Have you ever had a brilliant idea to make your business more efficient - cut costs, save time? You may be surprised that many businesses fail to benefit from increased efficiencies, even once they're implemented.

This happens in professional services firms, with hourly rates: when it takes an Associate 8 hours to complete work that used to take 10 hours, the firm invoices less money, for the same client outcome.

In construction, the 'Cost Plus 10%' pricing model has the same issue: if you find a cheaper supplier, it reduces the amount you actually earn.

The solution is pricing your services based on value. The first step - do you understand how much value you deliver to your clients?

Price Wars
Amazon.com and Wal-Mart are currently battling a famous 'race to the bottom' with their pricing. Or are they? It seems some tactics may protect both retail giants.

A Brief History of the Internet
There's no doubt the internet is driving efficiencies in all businesses. This link isn't as brief as it could be, but it's packed with firsts - the first webcam was developed so programmers could check how full the coffee pot was without leaving their desk!

Fix your Terrible Password
With technology comes security. Chances are your online passwords are vulnerable - here's an easy, sustainable five minute solution. 

What ever happened to Second Life?
Sustainability is also a concern for all of us jumping on the Twitter / Facebook / Whatever bandwagon. Do you remember the Second Life hype? What about MySpace?

Intranet Joke of the Week

A man driving along the highway notices two men working strangely on the roadside. 
The first man would dig a hole several feet deep, then move a few feet forward and dig another hole. The second man was following closely behind, filling in each hole almost as quickly as they were dug.
The driver was perplexed enough to pull over, and ask what was going on.
"Don't worry," says the first man, "we work for the council."
"Then surely this is a waste of ratepayers money?" asks the driver. "And you two are typical council slackers!"
"Well now mister, there's something you're not seeing," responds the first man. "Normally there's three of us on this job - I dig the holes, there's Joe who plants a tree in the hole, and there's Mick over there who fills the hole back up again.
"Now you call us slackers, so I ask you this: if we were slackers, why did we come to work today even though Joe called in sick?"

Until next week, no slacking!
Jacob Aldridge and the Shirlaws Team

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