The movie, Forrest Gump starring Tom Hanks includes that iconic saying “Life is like a box of chocolates.” The truth is, Forrest was right.

Have you ever sank your teeth into a chocolate that delighted your taste buds or on the flip side, caused you to spit it out? Life can be like that. Surprises – some good, some bad – are around every corner.  Life is full of unknowns and adventures, just as biting into the chocolate.

Our ability to manage those surprises can have a huge impact on our ongoing success – both personally and professionally. Learning to address those issues – and being prepared for them when they occur – is critical.

With this in mind, consider the following:

• Have you empowered your Staff to manage day-to-day surprises that arise?
• Have you defined an Escalation Process for use when issues require Management’s involvement?
• Have you established a Dispute Process to ensure Clients’ concerns are being effectively addressed?
•  Do you have a Business Continuity Plan for use when surprises are catastrophic?

If you need help managing surprises, we can help. Do not hesitate to contact me at CharleneA@mycooresources.com. Also, check out our blogs and previous newsletters and/or emails at http://www.mycooresources.com/?cat=3

What do Meryl Streep, Warren Buffett, and LeBron James have in common? All of them are successful in their chosen careers. Yet, none of the three reached that level of success over night. They each cultivated, developed, nurtured, and worked hard to excel. That desire for excellence has created a lifelong effort on their parts to continue to hone their skills, knowledge, and expertise. LeBron James is rumored to spend $1.5 Million every year to ensure he stays strong and healthy.

The mistake business owners sometimes make is that they do not realize that it takes more than a brilliant product or service to stay the course. It takes fine-tuning, further design and development, and building operational effectiveness.

Most business owners and leaders want to grow their Companies, yet they do not recognize that they must also build a strong operational foundation to achieve that growth. This should include:

• Establishing clear leadership
• Developing knowledgeable, competent Staff
• Communicating effectively among Management, Staff, Customers, Strategic Partners and trusted Relationships
• Providing consistency in what is done, how it is delivered, and how it is communicated
• Focusing on both efficiency and effectiveness
• Producing quality products/services
• Establishing methods to measure successes
•  Defining the organization’s culture and what are the “right” folks needed for the organization
• Creating clarity
• Having accountability for both Staff and Management

Need help with becoming more like Meryl, Warren, and LeBron? Don’t hesitate to contact me at CharleneA@mycooresources.com. Also, check out our blogs and previous newsletters and/or emails at http://www.mycooresources.com/?cat=3

A frustrating challenge for Companies is that information is often in Staff’s “heads” creating obstacles for growth and stress for Staff and Management. We refer to that as “tribal knowledge” within a Company.

This can:

• Impact quality of the Company’s products/services
• Create customer frustration
• Waste time as there is so much reliance on specific Staff
• Result in loss of knowledge when someone leaves
• Produce inconsistencies and inefficiencies of processes

These challenges can all be minimized when processes are effectively documented. Companies realize that they need to address this problem. This involves:

• Identifying those processes that are the priority
• Designing and/or optimizing those processes
• Documenting them

However, just getting started can be overwhelming and exasperating; so, nothing is done.

We can help. This is one of Aldridge Kerr and My COO Resources areas of expertise.

Questions? Don't hesitate to contact me at CharleneA@mycooresources.com. Also, check out our blogs and previous newsletters and/or emails at http://www.mycooresources.com/?cat=3

Have you ever gotten:

• A pebble in your shoe OR
• A splinter in your finger OR
• A kidney stone?

How can something so small cause so much discomfort? That little issue can cause disruption, lack of focus, and create interruptions to your day. It is so small, but it can cause great aggravation.

Often, we just try to ignore it, hoping it will go away. Unfortunately, the pain has to become great enough for us to realize we have to resolve the problem. Then, that resolution is often much easier than we realized, resulting in relief.

The same applies in business. We have some small issue that can cause great aggravation and instead of resolving it, we just try to ignore it. We ignore it because we think it is not easily resolved, or we do not know where to start, or we are not certain the outcome will be positive. Yet, if we just worked through resolving it, life would be so much better.

Have you been avoiding taking the first steps to trying My COO Resources (www.mycooresources.com)? It can help to more clearly identify those issues that are causing problems, and give you the Solutions to resolve them.

Questions? Do not hesitate to contact me at CharleneA@mycooresources.com. Also, check out our blogs and previous newsletters and/or emails at http://www.mycooresources.com/?cat=3

Have you started gardening yet, or are you just hoping that your yard will magically go from how it was at the end of March to how you would like it to look for the summer?

Todd Hunter, our most recent addition to the Aldridge Kerr Team, made an observation that there are lots of parallels between gardening and achieving operational effectiveness. For example, both require:

• A plan: just throwing out changes, whether it is within an organization or in your yard, can be detrimental and create chaos. Instead, there needs to be a plan as to what the results (end product) will produce
• Managing the change: going from what was, to what it will be, requires managing the process of change
• Specialized expertise: When we do not use Experts, we waste a lot of time, energy, and resources. Whether you hire a landscape architect or operational consultants, if you want excellent results quickly, then you need to bring in the Experts

The best news is that, whether gardening or working on improving your organization’s operational effectiveness, you will clearly see a “before” and “after.” That is exciting.

Not sure how to improve your organization’s operational effectiveness? Do not hesitate to contact me at CharleneA@mycooresources.com. Also, check out our blogs and previous newsletters and/or emails at http://www.mycooresources.com/?cat=3

Most trainers, physical therapists, and other healthcare professionals regularly encourage us to do what it takes to strengthen our core. Why? A strong core leads to better balance and stability.

Harvard.edu goes as far as saying that “a strong, flexible core underpins almost everything we do.” It impacts every aspect of our lives, including at home, at work, and at play.

Having a strong core also applies to our businesses. A strong core (or foundation) allows us to be more nimble, flexible, and able to better balance all that needs to be done. It is the backbone (pun intended) of an organization.

What is required to build a strong core in your business? Here is a short list:

• Ensure everyone in the organization has clarity on the priorities
• Build repeatable processes that are efficient and effective
• Create a culture of continuous improvement and communication
• Address those “one-only tasks” that can cripple your organization
• Move from tribal knowledge to institutional knowledge

Are you unsure how to build this core? My COO Resources can give you the methodology needed to work through those issues. Questions? Do not hesitate to contact me at CharleneA@mycooresources.com. And check out our blogs and previous newsletters and/or emails at http://www.mycooresources.com/?page_id=324

Here are some interesting statistics:

• Eighty percent (yes, that’s 80%) of folks who join a gym in January quit within five months
• Only half of members go to the gym on a regular basis
• Gym owners assume that 18% of members will not use it consistently

The benefits to regular physical activity are outstanding. A long list of health experts state that regular exercise leads to a happier, healthier life. The Mayo Clinic lists seven reasons why regular exercise is so important:

• Controls weight
• Combats health conditions and diseases
• Improves mood
• Boosts energy
• Promotes better sleep
• Puts the spark back into your sex live
• It is fun and social  

So why do the majority of us not exercise regularly? Livestrong.com lists a few reasons: we claim we do not have time, there are competing interests, we have not developed the habit, we find it overwhelming, not motivated, or results are not realized quickly.  

Those reasons apply to other areas of our lives that we KNOW we should be doing them, but we are not. This can include anything from avoiding having our teeth cleaned, to addressing business problems, to taking on a home improvement project.

As a business associate recently said, “we find a long list of excuses that keep us from achieving great results.” We miss out on those amazing results because we do not allow ourselves to overcome the reasons, excuses, and obstacles that block our way.

This also applies to not trying or following through with My COO Resources. Our Users consistently tell us that they have found this do-it-yourself interactive, on-line tool to be quite helpful. But some of you are missing out because you are allowing those common obstacles to get in the way to great results.

Do not be the majority. Do not allow common obstacles to get in the way of achieving success.  

Need help getting started (and sticking with) My COO Resources? Do not hesitate to contact me at CharleneA@mycooresources.com. Also, check out our blogs and previous newsletters and/or emails at http://www.mycooresources.com/?page_id=324

The story of Dashrath Manjihi is both inspiring and heartbreaking. Manjihi’s young wife fell crossing Gehlour hills and because of the isolation, he was unable to get her to medical attention. Her injuries resulted in her death.

Manjihi resolved then to dig through the rocks of Gehlour hills so that his village could gain easier access to medical help. It took him 22 years to complete this task (from 1960 – 1983)! He was mocked and rebuked for his tenacity, but his 22 years of effort reduced the distance between the two sectors of the Gaya district from 34 miles to less than 10 miles. This, of course, allowed for those in his village to obtain better access to medicine and numerous other supplies.

Most of us do not need that level of tenacity to accomplish what we have set out to do. Yet, if we would model Manjihi’s commitment to those initiatives we want (and need) to achieve, the results could be extraordinary. Finding that drive and discipline to impact the change will make a difference!!

Do you need help moving forward on something you want to achieve? Do not hesitate to contact me at  CharleneA@mycooresources.com. Also, check out our blogs and previous newsletters and/or emails at http://www.mycooresources.com/?page_id=324

Spring is here, and it is the time of year to enjoy backyard living. Wait!! Our backyards typically do not magically awaken from winter and turn into that wonderful outdoors we so enjoy. Instead, we have work to do to create that space each spring. There is weeding, and planting, and more weeding, and starting that project we dreamed up last winter, and more weeding, and . . . yeah, you get the point.

To really enjoy our backyards, it requires work. That work may be tedious, unfulfilling, and downright exhausting (or, put a dent in your budget if you have someone do it for you). Yet, the outcome can be truly wonderful. There is joy in the fruits of that labor.

The same principle applies to anything we want to enjoy: company growth, implementation of a new initiative, resolving those operational challenges, improving your customer service, positioning your company to sell. Each of us has something we want to address that will allow us to reap the results we desire.

In many cases, it simply requires a commitment to the work so you can reap those desired results. This applies to the work needed as one works through the Solutions within My COO Resources. Unlike the effort required in our backyards, with a commitment to only one hour a week, you will begin to see results.

Need help getting started? Do not hesitate to contact me at CharleneA@mycooresources.com. Also, check out our blogs and previous newsletters and/or emails at http://www.mycooresources.com/?page_id=324