Friday July 29, 2011

The One Thing We All Need But Can't Buy: TIME

Recently at PowerConcepts we have been discussing the concept of TIME. Time is one of the most unique and complicated resources one can ever try to acquire. It is a resource most people crave to have more of, yet it can never be bought or purchased, only saved.

In the search to save time our modern society has developed entire products, industries, and processes to make tasks easier. We have created faster cars, new software products, an endless variety of microwave dinners, automatic flushing toilets, and even self-directed vacuums all in an effort to preserve our precious time.

With all the energy invested into time saving products, there is sometimes the illusion that time is for-sale. In truth, no one is really selling time, rather people and businesses are selling a product or a process that will help you spend your time more wisely, more efficiently, more accurately.

When we consider time as something we must maximize  rather than make or buy, we begin looking at time investment differently. All of a sudden, with efficiency in mind, we may begin to invest into a whole different array of products and services that will help you maximize the time you already spending.

The remainder of this newsletter highlights some funny and thought inspiring jokes, sayings, and images to get you thinking about time. The content is time well spent. Enjoy! 

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Q: How much time do you save by going 20km over the speed limit?

A: When travelling under a 20km distance, the average inner city limit commute, speeding only saves you 7 minutes.

How Much Time Efficiency Can You Gain From Training With PowerConcepts?

Most commonly in business the goal of a work day is to "get things done". You may need to make X number of sales, service X number of cars, finish typing documents, or attend to X number of emails, but in all cases the goal is to complete a certain number of tasks by the end of a specific time period. All the effort goes into reaching the targets and once a target is achieved we move on to the next. Rarely in this pattern of start-complete, start-complete, do we stop to evaluate the effectiveness of our process for completion. As long as we achieve the goal, little else matters.

With this perspective on work it is not surprising that many businesses initially resist the investment required for training. Training in itself is a revision of the production process. It involves looking at regular tasks and adding skills or changing a process to improve work efficiency.

If a business only measures the quantity of outputs and omits measuring the quality of the process, it is understandable that adding to the process doesn't seem valuable. Value is measured by outputs. With this measurable in mind, let’s consider how training can improve work efficiency and therefore alleviate more time to produce more outputs.

From 1 hour of training with PowerConcepts we estimate a delegate will learn enough to become 12 minutes more efficient at work every day. If a delegate saves just 12 minutes a day and we multiply 12 minutes by 5 days a week, 1 hour of training can alleviate 1 hour a week for additional productivity. If we consider there are forty 5-day work weeks in a year (excluding holidays and stats) 1 hour of training results in an additional 40 hours of production time. That is an extra work week a year.

12 minutes * 5 work days = 1 hour increased efficiency

40 5-day weeks * 1 hour = 40 hours increased efficiency

Now consider that the average course a PowerConcepts is 6 hours. Based on the same math and logic, 1 course with us, for just 1 delegate, could potentially add to a company 6 work weeks a year in additional productivity. What if all of a company's employees received training? How much time could be available then? These are just some interesting numbers to consider about the value of time and training.

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 Secrets of Microsoft Office Sessions
Host One at Your Office

Microsoft Office^©  is one of the most used business programs in the world. Every day millions of hours are spent producing work using these programs, yet few users realize the amazing potential lying undiscovered and unused within these software products. 

To help your business learn to maximize these programs, PowerConcepts is offering free Secrets of Microsoft Office^© sessions to businesses throughout BC. These informal hour long sessions are designed to showcase the amazing tools, shortcuts, and tips already lying undiscovered in Microsoft Office^©. Sessions are delivered by Microsoft Master Instructors and require nothing more than a room to host them in; we do all the rest. 

If you want to save time and money while inspiring your staff, we invite you to schedule one of these sessions for your company and prepare to be amazed. Sessions are only available for a limited time.

To schedule your free session please contact the sales department at 1.877.954.8433 or at info@powerconcepts.ca.

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