Allen Bostrom – Universal Accounting

The other day, I was rummaging through some of my father’s old business materials, and ran across an article that he wrote that is just as powerful and needed today, as it was two decades ago when he wrote it. In fact, with competition the way it is today, I have to say that it is even more important that every associate in a business look for opportunities to make their job and their company better. Here’s the article that my father, Alf Bostrom, titled “Ideas” – enjoy!

IDEAS

One of the most valuable assets that a valued employee has is productive ideas for the benefit of the business plus the ability to put them to work. Very often coming up with new ideas and using them creates jobs, bonuses, and profits where none of these might otherwise have existed.

I am reminded of the story of the young man who applied for a job at an automotive parts company and was told that there were no jobs available. The next day his closest friend had a job at that same company. When he asked the owner of the company why he gave his friend a job and turned him down, he was told, “Actually no job was available, but your friend suggested that the company start a delivery service and hire him with his small pickup to make deliveries.” It sounded like a good idea, and that young man was hired.

Actually both young men were qualified to fill the position and they both had small pickup trucks, but one had an idea and he landed the job.

In any business, probably the primary difference between mediocrity and outstanding performance is coming up with ideas, putting them into effect, and then following up to see that they are successful. This often has been the difference between success and failure in personnel. The primary areas within a business where ideas are continuously needed are advertising, customer relations, productivity, expense reduction, product display, sales performance, employee morale and goodwill. Actually, departmental problems are reviewed almost daily and yet very few new ideas, although discussed, are put into effect. Probably all that is needed is to realize that ideas need to be utilized. Over the many years that I have been involved in revitalizing unprofitable companies, I have often found that all that was required was putting into effect activities that were being discussed but no action was ever taken.

Now, everyone has ideas and probably many of these ideas have good points that could effectively be used if they were talked over, improved upon, and assigned for completion to the very people who promoted them. This is the reason businesses have meetings, planning sessions, and daily operating controls. One question that everyone should probably ask themselves is: “Do I pass on or utilize ideas that I have?”

A whole new life with new ideas can be put into effect at any time. Review the past, consider the present, and take advantage of the future by resolving to make each day a new day with new ideas and new performance.

Allen Bostrom
Universal Accounting Center