I said I would write about ways to generate funds during your retirement, but with your assumed permission I am going to leave that until next month.
Don’t panic if you are planning to retire in May or early June — a couple of weeks is not going to make that much difference to your next 25-odd years of retirement bliss. And if panic is setting in just give me a call and we can chat about it.
What I want to talk about is the saying “If you always do what you’ve always done you will always get the same results” — a set of words that has been around for ages but which ring true so often when I meet clients.
So what has prompted this change of subject for this month’s column?
Well, blame it on Andrew Darlington, the editor of this fine publication. He’s just changed the look, the feel and some of the features of a publication that has weathered the age of time and change for 24 years. This is not the first change in the life of Building Today, but one that he felt was needed.
These words are not written to praise Andrew’s foresight and brilliance — however justified that might be — but to point out that change is good, change is needed, and change can breathe new life into dwindling dreariness and sagging profit lines. But only if it is done right, and for the right reasons.
For example, I know a reasonably large construction firm who went from Bloggs Construction to Smith Ltd and wondered why the phone stopped ringing.
They did not advertise the fact or reason for the name change, legitimate as it was, and left everybody to make up stories about it. Suffice to say, the stories were all of the negative slant.
I am not advocating wholesale change throughout your company, but suggesting you take a hard look at what’s working well and what could be working a lot better (also, change the word “what’s” to “who’s” and take a second hard look).
Do not settle for “it’s not too bad” — if the word “bad” is used in a sentence then you’re miles away from “it” being good.
Now don’t be too hasty here either — if you change everything on your list tomorrow the wheels may fall off in a hurry.
Long hard look
So here’s how to go about it. Take that long hard look, list down what’s good and what’s not. Then make notes of why they are good and why they are not.
It’s the not so good we need to concentrate on first, then to decide what will effect the best change, and then to put them in order.
The order can sometimes be more important than the change itself, especially if you are planning big changes such as staff or name or direction.
If there are lots of planned changes, spreading them out works much better with the implementation.
While I say it’s the not so good that needs doing first, it is worth looking at the good as well to see if a change can improve these areas too.
As always if you need a little help with your lists just call for a chat on 09 945 4880.
