At today's thebestof Exeter business breakfast Norman Hartnell of Hartnell Chanot & Partners presented a book review about 'Eat That Frog' in which author, Brian Tracy suggests ways to help us get more of the important things done. Norman went one step further by also introducing Brian Tracy's book 'Kiss That Frog' about getting rid of blocks that hold us back.

We asked each of the group to share his/her particular 'bugbears' in their business. Here are some of the responses:

People not understanding that if they contact us through the website, we will give them a call.

Spending time doing other people's work.

Customers taking a long time to say 'no' because they don't want to hurt our feelings.

People thinking that they can put in an order and expect it to be delivered immediately.

Needing to make sure that I work only with appropriate businesses that are ambitious and that are willing to listen to my recommendations.

Too many emails rob me of time.

I get too many internal emails. Also, our members are very demanding.

I put off doing VAT returns.

We do the print/marketing for others but don't focus on it for ourselves.

We have trouble fitting in all of our customers' needs.

We are always trying to add value and build relationships, but people aren't always loyal; they go for price only in the present climate.

I hate having to do things over and over again (including educating clients and even the ironing!).

We need to remember to bill appropriate when value is added (so money is saved). Also, our clients need to share with us so that we can help.

We need to manage our clients' expectation so that they understand what can be done within their budget.

Clients can procrastinate (despite our reminders) and then expect delivery NOW!

I hate having to do so much admin when I should be out visiting clients.

Health and safety demands and emails take up so much time.

Clients forget to tell us what is happening in their business, and they sometimes think that marketing miracles can happen without a budget.

Manually transferring one system to another is tedious.

Paperwork and deadlines working for the public sector is difficult.

People who seek advice but don't listen is frustrating.

Perhaps these irritations may ring some bells with you. So, go ahead, eat that frog! By getting the annoying things done first, we can work much more effectively and with a great feeling of accomplishment.

If you'd like to find out more about thebestof Exeter business breakfast (and/or our business bookclub), please phone us on 10392 248 263.