notes and to circulate the minutes of the meeting within 24 hours whenever
possible. The person with accurate minutes from a meeting that can be
pulled out a week or a month later can resolve a lot of potential
misunderstandings.
Agendas prepared in advance, followed by meeting minutes shortly
afterwards, assure that everyone is clear about their agreed upon
responsibilities and deadlines.
Putting Out Fires
Another major time waster in work is called “fire fighting,” or dealing with
the unexpected crisis. It is a major time consumer both in personal life as
well. One way to deal with these unexpected crises is to engage in what is
called “crisis anticipation.” We talked about this earlier. Crisis anticipation
requires that you look down the road into the future and ask, “What could
possibly go wrong, and what would we do if it did?”
In using crisis anticipation, you should ask, “What is the worst possible
thing that could happen in the next three, six, nine or twelve months? What
are the possible crises that could occur?”
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Plan for the Worst
One of the characteristics of great leaders throughout history is that they
developed the ability to think ahead and determine all the things that could
possibly go wrong. They would then plan for contingencies in advance.
When something did go wrong, they were ready to move quickly. They had
already thought it through.
Poor leaders on the other hand don’t take the time to think of all the things
that could go wrong. They trust to luck. They then become overwhelmed by
circumstances. Sometimes, the inability to think through possible crisis in
advance can be fatal to a job or career.
Crises are normal, natural and unavoidable in the history of any company or
organization. But the recurrent crisis, the crisis that happens over and over
again, is a sign of poor management and inefficient organization. If you have
the same crisis happen more than once, it is important that you stand back
and look at your systems. Why is this occurring? You then take the steps
necessary to ensure that it does not happen again.
Crisis Management Strategies
When an emergency or a crisis occurs, here are five steps to follow:
1. Think before Acting
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Stop and think before acting. Remember, action without thinking is the
cause of every failure. Take a deep breath, calm down and remain objective.
Refuse to react or overact. Instead, just stop and think. Take the time to find
out what happened. Be clear about the problem before you act.
2. Delegate Responsibility
Delegate action wherever possible. There is a rule that says, “If it is not
necessary for you to decide, it is necessary for you not to decide.” If you can
possibly delegate the responsibility for handling the crisis to someone else,
by all means do so. Someone else might be much better qualified to deal
with it than you, or it may be someone else’s responsibility in the first place.
3. Write It Down
Whatever the crisis, write it down on your list before you take action. When
you write down a problem, it helps to keep your mind cool, calm, clear and
objective. Write down exactly what has happened before you do anything.
4. Get the Facts
Get the facts. Don’t assume anything. The facts are perhaps the most
important elements of all in a crisis. Ask questions such as:
What has occurred?
When did it happen?
Where did it happen?
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How did it happen?
Why did it happen?
Who was involved?”
Get the facts. Remember, the facts don’t lie. The more facts you gather, the
more capable you will be of dealing with the problem when you take action.
5. Develop a Policy
Develop a policy to deal with a recurring crisis simple enough so that it can
be implemented by ordinary people. When a crisis occurs for the first or
second time, it may require tremendous intelligence, experience and energy
to deal with it effectively. But if a crisis has a tendency to occur more than
once, and you cannot find a way to eliminate the crisis in advance, you
should by all means develop systems so that an average person can handle it
in your absence.
Socializing Can Hurt Your Career
A major time waster in the world of work is socializing. Too much
socializing can sabotage your career if you become well known for it. Most
people are time wasters, time consumers. They are working well below their
capacity. So they have lots of time to socialize and engage in idle chatter.
Here are some ideas you can use to avoid getting trapped into excessive
socializing.
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1. Socialize at Appropriate Times
Arrange to do your socializing at coffee breaks, lunch and after work.
Whenever you find yourself being drawn into a non-work related
conversation with coworkers, or socializing, say to yourself, “Back to
work.”
Break off the conversation by saying, “Well, I’ve got to get back to work”
and then do it. It is amazing how often the use of these words will cause
other people to get back to work as well.
Always be asking yourself, “Is this what I’m being paid to do?” If my boss
were standing here right now, would I be doing this? If my boss were sitting
right in that chair, would I be carrying on this conversation in this way? If
you wouldn’t do it if your boss were there, it is probably not what you have
been hired to do.
2. You Are a Knowledge Worker
There is one exception with regard to socializing. It is that relationships with
knowledge workers are unavoidably time consuming. Some of the most
valuable time you spend at work is talking through and working out
problems and solutions to the challenges facing your business. But these
conversations must be focused on results, not on the latest football game or
fishing or summer holidays.
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Relationships, communications and discussions with knowledge workers
must be continually focused on the results that you and they are trying to
accomplish.
Socrates once said, “We only learn something by dialoging about it.” In
certain work environments, the time that you take to dialogue about and
discuss the work is an essential part of developing clarity about exactly what
is to be done before you begin the work itself.
Indecision and Poor Decision Making
A major time waster in work is indecision or poor decision-making.
Indecision and poor decision-making can cost enormous amounts in terms of
money and lost time. A basic rule with regard to decision-making is that
80% of decisions should be made the first time they come up. Only 15% of
decisions should be made later, and 5% of decisions shouldn’t be made at
all.
Four Types of Decisions
There are four types of decisions that you will have to deal with on a regular
basis in the course of your career.
1. The Decision Only You Can Make
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The first is the decision that you have to make. It is the decision that no one
else can make, and it is the decision that it is your responsibility to make. It
is therefore unavoidable
2. The Decision You Can Delegate
The second type of decision is a decision that can be made by someone else.
One of the very best ways to develop other people, to build knowledge,
foresight, wisdom and judgment in your subordinates, and in your children
for that matter, is to allow them to make important decisions. Whenever you
can delegate a decision to someone else, or whenever the potential negative
consequences or poor decision are small, by all means let someone else
make that decision.
3. The Unaffordable Decision
The third type of decision is the type of decision that you cannot afford to
make. The negative consequences of this decision are too great if it turns out
poorly. Some decisions, if they turn out wrong, can lead to the bankruptcy of
a company. Some commitments of resources can be so serious that they
become irretrievable. The worst possible outcome is too serious an outcome
to accept. That is a decision that you cannot afford to make.
4. The Unavoidable Decision
The fourth type of decision is the type of decision that you cannot afford not
to make. This is a decision to act on an opportunity where delay can be very
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expensive. The positive upside for you or the organization can be enormous.
But remember, when it is not necessary to decide, it is necessary not to
decide.
Making Better Decisions
Here are some key ideas with regard to decision-making.
1. Delegate Decision Making
Delegate decision making whenever possible. Remember, once you have
made a decision in a particular area, you almost invariably have to make all
the decisions in that area. Avoid making decisions if you possibly can.
Delegate them to other people.
2. Set a Deadline for Decision Making
If you can’t make a decision immediately, set a deadline for the decision.
For example, if someone comes to you and they need an answer, and you
can’t give them an answer right away because you don’t have enough
information, say, “I can’t give you an answer right now; but I will give you
an answer by Thursday at Noon.” Then, whatever happens, at noon on
Thursday you make the decision, one way or the other.
3. Get the Facts before Deciding
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As I said earlier, get the facts. Get the real facts, not the assumed facts or the
apparent facts or the hopeful facts. But get the real facts. If you collect
enough accurate facts and information in any area, decision-making
becomes far easier and more effective. Most poor decisions are made
because the person has acted without getting enough information. The very
act of gathering information will greatly improve your decision when you
finally make it.
4. Dare to Go Forward
Decision-making requires courage. This is because every decision involves a
certain amount of uncertainty. With every decision, there is the possibility of
failure. But it is not possible for a person to advance in life unless he is
willing to make decisions, with no guarantee of success. All successful
leaders and managers are firm decision makers. In fact you cannot even
imagine a successful person who is indecisive and wishy-washy.
Overcome the Fear of Failure
In a study done not long ago, reported in American Management Association
magazine, they compared managers who had been promoted regularly and
managers who had not. The one quality they found among the managers who
got promoted over the others was that they were decisive in their work, and
in dealing with problems. The managers who did not get promoted were
unwilling to make decisions for fear of making a mistake.
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They then took these two groups of managers and put them through a series
of written tests. In each of the tests, they were asked what they would do to
solve a particular business problem. Both of the groups turned out to be
equally accurate in their answers on written tests. They both had the same
decision making ability in a classroom setting.
The difference between those who were promoted and those who were not
was that those who got promoted were willing to make decisions and act on
their judgment. They were willing to make a mistake if necessary rather than
to hesitate or delay. The others were so afraid of making a mistake that they
did nothing. Even though they were equal in ability, those who were afraid
of making decisions in the first place were not entrusted with positions of
higher responsibility.
One of the most important ways to improve your decision-making ability is
to avoid perfectionism. Avoid the need to know every detail and to be
absolutely correct before you make a decision and move ahead. An
imperfect decision made immediately is usually superior to a perfect
decision delayed indefinitely.
Five More Ways to Save Time
Here are five additional time saving ideas that you can use in your personal
life.
1. Shop All At Once
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When you go shopping, do it all at once. Don’t shop at one store one day
and another store on a different day. Go out and do all of your shopping on a
single day in a single trip.
By the way, the very best time to shop for groceries is Tuesday afternoon
and evenings. Why is this? It is because all of the shelves of the grocery
stores have been restocked on Monday after the weekend. By shopping on
Tuesday, you can get in and get the greatest selection, and get out fast.
2. Bunch Your Errands
Bunch your errands. When you have several errands to do, bunch them and
do them all at once, rather than doing one today, one tomorrow, and so on
through the week.
3. Don’t Waste the Time of Others
Ask yourself, “What do I do that wastes the time of others?” Wasting the
time of other people is usually not deliberate. It comes from not thinking
about how valuable their time is. We often waste the time of others through
lack of consideration.
If you are a boss or manager with people reporting to you, avoid the
tendency to waste the time of your staff by keeping them waiting, or being
late for meetings. The more respect you show for the time of your staff, the
more valuable and important they will feel.
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Ask yourself, “How do I waste the time of my boss? My coworkers? My
subordinates? My spouse? My children? And others?” And then make
efforts to avoid doing it.
If you are curious, go and ask them, “What do I do that wastes your time?”
How could I change the way I use my time so that it would be more efficient
for you? Don’t be surprised about what they tell you.
4. Be Punctual
Be punctual. Only 2% of people are punctual all the time, and these people
are recognized and respected by everyone. Punctuality is professional and
courteous. Make a habit of being there on time. Remember if you’re not
early, you’re late. There is no such thing as being fashionably late. It is
really just being inconsiderate and disorganized.
