Today, there are situations when we actually add a “middle person” instead of eliminating one for increased service efficiency. If it’s cost-effective and demand is high, then proper market positioning will make it a worthwhile endeavor. For example, my sister just informed me of a food delivery service in New Mexico that will let you choose one out of many different food outlets (all types of ethnic/fast food)- and then guarantees delivery within a specific time period. This not only gives customer assurance of reliability, but more choices for dining take –out style.

In other areas of industry, same idea holds true. There are electrical suppliers that no longer manufacture product of electricity, but now are involved only in delivery process of electricity to customers. Because of market fluctuations, new delivery supplier will utilize many other different energy suppliers to get product of electricity to customer efficiently and at best market price. Again, adding middle man seems to benefit all around.

Let me start to explain this concept by way of an example. A couple of years ago, a client was frustrated with his productivity. He had just come back from vacation and wondered to me why he couldn’t be as productive on his return as he had been on day before he left. On day before his vacation, he was a whirlwind of activity - plowing through important phone calls that had to be made, responding to all important emails on his computer, and clearing his desk of all paperwork that needed his attention. By end of day, everything important had been attended to. He had had one of his most productive days. But upon his return, he had fallen back into his routine – productive, but not highly productive. He wanted to know how, or if, he could be highly productive on a daily basis. The answer is yes and no…

The reason for each answer has to do with energy management. Good energy management can allow you to be highly productive on a regular basis and poor energy management can keep you at average productivity or worse. Everything we do – from making sales calls to conducting meetings and presentations to attending little league games – requires energy. Most of us fail to take into account importance that energy plays in our lives. Without right amount of energy, properly focused and applied, we simply can’t be as productive as we could otherwise be. Certainly, even with a poor level of energy, we can be productive – most everyone is. We’re just not highly productive. Think about your day. Do you get up feeling tired? Do you put yourself on “cruise control” with a steady flow of caffeine throughout day? Is your mental capacity diminished by mid-afternoon? Are you too tired to be active with family or outside interests in evening?

Energy management has even greater impact than just physically getting through day. I don’t know about you, but when most people get tired their creativity drops, their persistence abandons them, and they get a bit edgy and less tolerant of people and challenges. A drop in energy impacts virtually every area of our lives.