Chapter 26 Reduce business worries by 50%

If you are a businessman, after seeing this topic, you may say to yourself: "This topic is really ridiculous. I have been in this business for more than ten years. If anyone knows the answer, that person is of course me." It’s ridiculous that someone wants to tell me how to reduce 50% of my worries in business.” That's true, and it's not bad at all.I would have felt the same way if I had seen such a topic a few years ago.This topic seems to help you solve a lot of things, but this kind of empty talk is not worth a penny at all.Let's be honest, maybe I can't help you reduce 50% of the worries in your business, because from the results of my previous analysis, no one else can do it except yourself.But I can do one thing, that is, let you see how others do it, and how to do the rest is your own business.

Below, I will tell you how a businessman eliminated his worries and saved 70% of the time he used to spend in meetings and solving business problems.Of course, I won't tell you stories that you can't check.The protagonist of this story is a real person.Leon has been a senior executive at Simon Publishing and is currently Chairman of Rockefeller Center Pocket Books, New York, NY.The following is Leon's own experience: For 15 years, almost half of my day has been spent in meetings and discussions.If someone told me that I could lose 3/4 of my meeting time and 3/4 of my nervous tension, I would consider him a blind optimist.However, I can now actually come up with a plan that does exactly that.And I have been using this method for 8 years, and it has played a great role in improving my work efficiency, my health and my happiness.

It sounds like magic at first—but like all magic tricks, it's pretty simple once you figure out how to do it. Here's my recipe: First, I immediately stopped the program that had been used in our meetings for the past 15 years.In the past, my colleagues would go through the details of the problem first and ask at the end: 'What do we do? ' Second, I made a new rule that anyone who wants to ask me a question must prepare a written report in advance and answer the following four questions: 1.What went wrong?In the past, our meetings usually lasted an hour or two, but everyone still didn't know where the real problem was.Too often we start talking about our problems without being willing to write clearly in advance what problems we are facing.

2.What is the cause of the problem?I looked back and was surprised to find that I wasted a lot of time in these meetings without clearly identifying the underlying circumstances that constituted the problem. 3.What are the possible ways to solve this problem?In previous meetings, as long as one person proposed a solution, another person would argue with him, and everyone would argue, often getting off topic.When the meeting was over, no real solution to the problem had been found. 4.Which method do you prefer to use?People I've been in meetings with before often worry about a situation for hours and keep going in circles, never thinking of a workable solution and then writing it down: this is the solution I recommend using.

Now, my subordinates basically don't come to me with their problems.why?Because they found that to answer the above four questions, they had to collect all the facts and think carefully. After doing this, they would find that many problems could be solved by themselves without consulting me.Because the most reasonable solutions will continue to emerge like bread jumping out of a toaster.Even the issues that had to be discussed with me took 1/3 of the time as before, because the discussions were very orderly and logical, leading to a sensible conclusion.Now, in our offices at Pocket Books, no one spends so much time worrying about, discussing what went wrong, and actually taking action to solve the problem.

Frank Bigger, the greatest insurance magnate in the United States, once told me that he not only reduced his business worries but nearly doubled his income by a method similar to the above example.Frank Bigger says: When I first started out in the insurance sales business many years ago, I was passionate about what I did.But then something happened, which made me very discouraged. I began to look down on this job, and even thought of giving up.But I suddenly remembered one thing.I sat down one Saturday morning and tried to get to the root of my worry. First, I said to myself, "What's the problem?" My problem was this: I've interviewed so many people, and I'm not doing well.I have good talks with customers who have high hopes, but when the final close is about to close, the customer will say to me: "Ah! I want to think about it again. Mr. Bijier, let's talk about it later." So I again I have to go to him again, which wastes a lot of time and makes me very depressed.

Second, I said to myself, "What's the solution?" But to find out the answer, I had to research the previous facts in advance.I took out my logbook for the past 12 months and carefully analyzed the data on it.As a result, I made a very surprising discovery - 70% of the insurance I sold was closed at the first meeting, and another 23% was closed at the second meeting. And only 7% are sold in the third, fourth, or even fifth time....This stuff makes me feel bad because it's such a waste of time.In other words, almost half of my work time is wasted on what is really only 7% of my business, and it's not worth it.

Third, "What are the answers to these questions?" The answer was obvious, and I immediately stopped all visits after the second time, so that I spent the extra time looking for new customers.The results were unbelievable: In a very short period of time, I increased my previous average of $2.80 per transaction to $4.27. Frank Birgil is a well-known life insurance salesman in the United States, and the insurance business he sells every year is more than 1 million US dollars.But at one point he contemplated giving up his job, almost admitting failure.But what about the result?An in-depth analysis of the problem put him on the road to success.

After reading this, can you apply these questions to your business as well?You may wish to ask yourself the following questions one at a time, this is the second step out of a lonely and worrying life: First, what is the problem? Second, what is the cause of the problem? Third, what are the ways to solve the problem? Fourth, which workaround do you suggest?