Efficiency in Business Helps Your Bottom Line

Efficiency in Business Helps Your Bottom Line

A significantly peculiar trait of the human brain is that it’s wired to crave the same thing repeatedly. It likes routine, it wants to learn something once and then never touch it again. It’s part of why change is so hard for us. Our brains are anthropologically hardwired to use routine and habit to keep us safe. If you have never read “The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business” by Charles Duhigg, I highly recommend it! It’s an incredible insight into the human brain, why habits form, how to break them, and why they exist. Ultimately, Efficiency in business helps your bottom line. Here is how we use that habit to help you.

Patterns are the essence of most human behavior. Our morning routines are typically the most telling of a person’s wellbeing. Side note: My two “cents” on improving your happiness and health are focusing on what you do in the first two hours of every day. If you have peace, exercise, and proper nutrition, the rest of the day will be like that. If you are rushed, stressed, and consuming tons of sugar, the rest of your day will follow suit. I changed my morning routines six months ago and can honestly say my life has never been better.

This will sound crazy to most people, but one of my main passions in life is efficiency. I love to pull things apart and find ways to make it faster, more comfortable, and generally just better. Rolling this love of efficiency into my passion for financial analysis, I love digging through data and solving puzzles. I have a tendency to stay busy, like really busy. But, again, Efficiency in business helps your bottom line so I benefit from the rewards of being efficient in each area. Why stop now?

For example, right now, I have a full-time career leading 300+ people, am a co-owner of this rapidly growing consulting business, I’m raising three young children, trying to be a great wife, training for a half marathon and writing a book. Many people think I’m crazy, or an overachiever. I like to consider it a solid work-life balance where I’ve not given up my identity or remote passions among my many roles and responsibilities.

I have a habit of being busy, but also a habit of being highly efficient in everything I do – so it isn’t busy, it’s productive! I’m known to talk things out and really like to share my efficiencies with my friends and family. In fact, I think I drive most of my family crazy. The last thing most people want to hear is their know-it-all friend giving them unwanted advice on anything, let alone money management, and their hyper-efficient use of Amazon Alexa. But I can’t help it.

It gives me so much joy to stay busy and try new adventures I just keep pushing. I used to hate this trait of mine, and I wanted to hide it for a while. But it’s who I am, and I am now proud of it.

I credit my mom for these traits of mine. About fifteen years ago, she was having a party at her house. She was on high-efficiency mode and wanted everything done in a specific order. I was not in the mood to take orders and snapped back at her calling her the “Efficiency Bitch” under my breath. I was mad when I said it and meant it as an insult, but since we have both owned our inner “efficiency bitch” and lovingly refer to her as EB1, me EB2 my sister EB3 – my brother is even a little this way, but I don’t think we ever officially added him to our clique. Even he can attest that efficiency in business helps your bottom line – even family business.

To be an EB, you must be a little OCD.  Obsessed list-maker (the kind who adds done items to the list just to cross them off), clean to release stress. They enjoy things like Christmas shopping and planning in August. You must also be a researcher, the kind who will read and dig for supporting and conflicting arguments on both sides of any argument.

I’ve not met many people who fit this mold outside of my first family, but the genetics run strong. I think my oldest daughter has some EB in her, and this mama is so proud. While I don’t always appreciate being on the receiving end of this efficiency and advice, it’s been invaluable in my life. This crazy inner drive helps my family on numerous occasions with items from finances to politics to child-raising. You want to have a belief based on what life has taught you but still have the ability to take in new information.  This is the path to growth. I have taken on this multi-perspective approach in everything I do.

Running your business, the way you want to run it is the beauty of being an entrepreneur. No one tells you what to do or how to do it (except your customers and hopefully you listen). But in every business, there comes a time to sit down with an unbiased third party. Someone who will ask questions, provoke thought and search for low-hanging fruit to create new profit centers you could have never considered alone. One of the primary functions we pride ourselves on at Two Sense Consulting, LLC, is the ability to see through the lens of the customer, the competitor, and the business owner. We provide our clients with a full 360-degree business review and encourage you to consider new ideas for implementation. Call us today to help create your “new normal” using our habits of efficiency. Let’s bring out the best in your business’ operations and financials.