WEBVTT - Work close to the bottom line

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to work close to the bottom line.

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<v Speaker 1>When you're faced with multiple priorities and must determine where

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<v Speaker 1>to direct your time, focus on the tasks that will

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<v Speaker 1>bring in revenue, boost profits, or otherwise produce immediate benefits.

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<v Speaker 1>These tasks will buy you space in the future for

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<v Speaker 1>other things. Listeners often tell me that they have trouble

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<v Speaker 1>figuring out what tasks to work on first. If your

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<v Speaker 1>boss has given you a specific assignment and has said

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<v Speaker 1>that that should be your top priority, well great. But

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<v Speaker 1>what if your boss has given you six projects. Well, yes,

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<v Speaker 1>you eventually need to work on all of them, but

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<v Speaker 1>we never know when emergencies will arise. If your office

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<v Speaker 1>loses power at eleven am, you'll be better off having

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<v Speaker 1>gotten to some of these tasks versus there's This is

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<v Speaker 1>the genius of the rule to work close to the

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<v Speaker 1>bottom line, particularly in a monetary context. When you look

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<v Speaker 1>at your meeting schedule and see that a client wants

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<v Speaker 1>to meet about follow up work at the same time

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<v Speaker 1>that you normally have a weekly check in for an

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<v Speaker 1>ongoing project, Well, maybe you can delegate the check in

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<v Speaker 1>the client meeting is more likely to boost revenue. Similarly,

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<v Speaker 1>if you've determined that you are overpaying for supplies, a

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<v Speaker 1>few calls to negotiate that should take precedence over cleaning

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<v Speaker 1>out your inbox. Cutting costs boost profits again the bottom line,

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<v Speaker 1>and you don't actually need to be pursuing profits per

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<v Speaker 1>se to work close to the bottom line. Nonprofit organizations

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<v Speaker 1>need higher revenue and lower costs like anyone else, so

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<v Speaker 1>the same rules apply. Suppose you're a fundraiser for a

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<v Speaker 1>nonprofit and your boss has asked you to write a

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<v Speaker 1>letter for the donor newsletter and also to submit a

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<v Speaker 1>grant proposal to a major foundation that recently visited your organization.

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<v Speaker 1>The grant proposal could result in significant funding for your organization.

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<v Speaker 1>It's close to the bottom line. Is an article for

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<v Speaker 1>the newsletter valuable? Well, probably, but its impact is less

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<v Speaker 1>immediate and less direct, So unless you've been given explicit

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<v Speaker 1>instructions otherwise, better to handle the grant proposal first, then

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<v Speaker 1>after that submitted, turn your attention to the article. The

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<v Speaker 1>bottom line isn't always strictly monetary. Sometimes it's an immediately

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<v Speaker 1>valuable outcome of another sort. For example, you might be

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<v Speaker 1>faced with doing reference checks for an applicant your organization

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<v Speaker 1>wants to hire. This is the last step before making

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<v Speaker 1>the offer and bringing the person on board. You may

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<v Speaker 1>also need to develop goals in a dashboard for the

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<v Speaker 1>upcoming quarter. Both are important, for sure, but the reference

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<v Speaker 1>checks paved the way for immediate concrete benefits, namely letting

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<v Speaker 1>you hire this person that you want to hire. While

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<v Speaker 1>the goals and dashboard in the myriad of other tasks

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<v Speaker 1>on your to do list well of an impact over time,

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<v Speaker 1>Bring on the new higher and he can help you

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<v Speaker 1>with those tasks, so direct your attention there first. And

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<v Speaker 1>I know it's satisfying to cross items off our to

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<v Speaker 1>do lists, but the downside of this is we can

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<v Speaker 1>get just as big a hit from crossing off order

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<v Speaker 1>new folders versus call old client whose budget just doubled.

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<v Speaker 1>But clearly not all tasks are of equal value. When

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<v Speaker 1>you're deciding what to do, think about dollars an immediate impact,

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<v Speaker 1>the sort that will open up space in the future

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<v Speaker 1>over time. Working close to the bottom line means we

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<v Speaker 1>make faster progress toward our own and our organization's goals

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<v Speaker 1>because we're accomplishing what matters most in the meantime. This

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<v Speaker 1>is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's to making the

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<v Speaker 1>most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear

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<v Speaker 1>from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,

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<v Speaker 1>or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook

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<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the

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<v Speaker 1>number four, then breakfast p o D. You can also

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<v Speaker 1>shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at i

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<v Speaker 1>heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out

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<v Speaker 1>with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward

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<v Speaker 1>to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of

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<v Speaker 1>I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio,

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<v Speaker 1>visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

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<v Speaker 1>you listen to your favorite shows.