In most businesses, a huge key to success is efficiency. This can be brought about in a variety of ways, including focusing on the task at hand, avoiding duplication of work and, above all, locking all workers in their offices so they cannot escape for home.
Unfortunately, there isn't a specific model that every business can use to perfection. For example, if you run a circus, it's extremely difficult to lock tent flaps to keep the workers in check. So the high powers at each company need to decide what best suits the corporation, all the way down to making sure that the work atmosphere is Atkins-friendly. Without an Atkins-friendly environment, what exactly does a typical worker have?
Recently we started learning and using what is called software configuration management (SCM for short) here at work. The basic idea behind a system like this is to be able to use and reuse programming code from a multitude of projects, instead of having to rewrite every single little thing we've created. On top of that, the system keeps track of changes that have been made to blocks of code, just in case we've created errors and need to fix them.
But unless you write computer programs, you could probably care less about a software configuration management. In fact, even though the one we use has less carbs than most of our competitors' SCM systems, it would still be useless to you. This is why I'm not going to go on and on about this, but instead, use it as a means to focus on technology efficiency, whether it is at work or on a personal level.
Let's say you have a specific task, like trying to convince everyone your weight-loss plan is far superior than others. With that business plan in mind, you might realize the need for the literature behind how the plan works, testimonials about how it worked for certain people, etc. By organizing this information, you begin to formulate how to carry out your plan, from creating brochures, advertising and allowing material to be easily accessible.
The goal becomes less insurmountable when utilizing technologies capable of spreading your message. In this case, recognizing TV, radio and Internet as viable mediums provides Dr. Atkins plenty of ways to get the word out, and it has worked. It seems to have worked so well, in fact, that the following items will occur within the next couple of years:
1. All restaurants will place their sandwiches between two pieces of lettuce, or in other cases, just cardboard.
2. Oates from the '80s group Hall and Oates will be replaced with some sort of wrap.
3. God will announce banana chips should be used at services instead of unleavened bread.
Because I'm not a nutritionist, I'll back away from discussing in detail the folly of the Atkins diet (visit the Harvard School of Public Health's page on carbohydrates to get a truer picture of what you should and shouldn't eat). But the idea of a dietary plan produced by doctors and scientists proves again that efficiency, even in eating proper foods, should benefit all involved.
Most efficiency ideas appear to be common sense, but oftentimes people find themselves stuck in a routine that snowballs out of control. Everyone who uses calendaring software knows that before all of their events were in a central location, trying to remember when a meeting was, or even better, trying to remember where it was written, was definitely a tedious process. The only resolve would be to use a piece of the cardboard sandwich as a tablet.
As I close, I'm still trying to figure out the point of this column. I guess it would be that in order to become more efficient, one must examine daily routines to determine if things should be changed. Not all change is good, but it never hurts to experiment. Saving time is saving energy and money. I use the money I save to purchase tickets to the circus and low-carb cotton candy.
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