1 00:00:03,440 --> 00:00:06,720 Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio. 2 00:00:09,480 --> 00:00:14,080 Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. 3 00:00:14,760 --> 00:00:17,560 Speaker 1: Today's tip is to work close to the bottom line. 4 00:00:18,280 --> 00:00:21,480 Speaker 1: When you're faced with multiple priorities and must determine where 5 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:24,680 Speaker 1: to direct your time, focus on the tasks that will 6 00:00:24,720 --> 00:00:29,320 Speaker 1: bring in revenue, boost profits, or otherwise produce immediate benefits. 7 00:00:30,120 --> 00:00:32,760 Speaker 1: These tasks will buy you space in the future for 8 00:00:32,840 --> 00:00:36,880 Speaker 1: other things. Listeners often tell me that they have trouble 9 00:00:36,920 --> 00:00:40,360 Speaker 1: figuring out what tasks to work on first. If your 10 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:43,080 Speaker 1: boss has given you a specific assignment and has said 11 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:46,320 Speaker 1: that that should be your top priority, well great. But 12 00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:49,240 Speaker 1: what if your boss has given you six projects. Well, yes, 13 00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:51,720 Speaker 1: you eventually need to work on all of them, but 14 00:00:51,800 --> 00:00:55,120 Speaker 1: we never know when emergencies will arise. If your office 15 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:58,040 Speaker 1: loses power at eleven am, you'll be better off having 16 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:01,640 Speaker 1: gotten to some of these tasks versus there's This is 17 00:01:01,680 --> 00:01:03,520 Speaker 1: the genius of the rule to work close to the 18 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:07,840 Speaker 1: bottom line, particularly in a monetary context. When you look 19 00:01:07,880 --> 00:01:10,280 Speaker 1: at your meeting schedule and see that a client wants 20 00:01:10,319 --> 00:01:12,640 Speaker 1: to meet about follow up work at the same time 21 00:01:12,640 --> 00:01:14,440 Speaker 1: that you normally have a weekly check in for an 22 00:01:14,440 --> 00:01:17,679 Speaker 1: ongoing project, Well, maybe you can delegate the check in 23 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:22,080 Speaker 1: the client meeting is more likely to boost revenue. Similarly, 24 00:01:22,480 --> 00:01:25,800 Speaker 1: if you've determined that you are overpaying for supplies, a 25 00:01:25,840 --> 00:01:29,360 Speaker 1: few calls to negotiate that should take precedence over cleaning 26 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:34,920 Speaker 1: out your inbox. Cutting costs boost profits again the bottom line, 27 00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:38,600 Speaker 1: and you don't actually need to be pursuing profits per 28 00:01:38,640 --> 00:01:42,800 Speaker 1: se to work close to the bottom line. Nonprofit organizations 29 00:01:42,840 --> 00:01:46,400 Speaker 1: need higher revenue and lower costs like anyone else, so 30 00:01:46,520 --> 00:01:49,840 Speaker 1: the same rules apply. Suppose you're a fundraiser for a 31 00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:52,520 Speaker 1: nonprofit and your boss has asked you to write a 32 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:55,240 Speaker 1: letter for the donor newsletter and also to submit a 33 00:01:55,280 --> 00:01:59,080 Speaker 1: grant proposal to a major foundation that recently visited your organization. 34 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:04,080 Speaker 1: The grant proposal could result in significant funding for your organization. 35 00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:07,640 Speaker 1: It's close to the bottom line. Is an article for 36 00:02:07,680 --> 00:02:11,440 Speaker 1: the newsletter valuable? Well, probably, but its impact is less 37 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:15,559 Speaker 1: immediate and less direct, So unless you've been given explicit 38 00:02:15,600 --> 00:02:20,480 Speaker 1: instructions otherwise, better to handle the grant proposal first, then 39 00:02:20,639 --> 00:02:24,760 Speaker 1: after that submitted, turn your attention to the article. The 40 00:02:24,800 --> 00:02:29,320 Speaker 1: bottom line isn't always strictly monetary. Sometimes it's an immediately 41 00:02:29,400 --> 00:02:32,800 Speaker 1: valuable outcome of another sort. For example, you might be 42 00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:35,760 Speaker 1: faced with doing reference checks for an applicant your organization 43 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:39,040 Speaker 1: wants to hire. This is the last step before making 44 00:02:39,120 --> 00:02:42,519 Speaker 1: the offer and bringing the person on board. You may 45 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:44,840 Speaker 1: also need to develop goals in a dashboard for the 46 00:02:44,960 --> 00:02:48,919 Speaker 1: upcoming quarter. Both are important, for sure, but the reference 47 00:02:49,000 --> 00:02:53,480 Speaker 1: checks paved the way for immediate concrete benefits, namely letting 48 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:56,239 Speaker 1: you hire this person that you want to hire. While 49 00:02:56,240 --> 00:02:58,720 Speaker 1: the goals and dashboard in the myriad of other tasks 50 00:02:58,720 --> 00:03:01,120 Speaker 1: on your to do list well of an impact over time, 51 00:03:01,919 --> 00:03:04,320 Speaker 1: Bring on the new higher and he can help you 52 00:03:04,360 --> 00:03:08,480 Speaker 1: with those tasks, so direct your attention there first. And 53 00:03:08,520 --> 00:03:10,760 Speaker 1: I know it's satisfying to cross items off our to 54 00:03:10,840 --> 00:03:14,000 Speaker 1: do lists, but the downside of this is we can 55 00:03:14,040 --> 00:03:16,720 Speaker 1: get just as big a hit from crossing off order 56 00:03:16,760 --> 00:03:21,240 Speaker 1: new folders versus call old client whose budget just doubled. 57 00:03:22,040 --> 00:03:26,079 Speaker 1: But clearly not all tasks are of equal value. When 58 00:03:26,080 --> 00:03:30,359 Speaker 1: you're deciding what to do, think about dollars an immediate impact, 59 00:03:31,080 --> 00:03:33,640 Speaker 1: the sort that will open up space in the future 60 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:38,360 Speaker 1: over time. Working close to the bottom line means we 61 00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:42,120 Speaker 1: make faster progress toward our own and our organization's goals 62 00:03:42,720 --> 00:03:47,520 Speaker 1: because we're accomplishing what matters most in the meantime. This 63 00:03:47,680 --> 00:03:50,840 Speaker 1: is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the 64 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:59,760 Speaker 1: most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear 65 00:03:59,760 --> 00:04:02,600 Speaker 1: from you. You can send me your tips, your questions, 66 00:04:02,680 --> 00:04:06,440 Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook 67 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:11,360 Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the 68 00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:15,680 Speaker 1: number four, then breakfast p o D. You can also 69 00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:19,080 Speaker 1: shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i 70 00:04:19,200 --> 00:04:22,200 Speaker 1: heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out 71 00:04:22,200 --> 00:04:24,960 Speaker 1: with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward 72 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:33,159 Speaker 1: to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of 73 00:04:33,200 --> 00:04:36,520 Speaker 1: I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio, 74 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:40,520 Speaker 1: visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 75 00:04:40,600 --> 00:04:41,920 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.