After completing my keynote presentation at a conference last week,  I stayed to listen to the next speaker on the agenda who discussed the importance of being present in the moment, living in today, rather than contemplating the future or ruminating on the past. She mentioned several times that today is all we’ve really got. I realized that this mindset is also as appropriate to our business lives as it is to our personal ones.

By the time she had finished her talk I thought about how I could translate her suggestions into a business environment when I talk to my program participants about taking action (executing) or competing successfully or leading effectively.

I came up with these 10 “today” business actions.
•    Take action on at least two promises TODAY.
•    Learn something new TODAY.
•    Compliment an employee on something they have done well today, TODAY.
•    Be positive, encouraging, motivating and patient all day TODAY
•    Call two or three prospective clients TODAY.
•    Call an old client to tell them you are thinking about them TODAY.
•    Solve a problem you were informed about TODAY.
•    Put in an extra18 minutes of productive work TODAY.
•    Treat your co-workers with respect and dignity TODAY.
•    Refresh, re-think, meditate for 10 minutes TODAY.
There are many, many more “today” actions we can take depending on our situation. I would be interested to hear yours.

LESSON LEARNED: 
“Never put off until tomorrow what you can do today.”
–Sam Geist 

THE STATS

Recent research on women at work indicate they want relationships, corporate social responsibility and flexibility.

• 88% of women agree that relationships with colleagues and direct supervisors (86%) have a big impact on how happy they are with their jobs.
• 93% of women whose employers offer a reduced schedule or flex time during the summer months say that this improves company morale and 81% agree they feel productivity increases because of it.
• 74% of women polled also said that it was important to them that their company invests in CSR efforts.

If they were considering taking a position with a new company:

• 87% of women say that a company having a good reputation among its employees as a good place to work would be important to them.
• 92% of women say that the company’s reputation in the community would also be important to them.

— Randstad/Ipsos Public Affairs

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This survey was commisioned by Twitter to determin if SMBs (small and medium-sized businesses) benefit from being followed on Twitter. Findings include:

Followers drive sales and recommendations.

• People are 72% more likely to make a future purchase from an SMB after they follow or interact with them on Twitter.
• 86% of respondents said they are more likely to visit an SMB if a friend recommends them.

Followers feel an emotional connection to SMBs.

• 63% of people follow SMBs to show support for that business.
• 85% of people say that they feel more connected to an SMB after they follow them.

Followers want to be in the know and offer feedback.

• 73% of people follow SMBs to get updates on future products.
• 61% want to share ideas and get feedback through interactions.

Marketing with Twitter helps you reach more customers.

• 34% of respondents say they have interacted with an SMB after seeing an ad that included the business’ Twitter handle.

— Twitter/Market Probe International