Multi-tasking is bad for you - apparently.

Stanford University researchers have found that compulsive mulit-taskers are harming their ability to focus on the task at hand. They were tested to see if they could ignore irrelevant information when given a task and apparently they couldn't.

I know I have good multi tasking days when I get so much done and bad days when I just get distracted, flitting from one thing to another. The bad days are usually a symptom of a lack of pre planning or focus for the day. It's not that I have lost focus by multi-tasking, it was never there in the first place!

Experience has taught me that I work best when I'm on the edge - preparing for things 'just in time' - but this only works if I get the basics right. I use our CRM system to hold as much info as possible about what I am doing. For example, if I arrange a meeting for a future date I need to clearly record what it's about and what my goals are, because I know that I will grab the info just before I set off to the meeting. This may sound like I am not preparing but actually I prepare long in advance. If I have all the facts in one place then I can use travel time really well - I get so much done on trains.

A top tip to reduce distractions - stop Outlook telling you that a new email has arrived. Check your mail every hour instead. A study by Microsoft found that it takes 25 minutes to return to the original task after an interruption by email. Another survey claims only 8 minutes but that's still a huge amount of time.

Snow stop play (2)

Back in February I wrote a post suggesting that work needn't stop because of a little bit of snow. Well here we are again - the broadcasters are advising people not to travel unless absolutely necessary. But what is 'absolutely necessary'? If you run your own business and have to make every moment count, then surely travel is absolutely necessary. One of my guys was due to see a client this morning and spent 1 1/2 hours trying to get there before turning around. A fantastic effort that meant a lot to me and the client. However, everybody needs to make individual decision based on their own circumstances.

What ever the weather, a good plan and capable systems really can help. We are by no means the best prepared but work goes on at Centurion. The office is not maned, but our phones are redirected so the few clients that are working can still be supported. We are working from home with access to email and CRM. Online training has happened this morning and client work continues all be it at a slightly slower pace. I can even go into our HR system, breatheHR, and prepare for next weeks performance reviews.

This sort of event is going to get more frequent so we, as responsible managers, need to constantly improve our processes. There are things that I have learnt over the last two days that I want to change for next time. We need to share the information about how to redirect the phones for instance.

Life goes on - and it does look very pretty outside!

Lies, damned lies and statistics

Lies, damned lies and statistics, the phrase attributed to Benjamin Disraeli (though not found in his work), could be applied to the Office of National Statistics reporting for UK GDP. I'm not suggesting that there had been any underhand dealings going on but rather a desire to be over cautious that the press capitalised on

You may remember that the ONS reported UK GDP to have fallen by 0.4% in the third quarter of 2009. This caused a public (press?) outcry against the government - why weren't they doing more? At the time I remember reading minor reports that the figures were likely to be revised up towards the end of the year for very valid reasons. But, being British, the bad news was over played.

So now that it is the end of the year, it seems that the true figure for the third quarter looks more likely to have been a fall of 0.1% and may even have been neutral. See "Office for National Statistics data suggests recession already over."

What has this got to do with running a small business? Two things - first, business morale took a further battering which we really didn't need and second there is a lesson about how to turn information into knowledge. The ONS knew the factors affecting the calculations accuracy and alerted us to the possible update, but the press decided to largely ignore this.

With any management information, if one relies on the headline figure and doesn't bother to understand the surrounding information, a bad decision can be taken. Every manager needs a set of key performance indicators (information) but they must be applied with understanding (knowledge).

Getting the focus right when implementing a new system

When a new system is being implemented there are three elements that must be balanced:

1. Functionality - what it needs to do;
2. Speed – how quickly do you want it in place;
3. Price – what is the budget.

It's easy to say that we want everything, now, and at a rock bottom price but that's not the real world. It's also a recipe for a failed implementation.

In most cases, the answer is a blend of the three but the mix will determine how your project proceeds. For example, a project focused on price will almost certainly result in less functionality being delivered, whereas a focus on functionality will take longer to deliver and probably cost more. No implementation is the same so consider the triangle (right) and think about where your priorities are.

We find that there are 4 broad categories of implementation:

Balanced - requiring “a little of all of them”, is where most of our clients actually sit. They want a balance between a solution that is implemented quickly, but is somewhat tailored to their needs, with enough training to get both users and administrators up and running with a minimum of stress, effort, and delay.

Speed - A focus on speed means getting the system as fast as you can. This does not necessarily mean sacrificing functionality or quality, but can result in a higher cost. It may involve several consultants working together on a system. Speed focused implementations need careful project management.

Functionality - The functionality focus typically suits organisations that want the system configured to their specific needs, detailed user and administration training, and have lots of data to be migrated from one or more legacy systems.

Price - A focus on price looks for all options to keeping the cost down. This includes absolute out-of the-box functionality, and training to give administrators enough information to continue the learning process themselves in the use, setup and administration of the system, and to train the end users themselves.

The best route to understanding the right mix for your implementation is to meet with the vendor and discuss the options, your in-house skills and how critical the system will be. It's also worth pointing out that the mix will change from system to system and should not be a company standard

So many good causes but some just make so much sense.

I know this is the time of year for good causes to tug at our heart strings, but every now and then I hear of one that just makes so much sense.

My friends at Trovus (http://www.trovus.co.uk/) introduced me to ColaLife (http://www.colalife.org/). Colalife is a campaign to get Coca-Cola to open up its distribution channels in developing countries to save lives, especially children's lives, by carrying much needed 'social products' such as oral re hydration salts and high dose vitamin A tablets.

They are looking to build a bank of supporters on Facebook.

One version of the truth.

How many times have you questioned the information you use to run your business? That nagging feeling that a part of the management information might not be correct or you see the same information from two sources that doesn't agree. Would you expect sales information in your CRM system to match the invoicing totals in your accounts system? Probably, but there are legitimate reasons why it may not.

Businesses often have the same or similar data stored in different places and whilst this isn't ideal, it's not necessarily a bad thing. What it does mean is that greater care needs to be taken when compiling data. Time needs to be taken to understand the way each system holds data and to get a real understanding of the reporting tools provided.

Marathon Sponsorship

Thank you to everyone who sponsored me for the Florence Marathon at the end of November and I raised nearly £500 for the folks at Kids Company which is fantastic. It's not too late to make a donation at www.justgiving.com/jonathan-richards.

I wont go into detail about my time except to say that I was only 3 hours over the world record time. I think it's safe to say that the winner was tucking into his second pizza by the time I finished.

Roll on the next one - but probably not until Autumn next year.