am highlighting this matter because I just read some news of the World Economic Forum, where an executive made a statement that governments should help the market now and then quit because they aren’t efficient market managers.

I am not so sure that the market works as it should do.

To be clearer it does not work!

Despite all theories and free market evangelists. It needs to have strong regulations! As kids need to know their limits when educating them, the greed and unlimited need to create value to the shareholders and bonus to the board need to be controlled.

And the sixth lesson induces us that more than ever we need to work as a team. 

Small and medium businesses (SMB) have, and always had, a special role in regional economies and employment. To accelerate the turnaround of this international crisis, it is a key issue to leverage globalization and entrepreneurship of small businesses and start-ups.

It is the same strategy of the internet beginning with the military application. Do not depend on one spot only. Divide the intelligence on several servers and geographically separated. So, if one spot blows up the net will continue working perfectly.

Making an analogy with small businesses, if we have a network of small entrepreneurs working and trading globally, the effects of local and global crisis will be mitigated in their businesses, because the connections and relationships worldwide will facilitate new opportunities, the research and discovery of new places where the crisis didn’t have large impact or had less effect.

That’s why I endorse and believe in initiatives that leverage entrepreneurship and support small and medium businesses, and the possible impacts of it’s’ success on people’s life.

–

Mario is a seasoned manager and entrepreneur with a broad technical background, coupled with multi-cultural experience and multi-lingual skills, co-founded two high tech start-ups, and now is developing a non-profit project to leverage globally the business development of small entrepreneurs.

I was having a chat and when posting my profile I finished with the sentence that is the title of this article.

Indeed to become an artist in life is a tough task.

The core issue is to have a balance between work and success and to allow to be tickled by life. That is truly an art!

Occidental culture and values coupled with capitalism and unlimited consumerism make the day-to-day activities an endless search to increase incomes if you are a compulsive consumer and need to have the latest digital model TV set, the latest model of a mobile phone, the car of the year and so on.

Even if we believe in a simple life with simple habits, they cost money and not a small amount at that. If we want that our kids have a good education that is expensive. If we want health insurance that is also very expensive. This is just talking about some basic necessities.

If we want to read a good book, nowadays, they are also expensive. I consider culture a basic necessity.

I would be able to continue this list on and on for pages and pages, but an American economist synthesised it very well saying: “There is no free lunch.”

So to develop the balance between needed income and quality of life is without doubt an art and more so if you want to be tickled by life.

But in spite of all difficulties, we never should give up our dreams.

An inspiring poem, from Jose Luis Borges, will keep you on track, and strengthen your objectives to become an artist. Here are a few lines from it:

Moments

If I could live again my life,

In the next РI’ll try,

- to make more mistakes,

I won’t try to be so perfect,

I’ll be more relaxed,

I’ll be more full Рthan I am now,

In fact, I‚Äôll take fewer things seriously…

–

Mario is a seasoned manager and entrepreneur with a broad technical background, coupled with multi-cultural experience and multi-lingual skills, co-founded two high tech start-ups, and now is developing a non-profit project to leverage globally the business development of small entrepreneurs.

But actually planning is a natural and embedded activity that we practice everyday. We plan the best route to go to the office.  We plan when we go shopping. We plan our vacations. And so we do with other diverse actions of our daily activities (professional and personal).

With strategic planning we have a scope enlarged, a little more of variables, an expanded timeline, defined methodologies (tools) and usually we need to write it. But it continues to be an extension, or an improvement, of what we are accustomed to do.

Talking with focus on Start-ups and SMBs (small and medium businesses), the strategic planning is a fundamental tool to avoid “lose the path in the middle of the running”.

It is like a “compass” and a “user manual”, to help entrepreneurs to surpass initial stages of start-ups and to help SMB to go to the second level and increase business and results.

As a strategic plan is not a static document, it should be revised periodically and updated. We are in an extremely fast and mutable business environment; it would be a utopia if we want to define a business scenario for the next five years (or even three) and expect to be 100% correct.

When you define (write) a strategic plan, you are organizing your ideas, defining the business scope, vision, mission, values, targets, products, analysis of the competitors, marketing and sales strategy, key figures, resources, points of control, feasibility,  costs, cash flow, financial needs, break-even point of the business, and so on.

Finishing the plan, you will be in control of the situation; it will have a pleasant feeling.

You will have a reference and a document to share with your partners and collaborators to develop synergy, motivation and synchronicity.

You will have a document, if needed, to present to your bank account manager, in the “bad times”.

You will have a set of “tools” already developed, to correct quickly any deviation of your original thoughts and plans.

You will sleep better with everything planned, organized and controlled!

Given below is a simple structure to write a basic business plan or strategic plan.

Executive summary

Depending on the objective of the plan and its audience, the executive summary can have different approaches and content. If it is to sell the company, get venture capital, implement an internal expansion, enter in new markets or make a turnaround.

The business

Description of the business, products/services, strategy, the mission, vision, values.

Market analysis

Here we discuss about the target market, competitors, and SWOT analysis – analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. We also analyse macro-environment factors which are the political, economical, social and technological factors, and this analysis is called the PEST analysis. We can also analyse the marketing mix (the four Ps: product, price, place, promotion), key success factors, and so on. The detail will depend on how deep we want to go with the analysis.

The strategy

Now we clearly define the objectives, the strategy and the operational plan involving administration, human resources, production, marketing and sales and financial analysis. An important point is to define timings and key performance indicators, which we will use to control the plan implementation.

Conclusion

Here we present the final thoughts and reinforce key points that we identify as unique or differential aspects that make the plan attractive.

About the document

Usually the overall document should have around 20 pages. Its content and number of pages will depend on your target readers and application, and obviously on what kind of business we are talking about. Our focus, here, is on SMBs (Small and Medium Businesses) and Start-ups.

Final Thought:

So, organise your work, have more productivity, control it better and have more time to be tickled by life.

–

Mario is a seasoned manager and entrepreneur with a broad technical background, coupled with multi-cultural experience and multi-lingual skills, co-founded two high tech start-ups, and now is developing a non-profit project to leverage globally the business development of small entrepreneurs.

There are also plenty of articles, books and talking about the subject. Why?

Let’s start from the end. With more time available you will be able to exercise innovation, develop “out-of-the-box” thinking to see what is wrong and what can be improved. You will be able to be more connected and updated with trends, opportunities and threats. You will be able to have a more balanced life with leisure and with your family.

So, what should you do?

There is no magic. But the best solutions for the worst problems are the most simple.

Start with writing the daily tasks that you need to do every day. Examples: read the news, read e-mails, reply e-mails, pay bills, verify bank accounts, verify stock, call suppliers, check with the staff if everything is ok, and so on.

Dimension how much time do you need (or you are expending) to accomplish those tasks. Verify where you can optimize your time, and organize the schedule to get it done. Start with only controlling the time spent. It is already a great step.

Resolve first the easiest and shortest tasks. If in some task you exceed your time limit, stop and go to the next one. Return to that one only after finishing the current “round” and use your “spare time” for so doing.

Try to reduce 10% to 30% the time of some tasks. With other tasks, develop a worksheet (a simple control) and try to empower someone to make it, and control.

Try to reserve, at least, one or two hours for creative thinking, to research, new products, new approaches, and new markets, depending on your core business and always with focus on strengths. And, also, don’t lose ever the “picture” of your market and competitors.

When you are stuck in a particular situation and don’t find a solution, go for a walk, have a coffee,  do something that makes you disconnect completely and quickly from the problem, and return to it later.

Don’t try to memorize every thing that happens or that you will need to do. You will lose time to remember some of them. Write on your notepad, outlook, palm, smart phone, or even a piece of paper.

When you are involved with a complex problem, that needs immediate resolution, and you need concentration, don’t let anyone interrupt your thoughts, close the door, don’t answer the phone, and finish your task first. You will economize time; will have more efficiency and efficacy.

Stop reading this article and go to practice.

Time, it is not only money, it is your life!