Business sustainability. We’ve all been made aware of sustainability with regard to recycling paper, glass, cans and other products at home for many years now. I know this has become much more mainstream in working with my clients. Home owners are increasingly aware also of where they can recycle their paper, electronics, as well as their “stuff.” And in the business place, my clients have set up recycling programs for paper, soda cans, and are finally more open to electronic organization to decrease the overuse of paper.

Reducing the impact is a great first step to becoming an environmental steward. We’ve known about social entrepreneurs for years, where one has a passion for a cause because they have seen an unfair situation or personally they had been slighted, so they create a foundation to improve the situation.

Currently more and more businesses are revealing their own passion to protect and conserve our world through their business practices. I’ve committed to a program over the next couple of months to learn about how my business can take a stand in being sustainable incorporating the concepts of a triple bottom line, focusing on more than just profit — to now include social and community interests as well.

I’ll be writing more about this topic in the weeks to come. In the meantime, think about some actions you can put in place to start implementing green initiatives in your work.

Here are a few ideas as you develop your own:

• Use printers that can print on both sides.
• Increase your efforts and budget to buy recycled supplies.
• Add recycling receptacles to your individual office as well as common areas.
• Implement a used battery collection program to properly dispose of personal batteries.
• As summer is coming, create a bicycle rack and lockers for employees to encourage bicycle commuters.
• Use an intranet environment to inform employees of your program listing resources for their personal involvement as well.
• Highlight employees in an e-newsletter, who are taking sustainability home with them.

These are just a few ideas and I welcome your feedback and suggestions. Let me know what you are doing to become a sustainable organization. Think about developing your own Triple Bottom Line plan and strategy.

Watch for more as I continue with my class over the next six weeks! I’m excited to share with you how we can all make a difference. This brings my passion of being of service to a whole new level.  If you would like to consider becoming a triple bottom line company, I would highly recommend this program.  Another class is coming up in September.  Check out their site for more information.  http://proggroup.com/greater-good-project.html. 

© Strategize & Organize, Anne McGurty. 2010

This article from Greenstein, Rogoff, Olsen & Co is a great source for storing tax records: How long is long enough? First you have to decide what paper files to keep and how long to keep them. Document your retention schedule so you don’t have to decide each year what’s best for your situation, then set up your filing system to accommodate when you need to declutter your files by archiving or shredding. Remember to use the Action Date function in The Paper Tiger Document Management Software and Filing System to help you in the life-cycle of your document management retention schedule.   (This tip was promoted by The Monticello Company, developers of The Paper Tiger.)

Storing tax records: How long is long enough?

April 15 has come and gone and another year of tax forms and shoeboxes full of receipts is behind us. But what should be done with those documents after your check or refund request is in the mail?

Federal law requires you to maintain copies of your tax returns and supporting documents for three years. This is called the “three-year law” and leads many people to believe they’re safe provided they retain their documents for this period of time.

However, if the IRS believes you have significantly underreported your income (by 25 percent or more), or believes there may be indication of fraud, it may go back six years in an audit. To be safe, use the following guidelines.

Business Document To Keep For One Year

• Correspondence with Customers and Vendors
• Duplicate Deposit Slips
• Purchase Orders (other than Purchasing Department copy)
• Receiving Sheets
• Requisitions
• Stenographer’s Notebooks
• Stockroom Withdrawal Forms

Business Documents To Keep For Three Years

• Bank Statements and Reconciliation’s
• Employee Personnel Records (after termination)
• Employment Applications
• Expired Insurance Policies
• General Correspondence
• Internal Audit Reports
• Internal Reports
• Petty Cash Vouchers
• Physical Inventory Tags
• Savings Bond Registration Records of Employees
• Time Cards For Hourly Employees

Business Documents To Keep For Six Years

• Accident Reports, Claims
• Accounts Payable Ledgers and Schedules
• Accounts Receivable Ledgers and Schedules
• Cancelled Checks
• Cancelled Stock and Bond Certificates
• Employment Tax Records
• Expense Analysis and Expense Distribution Schedules
• Expired Contracts, Leases
• Expired Option Records
• Inventories of Products, Materials, Supplies
• Invoices to Customers
• Notes Receivable Ledgers, Schedules
• Payroll Records and Summaries, including payment to pensioners
• Plant Cost Ledgers
• Purchasing Department Copies of Purchase Orders
• Sales Records
• Subsidiary Ledgers
• Time Books
• Travel and Entertainment Records
• Vouchers for Payments to Vendors, Employees, etc.
• Voucher Register, Schedules

Business Records To Keep Forever

While federal guidelines do not require you to keep tax records “forever,” in many cases there will be other reasons you’ll want to retain these documents indefinitely.

• Audit Reports from CPAs/Accountants
• Cancelled Checks for Important Payments (especially tax payments)
• Cash Books, Charts of Accounts
• Contracts, Leases Currently in Effect
• Corporate Documents (incorporation, charter, by-laws, etc.)
• Documents substantiating fixed asset additions
• Deeds
• Depreciation Schedules
• Financial Statements (Year End)
• General and Private Ledgers, Year End Trial Balances
• Insurance Records, Current Accident Reports, Claims, Policies
• Investment Trade Confirmations
• IRS Revenue Agents’ Reports
• Journals
• Legal Records, Correspondence and Other Important Matters
• Minutes Books of Directors and Stockholders
• Mortgages, Bills of Sale
• Property Appraisals by Outside Appraisers
• Property Records
• Retirement and Pension Records
• Tax Returns and Worksheets
• Trademark and Patent Registrations

Personal Document To Keep For One Year

• While it’s important to keep year-end mutual fund and IRA contribution statements forever, you don’t have to save monthly and quarterly statements once the year-end statement has arrived.

Personal Documents To Keep For Three Years

• Credit Card Statements
• Medical Bills (in case of insurance disputes) 
• Utility Records
• Expired Insurance Policies 

Personal Documents To Keep For Six Years

• Supporting Documents For Tax Returns
• Accident Reports and Claims
• Medical Bills (if tax-related)
• Property Records / Improvement Receipts
• Sales Receipts
• Wage Garnishments
• Other Tax-Related Bills

Personal Records To Keep Forever

• CPA Audit Reports
• Legal Records
• Important Correspondence
• Income Tax Returns
• Income Tax Payment Checks
• Investment Trade Confirmations
• Retirement and Pension Records

Special Circumstances

• Car Records (keep until the car is sold)
• Credit Card Receipts (keep until verified on your statement)
• Insurance Policies (keep for the life of the policy)
• Mortgages / Deeds / Leases (keep 6 years beyond the agreement)
• Pay Stubs (keep until reconciled with your W-2)
• Property Records / improvement receipts (keep until property sold)
• Sales Receipts (keep for life of the warranty)
• Stock and Bond Records (keep for 6 years beyond selling)
• Warranties and Instructions (keep for the life of the product)
• Other Bills (keep until payment is verified on the next bill)
• Depreciation Schedules and Other Capital Asset Records (keep for 3 years after the tax life of the asset)

This information was provided by:  http://www.groco.com/tools/taxretentionguide.aspx. Need a jump start on getting your files in order, let me know and we’ll schedule one of our organizers to work with you!

I met with a prospective client this week and he had an interesting dilemma. He thought he needed to get organized. It was kind of apparent when I walked into his office as it looked like he possibly could have just moved in, but he had been there for a while. There were papers on the floor, unopened mail, a newly purchased scanner still in the box, a bulging briefcase on the floor — all signs of a disorganized office. I could certainly help him get organized, but my question always digs deeper to, “what’s going on here?”

Getting organized is not about putting things away or cleaning it up, it’s about understanding what got you into a state of disarray and chaos. This chaos affects people in different ways. In the case of this particular executive, it was holding him back from hiring an assistant and re-energizing his business development after the recession lull of the last two years. We didn’t even touch on how it may be affecting him personally.

All that being said though, it came down to him saying to me that he needed someone to organize him. Do you sometimes think that you need someone to just tell you what to do? I think we all look for someone to tell us what to do at some point in time or another, but are we listening? Not always.

I told this client that I understood his frustration, because when you’re in such a state of chaos, you’re also possibly dealing with “a running tape of thoughts” in your head, saying things like “no one understands me”.

A perfectly put together professional who has all the answers may get his office organized, but he may not understand the need to have someone to be accountable to — like a coach. I told about success stories we hear all the time — someone who loses a ton of weight and then coaches others and is extremely effective. The reason the former overweight person is so effective is that they understand when the client is dying for that banana cream pie, the coach understands that having just a taste is not satisfying the behavior to eat the whole darn pie — it is sabotaging their success.

Our Solution

I told my client that I’m like the former overweight person; I wanted the whole banana cream pie. I often made a mess of my world because I wasn’t brought up in a naturally organized, balanced life or family setting. I grew up thinking you had to work all the time and if you didn’t work hard enough you weren’t worthy. (You can learn more about that when you hear my keynote!). I learned best by people who understood my journey… or bumpy road.

We came to the solution with my client that he needed someone to manage him. Yes, I would come in and get the office organized to start. Then, beginning with a fresh office, we would identify all the projects on his list and set his priorities. As we go through this process, his habits will become apparent and I can start making recommendations of where he needs to delegate and where we can incorporate efficient tools and systems to maximize his productivity. Along the way, we’ll hire an administrative assistant, someone to handle the daily tasks of organization (filing, phone calls, etc… that are not money making tasks for this executive). This project will be an opportunity to supervise his behaviors and give him tools to learn how to manage himself. A good mentor is really what he needs and as a productivity expert, mentoring is a way to help someone learn how to move onto managing their own lives.

On the Today Show, Ben Baldanza of Spirit Airlines was interviewed by Matt Lauer, talking about the new fee to charge $45 for carry on luggage at teh airport.  Here’s an example of where being a pioneer in the business is not necessarily good.

What’s going to happen if the traveller is going to pay even more for their luggage on flight.  We’ve been working hard enough to simplify our  wardrobes while travelling to a carry on, so all the more reason to really zero in on how to travel lighter.

Keep it light and simple.  The Europeans have been doing it for years by wearing their favorite things multiple times while on vacation.   It is often recommended to hand-wash in the hotel sink if necessary.  Lots of hotels offer laundry service, and yes for a rather high fee, but it is an option. 

I’m reminded of a trip I took to Milan years ago.  I was a buyer for a jewelry company.  Do you remember Impostors?  I was their buyer for all 30 stores.  I had been on the job about a month and went on my first trip to a jewelry show in Milan for a long weekend –leave Friday, return on Monday. 

Since I was new to international travel, I wanted to keep it as simple as possible, and that meant one suitcase.  The contents  were simple:

•  one awesome suit – jacket, skirt and pants. 
• a pair of jeans,
•  a cardigan,
• couple of tees,
• a dress blouse, and
• alternate pair of shoes (heels)

It was that simple and Iwas good to go.  All that and my cosmetics, accessories and some paperwork all fit into my Travel Pro carry-on.    I wore the pants from the suit, t shirt, cardigan and flats on the plane.  (I also wore my international favorite, an Hermes scarf for a little variety.) 

That was 10 years ago and i was thinking even then how to keep it as simple was possible.  Today with mu business i enjoy working with woman to help simplify their wardrobes and consult on what in their wardrobe is fabulous enough to wear .. everyday and anywhere.  We too often are saving our clothes, or go out and buy something new for a trip.  Chances are you have what you need and when you start crfeate systems even for your wardrobe you can make simple changes to improve your travel life. 

We’ll see how these new fees take off?  In the meantime, we can make changes to prepared if the idea really flies.

(c) Strategize & Organize. Anne McGurty 2010.

No it doesn’t mean making three times more money.  It’s about social responsibility, environmental initiative and yes economic accountability. According to Wikipedia, , triple bottom line accounting means expanding the traditional reporting framework to take into account ecological and social performance in addition to financial performance.

The phrase was coined by John Elkington in 1994.^[2] It was later expanded and articulated in his 1998 book Cannibals with Forks: the Triple Bottom Line of 21st Century Business.^[3][4] Sustainability, itself, was first defined by the Brundtland Commission of the United Nations in 1987.

The concept of TBL demands that a company’s responsibility be to stakeholders rather than shareholders. In this case, “stakeholders” refers to anyone who is influenced, either directly or indirectly, by the actions of the firm. According to the stakeholder theory, the business entity should be used as a vehicle for coordinating stakeholder interests, instead of maximizing shareholder (owner) profit

This evening I attended the first class of an eight week program to learn more about how I can incorporate sustainable and TBL strategies into the business practices of Strategize & Organize. The course is being instructed by Richard Eldin of The Progress Group.   Over this eight week period, I’ll be sharing with you what I learn.

In my class notes I saw a quote from Nelson Mandela, “You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself”.  How true that is also with people who want to get organized.  I’ve always said it’s like a 12-step program. Getting organized is not necessarily for those who need it, but for those who want it.  We all have to accept the first step that our lives our unmanageable in order to get organized.  Similarly with the environment, accept that our own habits may be unmanageable and we can change our own behaviors with how we treat our world as well.   We have to again take a first step and admit that our lives are unmanageable and that we can change ourselves and make a smaller ecological footprint. 

All this new information really is getting me to think about what impact can I make in the community running my business?  Initially, helping clients move from paper files to electronic files, teaching clients about resources to recycle old product, becoming an educator within the community, to name a few.  I’ll be working on these ideas and initiatives over the next few months and will report them and I’ll be updating my business plan.

© Strategize & Organize. 2010. Anne McGurty

Being organized is great, but sometimes it’s a bit overwhelming when you look at all the disposable stuff you now have lurking in a pile outside your newly organized space.  As I started working with a client this morning with one of my associates, Janine, we quickly saw how our client had lots of stuff that could be recycled.  The question has always been where and how? 

Environmentally, we all want to make more responsible decisions and there are places that can help us facilitate those decisions. 

A while back a client told me about the concept:  reduce, reuse, and recycle.  It took me a while to realize what that really looks like.  I’ll break it down here for you as I have interpreted it.

Reduce:  Look at the actual consumable and be responsible about what we purchase how it’s going to be disposed. 

Reuse:  Figure out new uses for old things.  Real Simple  magazine frequently has great tips on this topic.  For example, using old egg cartons for your craft box of buttons or screws and nails.  Re-gifting may fall into this category as well, instead of throwing away something that someone gave you, pass it along to someone else rather than storing it forever or throwing it out.  Re-use can also be bringing clothing and/or furniture into a consignment store.  What they don’t take, can always go to charity and you get a tax break as well.  You may also reuse by shopping these stores for your new purchases too! 

On Friday, I participated in a field trip with my local National Association of Professional Organizers Golden Circle Club.   

On a much more commercial level, we visited, Ellie’s Eco Home Store, a one-stop shop for healthy, sustainable, recycled and eco friendly products for the family or office environment.  We had a blast. It’s a  store in Boulder that is 100% about selling items that are from recycled products and/or environmentally friendly, i.e. plastic forks made out of post-compost materials, so that when you throw them away, they decompose rather than being a hard piece of indestructible plastic.  All the more reason to brown bag your lunch!   

One item that caught our attention was the Solargon.  It’s a home or cabin inspired by the Native American and Asian nomadic tribes that use the latest in green-building technology.    (We’re all in there getting a feel of what it would be like to live in such a compact space.   Oops, Lisa’s phone rang just as we were saying cheese!.)“Green-building is the practice of increasing the efficiency with which buildings use resources: energy, water, and materials . . . while reducing building impacts on human health and the environment through better siting, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and eventual removal — the complete building life cycle.”  Visit Ellie’s website to learn more about this concept. 

Recycle.  Also on our field trip , we visited www.eco-cycle.org, aka CHaRM, Center for Hard to Recycle Items, and that’s a great place to drop off what you can’t re-use.  They’ll figure it out and make sure it goes to the right place.  We’re all so baffled these days with where things go and who wants it.  Due to community awareness and demand, these facilities are popping up all over the country.  What I also learned yesterday is that every county has different regulations,… no wonder we’re a bit confused. Check their website to get an idea of their services and help facilitate finding a similar center in your area.   A fun article with ideas on how to recycle anything, go to this Real Simple link.  

Well keeping on the theme, this new knowledge has immediately come in handy.  As Janine finished up after 5 1/2 hours with our client in the client’s basement home office/storage area, we all have a more focused plan on what to do with everything!  Both Janine and I and our client are feeling great about about the day of organizing. Onward we go to the rest of the house!   What a great sense of purpose, another added benefit to getting organized.   

We are learning more daily, here we are professionals in the business of helping people be more efficient and we’re continuing to learn more.    Let’s all keep up our education of what we can do.  Feel free to post here any resources that you have and we’ll keep it going.  Your involvement will keep the world going around. In the meantime, be mindful of reduce, reuse and recycle. 

(C) Strategize & Organize. Anne McGurty. 2010.

People always ask for pictures of client projects as it’s so hard to visualize what a day of organization may look like.

This past week I worked with an individual and she was 3 weeks new on the job.  She was actually taking on the job of was previously handled by three individuals.  Yes, cutbacks are still everywhere. 

She is an extremely competent woman, yet had no idea had to get her arms around all the paperwork and files pertaining to her job.  she was just dealing with a cubicle where everything was essentially dumped on her.

My job was to set up a system for her so that she and others could find what she needed.    When the day started, the images here show what she was looking at each morning as she arrived into her office. 

Darn, I didn’t get pictures of the floor, but know that there were 4 file boxes overflowing with files and a bookcase jammed with files, boxes, and binders.    I do hope you’re getting the picture though.

What I did in just a few short hours, OK, seven.  We went through all the paperwork from all the boxes and identified what was actionable work that she knew she needed to learn or were going to be works in progress and put those files into the lateral files closets to her.  all other files went on the other side of her cubicle where there was a four drawer lateral file.  we inventoried all the files, yes, wrote them all down and ebtered them into The Paper Tiger file management system,  At the end of the day, I provided her with a file index that was filed with each section of files for a visual reference to what we had input.  After all, the problem people always challenge me with is that they can’t see what’s in the drawers.  however, with a file index you can see what you have… and better yet, you can make decisions on what you need, can archive and even toss!  No more mysteries of drawers full of stuff.

The end of the day, these are teh images of my client’s desk.  Her manager came in  to see our progress and I loved what her manager said…or did.. she disn’t react, she just asked my client, “Well what do you think?”  and the client I had been organizing all day said, “This is awesome, I actually have a system now where I can file things and know where they are!”. 

Wow!  I always feel as satisfied as my clients.  The end of a good day is to leave an office looking this organized…. every day!  Where I get my professional satisfaction additionally is that, the majority of my clients end of keeping their offices looking like this o a  daily basis.  If more responsibilities are added to their plate and need some additional help, no problem, they now have a system to get back on baord without feeling like they need to take a weekend or stay late every night for a week to catch up.  They now have a methodology to get control of their papers. 

Need help organizing your office but are too busy to do it yourself?   I can help you by coming to your office or work with you virtually over the phone!  

(C) Strategize & Organize.  Anne McGurty

 It’s springtime out there and in the world of fashion that means, t-shirts, capris and sandals.

I used to always think that summer time was such a difficult time to wardrobe myself, as I used to dress so much more conservatively in suits.  And  yes, it’s a bit more clunky to dress in suits in the spring and summer.  I think about how hot I used to be, physically hot, not hot as in ooh baby.  I, did however,  feel professional in the office — appropriate.

Today’s work fashion is not always about the suit.   At least here in Denver.  I went to a business meeting this past week and out of 12 people in the meeting, I realized I was the only one in a tropical wool suit.  The meeting had nothing to do with me as the leader, I was just an attendee.  Even the presenter was casual.  The world is more casual.  So it’s finally settling in that our wardrobe needs are very different.

It used to be easy.  A simple suit, great shoes, a nice pair of earrings, pearls, a great watch and you were ready to go.  Today, it’s a little more difficult as it’s less uniform with the suit.  We have to create our own suits, our own uniforms… but there’s an edge today that everyone wants to be individualistic.  I personally agree the personalization is great.

I’m reminded of year’s ago, when I worked at an oil company in the mid 80s.  I was a young administrative assistant and there was this woman, I’m thinking her name was Mary Ann.  She worked there and I don’t even remember what her business function was, but I noticed how she dressed.  She looked amazingly put together every day and it was subtly the same, a uniform.  I was intrigued.

As I was doing my work I decided that I was going to document a diary of her wardrobe.  I know it sounds ridiculous, but I was truly intrigued.   I was so surprised at the end of two weeks to realize she was so darn clever.  She had her own uniform.  She had 2 suits and a couple of casual outfits.  She had a dark suit and a taupe suit.  She wore the dark one, Monday and Wednesday and the Taupe suite on Tuesday and Thursday.  With the black suit, she wore a blouse one time and a sweater the next time under the jacket.  Same deal with the taupe suit.  Unbelievable and clever!   Then on Fridays, as they were casual days, she’d wear a great pair of jeans with one of the suit jackets one week and the other the next week.  There were a lot more details, but I don’t have my notes from over 20 years ago!  I still have that darn formula down in my mind.  She was brilliant to me at the time.

I’ve always strived to keep it simple like Mary Ann, but there’s always been this temptation to go shopping, buy more.  Part of it is my love of clothes, but also part of it had been frustration with my own uniform.   I finally have come to realize, keeping it simple with your own personal style, uniform and color palette are the best ways to keep your wardrobe organized.  There’s a lot more in me to write about on this topic.  I love it when clients want help with their wardrobe needs because I can share my way of doing things now, it’s simple, coordinated, and minimal.

The simplicity of Mary Ann has always been in the back of my mind.   Was she as analytical as me?  I’m not sure, but I know that stopping and looking at what I had in my wardrobe that could be intermixed into two or three great outfits and just wear and enjoy them will make an impression.  Today’s uniform is much different from the uniform of the 80s for sure as noticed in my meeting last week as I wore my taupe tropical wool suit.  I still enjoy the simplicity of a suit, but I’m longer driven to that as the only way to dress.

As you go about making your spring wardrobe choices, as you are doing your spring cleanout, think about my story of Mary Ann.  The formula was kind of simple as I’ve translated it today for my clients.  When you look at an item of clothing, ask yourself, “does it work with at least 3 other things in my wardrobe?”.  If you answer yes to that question, chances are you’ll get a lot of mileage out of the piece.  If the answer is no,  then ask yourself, is it for a specific event, is it just so beautiful you’ll wear it and make it a special event , if not, let it go.

Happy springtime!  I’m ready to organize my outfits for work and for life as I’m energized by the new colors in fabric and nature.

(c) Strategize and Organize 2010. Anne McGurty

I was working with a client this past week and one of the green initiatives they were taking as an organization was to change the scheduling of their supply ordering to one time a month.  this change from a semi monthly schedule not only saves in shipping costs, now 50% less since it’s half the orders, but also saves on the frequency of deliveries, which cuts down on shipping and transportation costs. 

Companies are all looking at how they can save time and money and have for years.  however, the new added value of relating the benefit to the environment is a great spin to feel more proactive about these efforts.

think about your office with something as simple as your supply ordering.  how many times, does someone run out to the Office Max to pick up something, or the random online orders from various vendors.  The former procurement executive in me is coming out here with my recommendations.  Try these simple ideas to be more efficient with your time and money and do your part to be eco-organized.

1. centralize your vendors
2. create a list of your needed items
3. create a budget based on your history
4. schedule one day a month to process orders
5. have shipments delivered

I always enjoyed the procurement process because it gives you lots of information to analyze your trends, pricing, and volume.  when you know that information, you can start to negotiate better pricing with your vendors.  Another benefit of centralizing a process and being focused on the task at hand. Being organized once again pays off.

(c) Strategize & Organize. 2010