COMPANY A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Conclusion

CONCLUSION: LET EFFICIENCY RULE
Now that I've shared my long strange journey through inefficient businesses, let me summarize why I wrote this report and what business efficiency really means to the bigger picture. Our biggest resources are ourselves. We see it all the time in sports, what great players mean to teams. For business, the goal is to hire the right people that will get the job done, unless you're going to do the whole job by yourself at the expense of your most valuable resource, which is time. If the job does not facilitate the business in a meaningful way, then it just becomes extra expense that cuts into profit. If a company can't afford to pay good money, by definition it is not a good company.

A good company that makes good profits reinvests in themselves, which makes it an even better company. If a business isn't growing, or if it isn't turning a profit or if it is not generating sufficient cash flow to pay for operations, then it is failing. If there is no exit strategy in the business plan and there is no profit, then the big question is: why is that company even in business?

Ideal companies are self-sufficient and don't require huge loans to keep themselves going. Good companies only spend money when they need to and when they see that it will improve quality or profit. Good companies don't hire random temps and then put them in situations that threaten to give the company a black eye over one mistake all because the trainer didn't spend enough time making sure the temp understood the assignment. Good companies hire ambitious people and invest in quality equipment that doesn't break down. Good companies that care about quality and efficiency don't pile a ton of work on a low-paid worker's plate and then try to speed up deadlines.

One point that is key to the success or failure of a business is training, which relies purely on communication. If the company doesn't take time to train its people the company's objectives, then good luck getting all the work done. Negatives pile up when a company forgets to communicate its message, which is the only way to get everyone on the same page. There are lots of different ways to train people but for some reason a lot of companies seem to want to take the cheap way out.

The cheap way out is when a business leaves it up to the new employee to read a manual the size of a phone book and expects flawless results. It doesn't work. Cutting corners is an attempt to dodge short term problems at the expense of long term solutions. One of the most likely things a failed company forgot to do was create a well thought out business plan. The business plan is the business. If there is no plan, chances are there won't be much business. The business plan does not need to be a huge complex binder, it just needs to be thorough and make sense.

Resources, organization and communication are the components of business efficiency and success. These three areas dominate business plans. For resources, what you don't have in capital you must make up for in people who possess talent, knowledge and relationships. Organization and communication must be in order before the business even gets off the ground. The ultimate evaluation of any business lies in the efficiency of using the least amount of time to make the most amount of money - while maintaining quality and sanity.