Someone in the business asks for a report and the effort that goes into it would keep and household lit for three weeks. The reams of paper and sleepless nights culminate in a great report that was needed a the time, however does every word in the hefty document work to serve its purpose? Could a shorter report have done? Or have you ever asked for a two page report and got a 20 page one!

In the mean time the staff member putting the report together could have probably been engaged in more useful tasks and not ‘bogged down’ making what is most probably a useless item. If the report puts together a plan of action that is not adopted then it has been a real waste all round.

Often reports can table loads of information in a manner that shows thorough research and diligence from the reporter, yet the analysis has given rise to paralysis in the department where the reporter has come from.

Opposites attract
However the opposite can be true. No report or a very short one can may also lead the organisation astray. Getting information and utilising it to your advantage can make the difference between a great future for the business or see it fail due to misinformed owners that can not act due to a lack of appropriate information and how to act on it. At both ends of the scale problems can obviously arise, how the business handles these dilemmas are obviously important.

Examples
Many small businesses have little idea of who entered their business, what they wanted and fail to see how the information could be of value. In other words “why should I give myself more work to do than necessary?”

A simple checklist used by a growing number of businesses can be easily filled out and give invaluable information to the proprietor. The list has columns and rows, the rows across the page separate the day in tho hourly sections. The columns have a word or short statement at the top. These can include phone enquiries – counter enquiries – sales reps – sales – and age groups.

The sales person in the shop can then put a mark for each when they occur, at the end of the day the marks can be tallied. The weather and other details can also be recorded on the page with other relevant details ie public holidays, etc. (this can be a useful thing when referring back to a month that was usually quite busy but this year lower sales may ahve been casued by challenging weather conditions.)

Armed with this information and done consistently, the business can analyse the rough age group of the customers as well as the busy times of the day and days of the week when things happened. Imagine being able to plan your marketing around this simple information gathering exercise, so that your quiet days can be made busier and times for staff to take breaks can be predicted with greater accuracy.

Other reports that can be of value are of course the financials like cash flow reports, these can assist you in knowing more about how your business is performing on a very important level.

Use your sense
I am often amazed how many businesses are getting no information to work with and therefore analyse their situation to see how healthy their businesses are. I am also amazed at those that spend forever in analysis mode unable to make real sense of the reports and therefore the information they have.

Common sense is not that common, however if you can manage to strike a balance with your information gathering your business should be able to profit from the experience. Paralysis, especially long term can be a debilitating experience for any business. Make it your duty to find ways of keeping your business moving in a positive direction.