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Easy Solutions for Managing Creative Asset Development

Easy Solutions for Managing Creative Asset Development

By Jim Harkless
Group-Photo-Cameron Highlands 1
Group-Photo-Cameron Highlands 1 (Photo credit: khairilfz)

No matter what market you are in, no matter how hard the current recession has hit your particular industry, I can guarantee you already have nearly everything you need to succeed.

Your people, your finances, your locations, your product, your technology: all of these things can be leveraged to their fullest in order to gain a huge advantage against your competition, vastly increasing efficiency and profitability.

However, the overwhelming majority of leadership teams fail to utilize their people and property, instead falling into the trap of endless acquisitions of new properties.

Instead, your business strategy should be focused around asset development: growing and augmenting the nearly endless potential of your people, equipment, goods, information, and services. One of the easiest ways to do this with almost instant return on investment is by allocating resources to new or upgraded project management software.

Project management software is a huge boon to both providing accurate pricing and estimation to new customers as well as servicing relationships and running smooth jobs with existing accounts.

There are two key assets that run the key economic engine of any business in the world. The first is information. Specifically, culling and maintaining helpful, accurate customer lists is a must if you wish to stay competitive in the marketplace.

The very best way to develop this golden asset within your company is by gathering data, again best done with online collaboration software such as Basecamp or other cloud-based project solutions. Without accurate estimating, you won’t know precisely what your company is capable of, inevitably resulting in a new client’s disappointment as you can’t deliver what you’ve promised.

The second asset at the heart of any successful company is its people. Any organization with enough reserves in the bank can spend the big bucks to acquire the best personnel in the field, but what separates good companies from great companies is the ability to grow and develop existing employees into new and more fitting positions.

But how does this tie into project management? It’s simple: if you lack data, you lack the power to put people in effective positions. While most companies have an old, dusty copy of Microsoft Project on hand somewhere, you’ll need to take a leap into MS Project alternatives if you want to experience the next step in live data analysis.

From online document management to total vendor support, these kinds of programs are fully loaded to allow you to determine where each person is best fit in your company.

While technology is great, in the end it’s up to you to make your company profitable. You’ll never fully achieve the goals you’ve set for your business without seeking a full return on investment in every asset you acquire, from people to products.

Leverage the information you’ve gathered through your years of experience in your field, and you’ll be an unstoppable force in shaping your market.