It is time to invest in your education and development. There may be a course you have been meaning to take or a conference you have wanted to attend. Do not wait any longer, as you are your most precious asset, and you should invest in yourself fully. You and your growth are all you can truly control after all....
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The ability to communicate is one of the most powerful skills we possess as human beings. Moreover, today, we have an unprecedented quantity of tools available to communicate at work. These tools are sometimes subject to misuse, resulting in misunderstandings and wasted time, but they can also be extremely powerful. The more adept we become at switching between one instrument and the next, the more effective we will be at connecting with others and obtaining positive results and healthy business habits.
In My Favorite Methods for Communicating and How to Use Them: Part 1 of this guide, I discussed email and digital and mobile chat applications and their advantages, disadvantages, and best uses. What follows are the three other means of communication my team and I use most often.
As we were evolving, one of the main abilities that set us apart from other species was our ability to communicate complex ideas. Communication is what has allowed us to build groups, organizations, and nations. We need to communicate to grow and develop, and for that reason, communication is one of our most important tools at work.
The art of communication, if not properly leveraged, can create roadblocks within the work process. There are so many ways we can communicate nowadays that it is easy to become overwhelmed by the options. Our success relies on choosing the best method of communication and how each option can best benefit our professional aim.
At work and as adults, we are expected to keep abreast of important events and new information. However, amid the commotion of daily life, keeping up with the news and reading books can easily be forgotten. Moreover, it can be a struggle to develop a habit.
Fortunately, there are many ways to obtain information. The key is to find the best mix of articles and books to keep informed in the most effective way possible.
In 2017 our firm embarked on the biggest system implementation yet: NetSuite, an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. It took six very intense months to become operational, but the full implementation lasted a year because we had bugs and problems that needed to be resolved. Because NetSuite interacted with all the departments of the company, bringing the system online was going to affect everybody.
Prior to implementing NetSuite, we had a very basic accounting system; it only took care of fundamental transactions, such as bills and invoices, and it produced fixed customer statements, accounting reports, and financial statements. While it was a good system for a startup, we realized we had outgrown it.
As a real estate development firm, our company sells properties on an ongoing basis; each time a property is sold, several actions must take place to complete the transaction. The problem is, however, that there are so many steps involved in closing a sale that it is impossible to keep track of all of them. From remembering file storage, document signage, and the entire accounting process, it is crucial not to neglect any of these steps.
Different companies organize the steps in various ways. Originally at our firm, each person had a separate checklist, or just memorized all the steps. Many times, we would overlook a crucial step, and it would be left undone until the mistake was discovered later. Other times, the missing actions were never noticed at all.
A few years ago, I was looking at our firm’s operating manual. It was a 15-page Word document stored on our local server. Despite the amount of work we dedicated to assembling it, nobody ever opened or accessed it. It was the electronic equivalent of an archived file that was ignored by everybody. The manual had pages and pages of useful information, but it was of no practical use because no one referred to it.
Implementing a new cloud software can be very intimidating if you are not comfortable with computer software in the first place. However, even if you are not a computer whiz, you can learn how to adapt, and your firm can take advantage of all the benefits of the cloud systems available in the tech age.
The first step is to make a plan for the overall implementation of the system; this will save time, and you can then take advantage of the system as soon as you buy the license(s). The plan will allow you to have everything ready so you can start working on your software as soon as possible.
We all communicate daily through our words, gestures, and even our poses. The way we communicate becomes second-nature, a part of our being, and these interactions are crucial both personally and professionally.
Through communication, we find new business opportunities, detect errors in the way we operate and find new avenues for growth. What we may not realize is that even though we have been communicating since we were born, we may not be doing it most efficiently, as there are methods to increase what we get out of our communication at work.
To minimize error, a review process is necessary for any firm or business. Weare all humans, after all, and it is easy to make mistakes, especially if we are handling different responsibilities and tasks on a daily basis. The difficulty is that no matter how much work there is, the pressure to deliver perfection every time never disappears.
One way to fulfill the firm’s obligations is to implement a review process in which main processes and deliverables such as sales documents, bill payments, and financial reports are revised by more than one team member. Separate sets of eyes will catch overlooked mistakes and improve quality.
Three years ago, we found we had outgrown our accounting system. When we first started, we managed all our accounting activity on an Excel spreadsheet. We then implemented Zoho Books, an entry-level accounting system, and had been working with it for four years. At the time of its implementation, it had been a major upgrade, and I consider it a great starter accounting software system. A few years later, however, we found we were ready yet again for more advanced functions.
Selecting a new system was not straightforward or easy. We are real estate developers, and our industry has quirks that don’t fit into standard business models. For instance, we do not only sell, but we also lease properties. Also, our manufacturing process varies from building to building, and sometimes from apartment type to apartment type.
Last year, we implemented NetSuite, an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software at our firm. We were previously using two systems, Zoho CRM and Zoho Books, which we had outgrown. We needed something that we could personalize based on our processes, and NetSuite was the solution (please see my blog post NetSuite: How to Select the Best ERP for more on how we selected our ERP).
Implementing the new system was a company-wide effort which required a lot of hard work, and the first six months were particularly intense. In the end, however, we were able to produce a work of art. NetSuite was the system we needed and more.
The ability to communicate is one of the most powerful skills we possess as human beings. Moreover, today, we have an unprecedented quantity of tools available to communicate at work. These tools are sometimes subject to misuse, resulting in misunderstandings and wasted time, but they can also be extremely powerful. The more adept we become at switching between one instrument and the next, the more effective we will be at connecting with others and obtaining positive results and healthy business habits.
In My Favorite Methods for Communicating and How to Use Them: Part 1 of this guide, I discussed email and digital and mobile chat applications and their advantages, disadvantages, and best uses. What follows are the three other means of communication my team and I use most often.
As we were evolving, one of the main abilities that set us apart from other species was our ability to communicate complex ideas. Communication is what has allowed us to build groups, organizations, and nations. We need to communicate to grow and develop, and for that reason, communication is one of our most important tools at work.
The art of communication, if not properly leveraged, can create roadblocks within the work process. There are so many ways we can communicate nowadays that it is easy to become overwhelmed by the options. Our success relies on choosing the best method of communication and how each option can best benefit our professional aim.
At work and as adults, we are expected to keep abreast of important events and new information. However, amid the commotion of daily life, keeping up with the news and reading books can easily be forgotten. Moreover, it can be a struggle to develop a habit.
Fortunately, there are many ways to obtain information. The key is to find the best mix of articles and books to keep informed in the most effective way possible.
In 2017 our firm embarked on the biggest system implementation yet: NetSuite, an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system. It took six very intense months to become operational, but the full implementation lasted a year because we had bugs and problems that needed to be resolved. Because NetSuite interacted with all the departments of the company, bringing the system online was going to affect everybody.
Prior to implementing NetSuite, we had a very basic accounting system; it only took care of fundamental transactions, such as bills and invoices, and it produced fixed customer statements, accounting reports, and financial statements. While it was a good system for a startup, we realized we had outgrown it.
As a real estate development firm, our company sells properties on an ongoing basis; each time a property is sold, several actions must take place to complete the transaction. The problem is, however, that there are so many steps involved in closing a sale that it is impossible to keep track of all of them. From remembering file storage, document signage, and the entire accounting process, it is crucial not to neglect any of these steps.
Different companies organize the steps in various ways. Originally at our firm, each person had a separate checklist, or just memorized all the steps. Many times, we would overlook a crucial step, and it would be left undone until the mistake was discovered later. Other times, the missing actions were never noticed at all.
A few years ago, I was looking at our firm’s operating manual. It was a 15-page Word document stored on our local server. Despite the amount of work we dedicated to assembling it, nobody ever opened or accessed it. It was the electronic equivalent of an archived file that was ignored by everybody. The manual had pages and pages of useful information, but it was of no practical use because no one referred to it.
Implementing a new cloud software can be very intimidating if you are not comfortable with computer software in the first place. However, even if you are not a computer whiz, you can learn how to adapt, and your firm can take advantage of all the benefits of the cloud systems available in the tech age.
The first step is to make a plan for the overall implementation of the system; this will save time, and you can then take advantage of the system as soon as you buy the license(s). The plan will allow you to have everything ready so you can start working on your software as soon as possible.
We all communicate daily through our words, gestures, and even our poses. The way we communicate becomes second-nature, a part of our being, and these interactions are crucial both personally and professionally.
Through communication, we find new business opportunities, detect errors in the way we operate and find new avenues for growth. What we may not realize is that even though we have been communicating since we were born, we may not be doing it most efficiently, as there are methods to increase what we get out of our communication at work.
To minimize error, a review process is necessary for any firm or business. Weare all humans, after all, and it is easy to make mistakes, especially if we are handling different responsibilities and tasks on a daily basis. The difficulty is that no matter how much work there is, the pressure to deliver perfection every time never disappears.
One way to fulfill the firm’s obligations is to implement a review process in which main processes and deliverables such as sales documents, bill payments, and financial reports are revised by more than one team member. Separate sets of eyes will catch overlooked mistakes and improve quality.
Pamela Ayuso is an author and the co-founder and CEO of Celaque. She is a real estate entrepreneur and developer who has executive leadership experience in two of the most successful real estate developers in Honduras — managing operations at Alianza and leading Celaque. Celaque develops office and residential buildings and manages a broad portfolio of properties. Pamela’s focus is on growing Celaque into a model for the 21st-century company.
In addition to her role as CEO at Celaque, Pamela is a writer that offers practical business and personal development insights for other entrepreneurs and business leaders on her blog and LinkedIn. She published her first children’s book in 2019, Alicia and Bunnie Paint a Mural.
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Pamela Ayuso will use the information on this form to be in touch with you and provide updates. You can change your mind at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in the footer of any email you receive from us, or by contacting us at pamela@pamelaayuso.com. We will treat your information with respect. We use cookies and similar technologies to run this website and help us understand how you use it. For more information, read our Privacy Policy.
Pamela Ayuso is an author and the co-founder and CEO of Celaque. She is a real estate entrepreneur and developer who has executive leadership experience in two of the most successful real estate developers in Honduras — managing operations at Alianza and leading Celaque. Celaque develops office and residential buildings and manages a broad portfolio of properties. Pamela’s focus is on growing Celaque into a model for the 21st-century company.
In addition to her role as CEO at Celaque, Pamela is a writer that offers practical business and personal development insights for other entrepreneurs and business leaders on her blog and LinkedIn. She published her first children’s book in 2019, Alicia and Bunnie Paint a Mural.
Pamela Ayuso is an author and the co-founder and CEO of Celaque. She is a real estate entrepreneur and developer who has executive leadership experience in two of the most successful real estate developers in Honduras — managing operations at Alianza and leading Celaque. Celaque develops office and residential buildings and manages a broad portfolio of properties. Pamela’s focus is on growing Celaque into a model for the 21st-century company.
In addition to her role as CEO at Celaque, Pamela is the author of Amazon best-selling book, Heptagram: The 7-Pillar Business Design System for the 21st Century. She offers practical business and personal development insights for other entrepreneurs and business leaders on her blog and LinkedIn. Her husband and her three wonderful daughters inspired the story of her first children’s book, Alicia and Bunnie Paint a Mural.
Pamela Ayuso will use the information on this form to be in touch with you and provide updates. You can change your mind at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in the footer of any email you receive from us, or by contacting us at contact@pamelaayuso.com. We will treat your information with respect. We use cookies and similar technologies to run this website and help us understand how you use it. For more information, read our Privacy Policy.
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