First, like Santa, make a list. What do you have to do? Write it all down. Trying to keep it all in your head is a recipe for a migraine.

Second, enlist help. Santa doesn’t do it alone. Granted, we might not have willing elf helpers, but even some support can make life easier. Swap services with a neighbor; or hire a freelancer for a bit of extra help with your business.

Third, take care of yourself. Santa loads up on milk and cookies, but wholesome oatmeal is ready in three minutes. An awesome recipe: 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1 cup water, 3 minutes in the microwave. Once cooked, add whatever you like: yogurt, fruit, nuts, granola, or my favorite: chopped up trail mix. Instant wholesomeness. (Note: use a bowl that holds at least 2 cups; the oatmeal poofs while cooking.)

Fourth, trim the list. Santa does. There’s naughty, and nice. Focus on activities that bring you joy and are productive, and eliminate those that don’t.

Fifth, stay on task. Like Santa, you have much to accomplish. Your time is precious; use it wisely.

Sixth, stick with winners. Santa has used the same reindeer and worn the same outfit for a hundred years. Family traditions spring from anticipated repetition. A traditional menu or activity, whether at home or in business, takes less planning and is more reliable than perpetual reinvention.

Seventh, and most importantly, relax and enjoy. Although there might be intense activity, the most important part of Christmas is connecting and taking time to be with family and friends. Even for Santa, this particular Christmas will only come once. Take the time to enjoy it.

Merry Christmas to you, and best wishes for a wonderful and prosperous 2012!

In the midst of this, it’s important to remember – Chicken Little accomplished nothing.

Activity for the sake of activity accomplishes nothing. Indeed, thoughtless activity can and often does make things worse. It can be much harder to undo things than to do the right thing the first time.

Panic can be deadly. Extreme circumstances call for extreme clarity in thought and action. Consider police, fire, military and hospital personnel. These individuals are poised for crisis on an ongoing basis. And when the situation is extreme, and often literally a matter of life and death, they must act quickly, calmly and efficiently. Panic is not an effective option.

In business, too, panic is not an effective option. Pause and think before acting. Ask questions. Act deliberately. In today’s world, time, money and energy are precious and limited resources. We don’t have the luxury of wastefulness. Make every action count.

Chicken Little accomplished nothing.

How does this work? Business consultant Ellen Huxtable and communications coach Susan Price have developed a simple but very effective 3-step approach to help people network more effectively and build good contacts.

1. Susan gives you the Caffeinated Contact ground rules.
2. Ellen and Susan demonstrate how Caffeinated Contact works.
3. You and a partner practice a Caffeinated Contact conversation.

You eat while Susan and Ellen present the first two steps, which leaves a half-hour for the practices conversations. These happen one at a time, so you not only get to see what works well or not so well as other people converse—but also get to know a lot about all the other attendees in the process. The program will end by 12:30, but the room will be available after for anyone who has time to stay for more networking.

Choose one of two dates and locations:

Elgin Technology Center
100 E Chicago St (Elgin Tower), 2nd floor
Elgin IL 60120
November 17, 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

COD Small Business Development Center
2525 Cabot Drive Suite 201
Lisle IL
November 8, 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m

Don’t wait too long to reserve your spot because attendance is limited: no more than 10 per event. Register by contacting Susan Price, spricedit@hotmail.com or 630.362.6980. Payment (cash or check only, no credit cards) will be collected at the event.

For those of us not fortunate enough to be rubber band moguls, there is much to be learned.

First, innovation is king. Think about something in a totally different way. A functional office supply was colored, tweaked, and sold by the millions as a children’s collectible bracelet. What are the possibilities for your products? What might be new uses for what you already produce? How can you tweak your product into something new? What new customers can you appeal to?

Second, fads live glorious but short lives. Like unwise superstars, fads hit the big time and die in a blaze of glory. Even if we don’t create the next fad, we need to realize that every product has a life cycle. And in this high tech, fast-moving world, some product life cycles are frighteningly short.  Constant reinvention is the price of survival.

What are you doing to innovate? What will you do when your product is no longer the best, or the most desirable, or, even worse, no longer needed? How will you compete with hungry competitors encroaching on your territory? How can your product be new, different, and in demand? Is ongoing innovation a permanent part of your business?

As shown by the silly rubber band craze, there is huge potential and huge profit in innovation. The challenge is to innovate constantly and stay competitive. Look ahead, create, invent.  There indeed are opportunities in every field for the new, the innovative and the fun.

Get innovative now. If you’d like a head start, for a free worksheet to get creative thoughts flowing,  please visit www.advantage-biz.com.

1. If you have managers, let them manage. Let them communicate with their staff members and make decisions within their scope of authority. Do not undercut them, especially in front of their staff members. Hold them accountable for outcomes. Don’t micro-manage; you’ll frustrate everyone, including yourself.
2. Ensure that your managers understand their responsibilities and scope of authority. Have current, accurate job descriptions and ensure the descriptions of each position clearly cover required activities without gaps or conflicts.
3. Involve your managers in the budget setting process. Engage them; get their feedback. When the budget is set, hold them responsible for budget compliance.
4. Responsibility must match authority. Do not hold a manager responsible for something he or she cannot control. Likewise, do not give someone authority without responsibility. Too often, for example, someone may have purchasing or hiring authority, but someone else is responsible for the bottom line.
5. Hire and promote managers with the skill set needed for the job. The best technician is not necessarily the best manager. Recognize soft skills and the individual’s capacity and interest in management.
6. Fully support open and honest communication with your managers. Be available and listen sincerely. When something is a problem, you want to be the first to know. Don’t shoot the bearer of bad news; thank them.
7. When you are unable to share confidential information, respond honestly to your managers and tell them you cannot share this information at this time. Don’t make insinuations or evade the question.
8. Encourage your managers to grow. Give them opportunities to take on new challenges, and give them the support and mentorship they need to succeed.
9. Promote genuine teamwork within your staff. Be alert for “empire builders” who can look like superstars, but can be hugely destructive to your business. Hold meaningful team building sessions, where real problems can be aired and addressed. Seek out the quieter team members; they might have just the solution you need.
10. Sometimes, superb managers can work themselves out of a job. They may be able to organize and structure operations to run smoothly, with minimal intervention from them. Managers like these can be assigned new challenges, either in a line management or staff capacity.

Your managers can be your greatest resource, bringing new skills and capabilities to your company. Don’t waste their expertise!

1. Take your client out to lunch. Your treat. Listen. Converse. Learn. Give. And don’t sell.

2. Offer key clients a free add-on or upgrade. It’s a small investment with a big impact.

3. Introduce your client to a potential client or customer for their business.

4. Introduce your client to a potential power partner. Make introductions that can be mutually beneficial. Connections just for the sake of connections are worse than useless; they’re a waste of everyone’s time and talents.

5. Write a recommendation for your client. If they’re great to work with, or really know their business, say so, and give them permission to quote you.

6. When practical, become a client of your client. What better way to say thank you?

7. Mention your client in your newsletter or blog. Quote them with attribution and a hot link, or rave about their service.

8. If your client has given you a testimonial, quote them on your website, and hot link back to their site.

9. Call them sometime, just to say hello.

10. Give every client superior service, always. Exceed expectations.

11. Take a genuine interest in their hobbies, families or other information they choose to share, but don’t press and don’t pry. Look for commonalities with your interests. Build bridges.

12. If they’re active in social media, offer to connect on Linked In and Facebook.

13. Forward information that might be of interest to them, (see #11 above) whether or not it’s business related. Tell them about a new golf course, or a clever promotion by one of their competitors, or a great place for birthday parties for pre-schoolers or the latest recommended vaccinations for dogs.

14. Be there when they need you. Be honest, be genuine and above all, be worthy of their patronage.

Offering everything to everybody is offering nothing to anyone. Casting a wide net is useless if all the fish swim through. Customers buy on emotion. “Pizza” resonates with the person longing for gooey mozzarella, tomato-ey comfort, and “Sicilian wood-fired pizza” makes your brand of gooey comfort exciting and different from the tens of thousands of competitors.

It takes time and effort to narrow your target market. You need to be focused, you need to be unique, and you need to be something people want. Focused marketing is effective marketing. Go for it!

1. Is my business focus:  a) Crystal clear, laser sharp  b)Needs bifocals  c)Like, foggy, man…  d)Huh?

2. My passion for my business is:  a) Hot, hot, hot    b)Wowie, zowie, Batman!  c)Yeah, right   d) Looking for love in all the wrong places….

3. The last time I took a fresh look at profitability options was: a) Right now and always  b) Within the last year, or two, maybe…  c) When Mr. Robinson suggested “plastics.”  d) Right before I went on that last stegosaurus hunt.

Profit is like a herd of cats  - blink and it’s gone.  And in today’s business world, lost profit is lost forever.  Successful business owners have a laser sharp focus, are passionate about their offering and are constantly exploring innovative ideas, new markets, new efficiencies and practical options  to strengthen the bottom line. There is no room for complacency.  It’s time to take inventory, prioritize and act.  Consider:

1. What is the singular focus of your business? How are you promoting this?

2. How passionate are you about your product? If you don’t care, customers won’t, either.

3. The world is in constant and rapid change. What’s your response?

4. What new markets and opportunities are right in front of you? How are you going to capture these?

5. What are you doing to get more of your top line income to your bottom line profit?

It’s time to get into gear, identify an opportunity and act. Stay focused on profitabilty; like a herd of cats, blink and it’s vanished forever.