APPROXIMATELY FOUR OUT OF EVERY FIVE ISSUES — BE THEY TECH , TEAM , TOOL , OR PROCESS- RELATED — ARE DIRECTLY TIED TO THE QUALITY OF INTERNAL COMMUNICATION .
COMMUNICATION
As business owners , finding the room to really look at your company can be a challenge . Oftentimes , we spend so much time working in our business that we don ’ t have the time to sit down and analyze things .
We know there are inefficiencies . We know there are problems .
But finding the bandwidth to actually identify where those problems are rooted , why they ’ re there , and how we can fix them is a different story .
That ’ s one of the perks of starting Leverage — our business is your business , which means I have the time to really look at what ’ s happening .
In the roughly seven months we ’ ve been running LDVA , I ’ ve noticed a particular pattern amongst our clients . A pattern that stretches across industries , geographies , and depth of expertise .
This pattern emerges in the type of issues our clients most frequently ask us to resolve for them .
APPROXIMATELY FOUR OUT OF EVERY FIVE ISSUES — BE THEY TECH , TEAM , TOOL , OR PROCESS- RELATED — ARE DIRECTLY TIED TO THE QUALITY OF INTERNAL COMMUNICATION .
And , based upon what I can see , the excessive and maddeningly inefficient use of email is at the very heart of problem .
Email needs to be reserved — almost exclusively — for external communication . If it ’ s a conversation that should be happening behind closed company doors , only use email as a failsafe , last resort .
Instead , try using the two tools I recommend above all others :
SLACK AND TRELLO
Slack and Trello are absolute gamechangers !
Slack is the perfect tool for collaboration . It allows for direct , one-on-one conversations as well as on-going group discussions with multiple participants . Slack can also be paired with numerous apps and bots that take its versatility to astonishing heights .
Trello is a project management tool par-excellence . It ’ s simple , clean , and outrageously intuitive . When communication — be it a comment , question , or marching order — is tied to a specific project , it should be directly added to the project ’ s profile in Trello . At Leverage , doing this enables us to stay unbelievably organized — everyone knows the exact state of a project and any given time .
Slack and Trello have 10x ’ d our ability to conduct business at Leverage , and those results have been mirrored in every client we ’ ve migrated to these two tools .
Now , having said all that , there is a critical caveat to pay attention to :
If Slack and Trello aren ’ t properly set up , your communication WILL NOT IMPROVE .
Remember — as phenomenal as Slack and Trello are , they ( like email ) are tools , and tools can either be helpful or harmful .
When you ’ re employing new communications and project management technologies , it is absolutely imperative to look before you leap — think about the best way to use your tools before using them .
Don ’ t create a Slack channel that only has one member
Don ’ t build a Trello board with only one card .
Be strategic in laying the groundwork and you ’ ll be strategic in the eventual execution . +
IDEA TO EXECUTION :
How to Optimize , Automate , and Outsource Everything in Your
Business Ari Meisel and Nick Sonnenberg recently launched a profitable Virtual Assistant ( VA ) business in just one day – challenging the startup mentality that every new venture requires months of planning and a large investment of capital . Their VA business was born from scribbled notes on a cocktail napkin during dinner and was an upand-running less than 24 hours later . By following their 3 step process : Optimize , Automate , Outsource , they leveraged free , readily available digital tools and apps with no outlay of cash whatsoever .
BY : ARI MEISEL , SPEAKER , BESTSELLING AUTHOR & ENTREPRENEUR
Ari ’ s story starts in 2006 , when some unexpected news derailed his booming real estate career : Crohn ’ s Disease : He lost weight , energy , and the ability to work with regularity — in fact , there were times he could only work for sixty minutes a day .
Through excruciating amounts of trial and error , Ari not only regained control of his life but beat this seemingly unbeatable disease — and is now symptom-free .
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