There has been a lot of talk about client control and candidate control. How about something you really can control? Your database!
How many lists do you have? Are they on scratch paper piled up on your desk? Do you have names and numbers written on post-its? How often have you searched for some necessary information and not been able to access it? Is it beyond your control now or do you have the power to get organized? Determination is the first step. But it isn't the last.

Not only will better organization of important data save you time but it just might mean the difference between your company finding success in 2009 or falling prey to the global economic crisis. Are you stuck in the days of a rolodex and business cards? Keeping track of employee, client, and candidate data has never been easier. Your company may already use a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software or SaaS. If so, have you entrenched yourself in all of its capabilities? Most CRMs have recall, calendaring, invoicing, and email functionality that can make recording details and follow-up quick and painless.

If your company doesn't have a CRM, talk about investing in one. Some are very reasonably priced and can easily be added to your daily routine. Too often data is not kept up-to-date or duplications occur. Vital to business today is the ability to stay organized and follow up when need be. If you have to sift through piles of paper or endless spread sheets with out-of-date information or inaccurate details, what have you lost? Time. Time you could have spent on a warm call, getting a referral for more business, or strengthening your candidate field. One of your most valuable resources is time. Don't waste it on disorganization. Vow to plan now for better organization.

The first step is the plan, the second is the follow through. Neither one brings success alone. Just because you have always done things a certain way doesn't make it right. Be flexible to new ideas and tailor your day to coincide with keeping records and files up-to-date and easily accessible. The time spent in organization will pay off in tenfold. Would you leave a stack of hundred dollar bills in your driveway and hope it will still be there when you return? Why leave your contacts, your network, your most valuable asset, in disarray and disrepair?

Now is the time to market and advertise more, now is the time to stay in touch and in tune with your network, and now is the time to buckle down and take advantage of all the groundwork you have laid up until today. Further protect yourself by being acquainted with your database. Don't rely on a sticky notes to expand or save your business. Be proactive and determined to take control, have the power, and close in on precious clients and/or candidates. Control your data, don't let it control you.