SmallBusinessNewz

Odds are that you've got an absolutely optimized morning routine; showers, breakfasts, and whatever else you take part in are all planned in order and down to the minute.  Business practices aren't always so efficient, though, and may require a second (and third and fourth) look.

As a minor example, consider the data I use to perform a certain collection of tasks every Friday.  For a while, it remained in nice, neat, separate folders - one for each chore.  Then I realized that I could save a bit of time (and some space on my computer's desktop) by combining everything.

For larger issues, Keith McFarland writes, "One way to eliminate dangerous routines in a business is to start talking about strategy regularly, meaning more than just once a year."

He then continues, "My firm encourages companies to tap key people at all levels to adapt strategy and to get together for a formal discussion of strategy at least once a quarter.  It doesn't take more than a few hours in a well-designed process to root out routines that no longer make sense."

Be careful, of course, that you don't allow these discussions to become yet another pointless routine ("okay, everybody, it's Tuesday, so let's drop what we're doing and become unreachable for four hours").  But a little eat-breakfast-before-brushing-your-teeth thinking can go a long way.