Topic for Discussion: How do we small business owners encourage our employees to bring their minds to their work?

Answer: Sadly, not very well. Be honest. How would you feel and how would you react if you walked by a manager's office and saw him or her staring out the window? Our small businesses are fast paced, with never enough hours in the day, always too much on our plates. If we aren't talking to a customer or employee in person or on the phone, if we don't have a pen in our hand or our fingers on the keyboard, then we just aren't working, are we? WRONG!

Too often we have a tendency to dive into our work without planning it first. Invariably, this leads to less than the most efficient use of our time and other resources. We all need to discipline ourselves to think, to plan, before we act. We need to challenge ourselves and our people to constantly look for a better way of doing things. We need to work in our businesses and on our businesses with the same passion. We need to encourage our people to do the same. This is so much easier to say than to do. It takes enormous discipline and lots of practice. There is no doubt that the results are worth the effort.

You think about it: Next time you see that manager staring into space, offer the proverbial penny and find out what he or she is thinking about. It just might be a great idea for your business!