The One-Page Dashboard
Are you receiving so much financial information from your accounting department that you don’t have time to read it all, and, if you did, you wouldn’t know what areas required your immediate attention because the important information is just buried with everything else?
Phil’s Profit Points™ in Brief:
A one page dashboard is prepared by your accounting and operations people to show the monthly highlights.
The highlights include factors that managers can control, such as, revenues, costs of goods sold and margins, general and administrative expenses, total days to cash based on invoicing speed and collection of receivables, operations or production data, and sales pipeline or backlog.
Your accounting department should organize, summarize, prioritize and highlight information for management action as soon as the information becomes available (and not wait for month end).
Have you heard this in your company after things go wrong? The executives say, “we didn’t know because we didn’t receive the information” and the accounting department says, “but we sent you the reports.” They are both right and they are both wrong.
That’s because too many accounting departments provide a large quantity of data instead of a high quality one page report to the executive team.
The executives are too busy to read the volumes and the accountants don’t highlight the most important information that requires executive attention.
Figure 95.1 Symco One Page Dashboard
Here are four key lessons that I’ve learned from my trainers, Warren and Amber, at Level 10 Fitness.
Endurance
We are only as strong as our heart and our major muscle groups such as our legs (which carry us everywhere). In business, we need to have core products and services that generate significant positive cash flow.
Do you have the endurance (relationships with customers and suppliers, cash, collateral) to act as a buffer during business downturns and to overcome set backs? Can you persist past the unqualified buyers who will waste your time but won’t give you business until you find the perfect buyer?
Flexibility
If we have lots of power but can’t bend over to pick up a toothbrush, we’re not going to be very productive in life. Flexibility ensures that we can move and adapt to different situations while we can still perform the tasks.
Is your business flexible and does it give your customers multiple ways of evaluating, ordering, receiving, paying for and utilizing your value?
Strength
Years ago, some hockey players were suffering from frequent hamstring or low back problems because they ignored muscle balance and they ignored their core abdominal, oblique and low back muscles. These days, most hockey players train year round and participate in yoga and other exercises that strengthen their core and maintain their muscle balance.
What are your main strengths and competitive advantages? How do you know? How are you using these to advance your business? Are your strengths in one area blinding you to opportunities in other areas?
Balance
Some wealthy person invented a Bosu ball, which is, essentially, one half of a very tough beach ball with a flat surface attached. If you cut an orange in half, painted it blue, and made it twenty times larger, you would have a Bosu ball. It’s unstable when you stand on it, kneel on it, try one-legged exercises on it, or even just look at it. It’s designed to make your brain and muscles work very hard to maintain your balance. Balance produces stability even when the environment changes.
How balanced is your business? Does the first obstacle or setback send your employees whining to your door? Does the complaint from your prospect set your prices in a downward spiral? Do you keep changing strategy based on early failures or a lack of clarity?
In Conclusion
Physical health requires a balance among our heart, lungs, muscles and mind. Your business is a living organism, too, because it’s made up of people (especially, you!). The better condition the owner is in, the better condition the business will be in. After all, you’re worth more than any million-dollar athlete. Just ask your family, employees, customers and suppliers.
Tough Question
If you hired a personal trainer, how could they improve your physical condition and your life? What impact would that have on your family, your business and your wealth?
From the Vault
The most successful business owners that I know work out regularly, first thing in the morning, with a trainer. Accountability and frequency produces results.
Have a profitable week!
