More often than not, I see individuals and organizations spending time trying to re-invent the wheel or make it themselves because they believe it will give them the competitive advantage. In some cases that may be true, but I’m going to challenge that theory and say that the majority of the time it does not create the competitive advantage. In fact, it sidetracks you, slows you down, and cost you more time and money because it’s not your core competency. For example, many people get into business because it’s a dream to own their own business or they’re passionate about a particular product or service. When individuals embark upon their dreams, they find themselves getting involved with other business activities such as accounting, sales and marketing, employee issues, taxes and insurance, and other ancillary business needs required of a legitimate business, but are not the reasons you got into business.

I would like to share an “Aha” moment with you. As I was coaching a business client, I used the analogy Other Peoples Money when discussing resources and it was literally like flipping a switch! This may appear simple but oftentimes we’re so caught up with our day-to-day activities that even the simplest ideas or solutions don’t come to mind.

We’ve all heard the term Other People’s Money or the acronym OPM. Many wealthy individuals use OPM to leverage their investment and opportunity to realize exponential returns. We use a form of OPM when we buy a house or car or anytime we use financing. What if we take that concept and apply it to resources, Other Peoples Resources (OPR)? Think how much more productive you could be if you identified the tasks that are not your core strengths or high payoff activities or you just absolutely hate doing, and outsource those activities to others? Now, depending on the activity, this could be someone internally that works for you, a professional or consultant. On the conservative scale you could easily free up 30% to 50% of your time that would allow you to focus on high payoff activities resulting in increased sales and profits, more time to spend with your family, or time to just relax and have fun.

So what’s stopping you? I know some of you are thinking of the cost to outsource. For others it may be you’re so busy that you don’t have time to even consider what tasks those might be, which means you’ll benefit even more from OPR. Here’s a simple exercise to get you into action and consider the possibilities of how using Other Peoples Resources can benefit you and your business.

Coaches Exercise -

Sit down with a blank sheet of paper and identify tasks or activities that you engage in on a daily or weekly basis. Then estimate the amount of time you spend on each task and note it next to it. Now prioritize the tasks using a 1,2,3 rating, with 1 being most important; 3 least important. After you have your tasks prioritized, think about the ones rated 2 and 3 and really challenge yourself with the following questions:

• Why am I doing this activity?
• Is it something that is necessary?
• Does it generate revenue?
• Does it increase the value I bring to my customers?
• Does it take away from my family or more important activities?

If it’s an activity that is necessary for you to continue, consider who you know in your network that you could outsource the activity to who could do it better, faster and cheaper than you could. If you have employees, it could be someone on your team. The objective is to either let go or outsource activities rated 2 or 3 so you will be free to focus on those top priority activities rated 1.

Now don’t stop there. The last step in this exercise is to contact the people who can help you immediately and get those tasks off your plate. Enjoy that extra time to focus on your #1 High-Payoff activities or with your family.

Make the most of your day!

Mike Brenhaug

www.bluerockcoaching.com