This week I interviewed Michael Marcil, the founder and CEO of The Marcil Group, based in Fargo, ND. The Marcil Group is primarily centered around the management of commercial and rental property in and around North Dakota. Other areas of involvement include construction, technology, capital investment, venture capital, restaurants and philanthropy.

I actually had about 20 some questions drawn up that I really thought would lead the interview. How wrong I was. I only asked a couple from memory, and the rest of the conversation took on a natural course of its own. Michael Marcil was recently named a winner of The Forum’s 20 under 40 award (local newspaper). A diverse panel gave the award out to recipients chosen as those who are making a difference in the Fargo community.

A majority of my conversation with Michael was focused on the unbelievably bright economic future North Dakota has and how that will transform the state’s citizens. In a time of uncertainty for the U.S. economy with the sub-prime housing mess and skyrocketing commodities such as oil and wheat, the only downside for North Dakota is its chilly winters. Just about everything else in the state will benefit greatly due to the rise in oil and food prices. Michael shared his love for all the different types of energy our state has the potential to produce and pictures North Dakota becoming the “Dubai of North America.” In case you didn’t know, North Dakota is very rich in agriculture, coal, oil and wind. Michael Marcil spent roughly 10 years in the dot com industry with his hand in a few projects like food.com and many, many more. Through consulting, he built up his management and development company extremely fast. So fast, that The Marcil Group has grown over 800% in three years. Not only that, but the company has been in positive cash flow every quarter since inception. It takes a man with a grand vision to grow and expand a company that fast. I have no reason to believe there is any slowing down in his future. The sky is the limit.

I have never before met someone who has openly endorsed the idea of promoting their competitors. I know this seems very counterproductive, but there is a genius behind it that most will fail to realize. Imagine that you own and operate a business in a town that is bursting at the seems. If you can garner some business even for your competitors, eventually you are able to leverage that flow of traffic to further your reach in that market. Essentially, you are making your competitors reliant upon your business more and more. Now that’s some unconventional marketing.

I enjoyed my time with Michael, and I can’t wait to see what he does in the future.

by Lindsay

I decided to start a time log, just to see how much time I’m actually wasting at my job. If you want to learn more about how you are actually spending your time, I recommend you try it as well.

I decided to have a small notebook handy, and record every task I did while at work. I work ten-hour shifts, four days per week, which allows for plenty of wasted time. Although I had a pretty good idea of how I was handling my time after the first day, I continued the time log for one week. Some of my tasks only took a few minutes, so I actually had 50 or so different entries each day.

At the end of my first day recording a time log, I learned that I spent 5 hours and 40 minutes doing work related to my job. And this was a busy day for my office. I spent about 3 hours doing work for myself, totally unrelated to my job, and about another hour talking to friends over MSN. I wasted 20 minutes just searching the Internet aimlessly.

At the end of my 40-hour work week, I had spent a total of 17 hours and 40 minutes doing job-related work. I spent another 14 hours working on my own projects. That means I wasted about 8 hours and 20 minutes during the week. And this doesn’t count the hour and 40 minutes I waste in the car every day. This is an alarming amount of
time wasted.

I am a list and schedule-oriented person. I do not like to waste a lot of time. So actually, I was proud of myself for all that I accomplished at work. But, I learned I need to stay more focused on one task at a time, rather than going back and forth between every little thing that comes up. For example, I would respond to every email I received the second I got it. If the thought occurred to me that I should check my bank account or read the latest update on the Twin Cities Marathon, I would do it at that moment rather than finishing what I was working on first. I am also logged in to MSN messenger the entire time I am at my computer. I learned that if I make a list of all I want to accomplish in a day, I spend a lot less time fooling around and more time getting things done.

If you are like the rest of the population with an office job, you probably waste even more time than I do. If you are stuck at a boring job, maybe you could be using your time more wisely to think of ways to start your own business, or to bring that business to the next level so you can afford to quit your day job. Currently, my office time is split pretty evenly between working on job-related tasks and working on my own personal projects. Imagine what I could accomplish if I did not have a day job and could spend more time on my own business. A lot of time would be saved!

That said, give the time log a try. You will feel more in control of your life if you are aware of how you spend your time. And you will learn to spend your time more wisely.

Like I mentioned in the other post, the best way to accomplish the most is to effectively use your time. The number one stealer of time is in the process of changing modes or switching gears. Just like getting up to speed on the interstate and then taking the next exit really kills your gas mileage, so does doing the same thing while working. If you are constantly changing gears while working, you are wasting energy and time in the process of doing so. Plan your tasks at hand to coincide with your lunch time and any other meeting that will require you to change which mode you are operating in. Maintaining your speed and progress throughout the day will boost your productivity by leaps and bounds. While starting or running a small business, the last thing you can afford is to waste time.