What strategies do you employ to make sure that you are well informed about the world around you, particularly anything that could cause you trouble or cost you money? Do you have someone in your life that is responsible for letting you know when the rules change? You might need more than one of these people, for various areas of your life. For example does your car dealer contact you when there is a safety recall concerning your vehicle, your doctor let you know when new treatments are available and your spouse when you should cut the lawn? Does anyone tell you when you are no longer allowed to use certain pesticides on that lawn?
If you are charged a late filing penalty because you did not file your personal income tax return on time, the federal government will not be at all impressed with your observation that no one told you. They see it as your responsibility to understand your obligations.
In the small business world, it is often the case that you need to do research on your own, to find out what you need to know to be a success. There is no guarantee you are going to learn everything you need to know simply by having your friends mention stuff to you.
Do you volunteer or sit on a nonprofit board? If so you should ask the same question, who is responsible for scanning the world and letting the organization know when you have new problems. Someone on that board should be responsible! This responsibility might be divided up among a number of people based on their expertise.
What if you are responsible for telling people that policies have changed? Consider how you let people know about new policies. Here is an example. When the law changed in Halifax, N.S. about allowing transit buses the right of way no matter what, the powers that be decided to post signs on the back of buses and to launch a radio campaign. How long do you do this before you implement the policy change? In this example there were still people, largely unaware of the outside world, who were very surprised the first time the bus cut them off!
Develop your strategies for staying up to date and out of trouble. Do you use old media such as newspapers and TV, or do you get most of your news online via Twitter, blogs and websites? Perhaps your strategy is a combination, but you do need to have a strategy.
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Debi J. Peverill CA is an accountant with a sense of humour. She has written 11 books for business owners and is in demand as a speaker. Learn more business strategies at http://www.Peverill.ca
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