The summer holidays are well and truly over – so get back to work!

So, January’s been a slow month, has it?

Have your sales been slow because you’re best salespeople are taking a couple of weeks off during the school holidays?

Perhaps several of your regular clients have been away, or the main decision-makers at your enterprise customers have taken a few weeks off?

Maybe half of your operations people have been away on an overseas holiday?

You might have quietly told someone that you’re struggling to get your motivation back after the break?

Perhaps your Gen-Y Techmaster is struggling to get back into their regular sleep cycle after partying hard – or more likely pulling all-nighters playing World of Warcraft – during the Christmas break?

I’m sure that at least some of these excuses have been floating around your shop or office over the past couple of weeks.

Well, Old Taskmaster says this: Australia Day has just come and gone. This means it’s well and truly time to draw a line in the sand as far as half-speed January work rates go. Time to end the excuses and the lazy talk.

If you’ve allowed your staff a little extra slack over the past month, it needs to end today. Tolerate no more summer break excuses. If you hear any more, make sure you staff realise in no uncertain terms that their demotivational speech is no longer welcome.

Your competitors are well and truly back from their summer breaks – and they’re ready to poach your customers. So get back to full speed today – or you might not get another chance.

Get it done – today!