Third, we designed the format and the layout of the newsletter. We
determined the advertising copy, the photos we would use, and how it was
going to be laid out. We determined the emphasis to be placed on both
articles and product sales. We then determined who would be responsible for
producing each part.
Fourth, we wrote and assembled the copy and the photographs, and laid
them out in a draft for review and revision.
Fifth, we had the newsletter typeset and laid out professionally so that it had
the look and the appeal necessary to achieve the desired sales.
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Sixth, we determined the printer for the newsletter. We got three different
bids, compared the bids and selected the best printer.
Determine Separate Multi-Task Jobs
Having decided that arranging for the mailing list was a separate multi-task
project, we found that it broke down into four steps. The first step was to
define the market population. Who were we going to send the newsletter to?
One thing we needed to do was to contact a list broker. We went through our
own mailing lists and the mailing lists of others that we work with until we
were clear about the market population and the number. These were the
targets of the newsletter.
The second thing we had to do was assemble and acquire all of the names so
that we knew the total that we would be mailing to. The third step was to
select a mailing house that would handle the stuffing, labeling and the actual
mailing. The fourth and final step was to print the list, print the brochures,
deliver them all to the mailing house, and to have the mailing house mail the
newsletter out to our selected lists.
This may sound like a simple project, deciding upon a newsletter,
determining the layout and design, selecting the mailing lists and mailing
house, getting it printed and mailing it out. The project took almost four
solid months, and involved the activities of five different people who
invested between 200 and 300 hours. The reason that we were able to do it
successfully was because we organized it like a project, step by step, with
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each responsibility, each task and each function tying into each other task
and function.
Regular Review and Evaluation
The final requirement necessary to excel in project management is to
schedule regular review sessions to measure progress, solve problems and
reassign responsibilities. In every project, you must inspect what you expect.
Once you have decided upon the project team and the project, and you have
delegated the different tasks and responsibilities, you must set up a regular
schedule to meet and review and discuss how you are doing.
No matter how well you plan at the beginning you will receive a continuous
flow of feedback that will necessitate regular revision of your plan to make
the project come out successfully.
Successful Project Management
There are several factors that make project management successful. The first
and most important of these is good communications among the various
team members who are responsible for various parts of the project.
1. Clarity Is Essential
The first necessity for good communication is clarity. This means that you
say exactly what you mean. You explain what you want done clearly and
unambiguously. You never assume understanding. You never assume that
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the other people or that the other person understands clearly what is said or
what is expected of them. You always ask for feedback and double check.
Ask the team member to feed back what you have just said in his or her own
words. Encourage questions and open discussion. Encourage people to
challenge and disagree. The more involved and active people are in
discussing the project as it evolves, the more committed they will be to
making it successful when it is underway.
2. Consistency Is Important
The next part of good communication is consistency. The team leader must
be patient, optimistic, determined and persevering. Being a good project
leader requires that you have or develop the best qualities of leadership and
managerial excellence. You must keep cool when things go wrong. You
must continually remind yourself that if you don’t stay on top of it, it
probably won’t get done. If the project is important enough, you must accept
complete responsibility for inspecting what you expect.
Don’t assume that everything is going according to plan unless you have
taken the time to check on it yourself.
3. Deal with Conflict and Poor Performance
Another part of good communication as a team leader is that you must deal
with conflict and poor performance in a direct, straightforward manner. If a
person does not do the job they have committed to do, you cannot ignore it.
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You cannot pretend that it is not happening. You cannot hope it will go
away. The very best bosses are very demanding when it comes to both
deadlines and quality work. You must be the same.
Encourage everyone to openly discuss the project and the progress that you
are making. If necessary, be prepared to reassign jobs and tasks. Give
different jobs to different people. If one person is overloaded and another
person seems under-worked, be prepared to reassign the tasks so that
everybody feels they can achieve their jobs in an excellent fashion.
4. Develop the Courage of Your Convictions
The fourth quality of good communicators, and the great quality of
leadership, is courage. As Winston Churchill said, “Courage is rightly
considered the foremost of the virtues, for upon it, all others depend.” The
most important type of courage is for you to take full responsibility for the
results, and to resolve to persist until the task is satisfactorily completed.
Not an Easy Skill to Learn
It is not easy to begin to use a systematic project management system if you
have not done it in the past. But the development of project management
skills will save you more time and do as much or more to advance your
career than almost any other skill you can develop. You can use this project
management skill at home. You can use it in planning vacations. You can
use it in starting and building companies and organizations. You can use it to
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start your own business, become a successful salesperson, move onto the fast
track in your life, and in many other ways.
Your ability to plan, organize, manage and complete projects is central to
your success and vital to your realizing your full potential in life, work and
leadership. Fortunately, project management is a learnable skill that you can
master with practice and determination. There are no limits.
“If you only care enough for a result, you will almost certainly attain it.
Only you must then really wish these things, and wish them exclusively, and
not wish at the same time a hundred other incompatible things.” (William
James)
Action Exercises:
1.
You only learn by doing; select a project, business or personal, that
can have a positive effect on your life if completed successfully, and
apply the methods taught in this chapter to complete it.
2.
Begin each project by defining the ideal or perfect result you desire
from accomplishing it successfully.
3.
Make a list of every ingredient and step that you will have to include
or take to complete the project in an excellent fashion.
4.
Draw up a project planning form and organize every task and activity
that will have to be done, in order of sequence, from first to final job.
5.
Assemble the people whose help and cooperation you will need to
complete this project, discuss it in detail with them, and get each of
them to commit to complete their individual tasks by a certain time.
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6.
Practice “crisis anticipation” and determine the setbacks or difficulties
that could occur to delay successful completion of the project; look
for ways to solve these problems before they occur.
7.
Accept complete responsibility for the completion of projects that are
vital to your future success, and that of your organization. Resolve to
become absolutely excellent at project management for the rest of
your career.
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Chapter Seven
Time Saving Techniques
“Concentrate all your thoughts on the great desire in your life. This
concentration must be continuous, unceasing – every minute; every hour;
every day; every week.” (Charles E. Popplestone)
Time is the one indispensable ingredient of accomplishment. Everything you
want to achieve requires time. The only way you can get enough time to do
the things that can really make a difference in your life is by conserving time
that you would normally spend somewhere else. You are surrounded by
people and circumstances that waste your time and undermine your
effectiveness all day long. Only by practicing rigorous self-discipline can
you free yourself from these thieves of time.
The Six Major Time Wasters
There are six major time wasters in the world of work, based on hundreds of
studies and opinion surveys. Your ability to deal with them effectively will
largely determine how successful you are in your career.
1. Telephone Interruptions
Telephone interruptions lead the list. The telephone rings and breaks your
train of thought, interrupts you and distracts you from what you are doing.
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When you hang up the phone, you are often distracted and find it hard to get
back to the work in front of you.
2. Unexpected Visitors
Unexpected or drop-in visitors can be extremely time consuming. These are
people who drop in on you from within your company, or from the outside.
They disrupt your work, break your train of thought and impair your
effectiveness. Sometimes they talk endlessly about unimportant matters and
keep you from your work.
3. Meetings, Meetings
Meetings, both planned and unplanned consume fully 40% or more of your
time. They can be formal or ad hoc, with groups in scheduled meetings or
one-on-one meetings from office to office, or in the hallways. Many of them
are unnecessary or largely a waste of time.
4. Fire Fighting and Emergencies
A major time consumer and time waster is fire fighting, emergencies and the
inevitable crisis. Just when you get settled in to work on something
important, something totally unexpected happens that takes you away from
your main task, sometimes for hours.
5. Procrastination
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A major waste of time and life is procrastination, the thief of time. The
tendency to procrastinate is universal for a variety of reasons that we will
deal with in detail in Chapter Eight.
6. Socializing and Idle Conversation
Socializing takes up an enormous amount of time. It has been estimated that
as much as 75% of time at work is spent interacting with other people.
Unfortunately, fully half of this time is spent in idle chatter that has nothing
to do with the work. Socializing takes time away from getting the job done.
6. Indecision and Delay
Indecision costs more time than most people realize, especially with paper,
correspondence, tasks and people. Indecision wastes your time and that of
others.
In this chapter, you will learn several proven techniques to deal with each of
these time-wasters, except for procrastination. This subject is so important
that we will cover it in depth in the next chapter.
A Quick Review
Let us take a moment to review the keys to effective time management that
we’ve covered so far in this book.
1. Change the Way You Think
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First, we talked about “The Psychology of Time Management.” This
requires that you make a firm decision to become excellent at the way you
use your time. Think of yourself continually as well organized. Visualize
yourself as efficient, effective and highly productive.
2. Clear Goals and Objectives
To perform at your best, you must set clear goals and objectives that are
consistent with your highest aspirations and your innermost values and
convictions. The more goals you set for yourself, the more likely it is that
you will manage your time well, especially when your goals are in harmony
with your values.
The “Law of Forced Efficiency” says that the more work you take on, the
more efficient you will become in completing the most important parts of
that work. You will be forced to be efficient just to keep on top of your
responsibilities.
This law also says that “There is never enough time for everything, but
there is always enough time for the most important things.” Committing
yourself to a large number of tasks almost guarantees that you’ll become
more and more efficient.
3. Plan out Your Work in Detail
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You need detailed plans of action, organized by sequence and priority for
productive work. You will save ten minutes in execution for every minute
that you invest in planning and organizing before you begin.
4. Set Clear Priorities on Your Tasks
You must establish clear priorities and always work on your highest value
tasks. Apply the 80/20 Rule to everything. Separate the urgent from the
important. Always concentrate on the most valuable use of your time.
5. Work All the Time You Work
It is essential that you develop good work habits, and learn to concentrate
single-mindedly on one thing, the most important thing at any given time.
Good work habits enable you to produce vastly more than the average
person and are the key to great success in life.
6. Manage Multi-Task Jobs
You must think through and carefully plan large jobs or complex tasks that
involve several people, using everything that you have learned so far. Think
on paper and develop the habit of planning and organizing every detail
before you begin.
The Way You Spend Time Today
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How do you use your time? According to time management specialist
