Looking on the inside? Don’t forget the outside.
If your business keeps you so busy that you have no time for anything else, there must be something wrong, either with you or with your business. -William J. H. Boetcker
I hear so many times from many different people in different organizations that I speak with how they get nothing done with their day. Still they do not take the time to review, think or analyze the situation. Instead, it seems easier to sit back and just say I’m busy! Even worse are those that toss their hands up in the air and say “I’m just bad at time management.” Okay, you might be – by why are you just accepting it? And why is it only about you? Sometimes we need to look inside ourselves (trust me; leaders do this all the time). But sometimes we need to look outside ourselves as well. This quote alone shows the need to align systems in any organization. The challenge is getting out of the day to day. Not just on the level of getting time away from the job to review but also to remove yourself from the mindset of your current day to day processes. If you are on auto-pilot you’re not going to objectively understand your obstacles.
What has helped me are side by sides with my employees. Not just my observing them, but them observing me. It takes time to open the door for a comfortable exchange but once its there – WOW! They will ask the “why” questions, it’s up to you to ask the “how do you…” questions.
Work to create an environment where everything is questioned and you’ll work towards unleashing talent. Then with a good implementation plan your business won’t keep you so busy and your new challenge will be what to do with your time.
From Managers to Leaders special points:
~ Review your process at a minimum of every 6 months. If possible with every new product launch or service to your business see if you can apply any new processes to your current procedures.
~ Speak with your front line employees who take on the fires of every day business. What would make their job easier? Is it realistic and economical to implement (remember factor the cost of implementation with the cost of not implementing it as well).
~ Have some side by sides to build trust, understand challenges and review current processes. Sometimes it is a matter of your employees feeling locked in a box. But sometimes it’s something that you can fix – either one of these resolved means more time and money to your business.
