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Credit And Debt Management
Today's consumers benefit drastically from the usefulness of credit. Credit cards are especially useful for large purchases, emergency situations, reservations, identification, and protection from fraud. Unfortunately, millions of consumers abuse...
Effective Time Management for Busy People
Do you ever find yourself wishing there were more hours in the day, because there is “never enough time” to get everything done? Do you sometimes feel that you are juggling too many obligations over the course of a day? At the same time, do you...
Experiences of Management Coaching (Part 2)
In our experience, we have found that there are several reasons managers fail to get employees to see and acknowledge that they have a problem. They assume. Many managers bypass the step of getting agreement because they assume that an employee...
Hiring Rental Property Management
Why hire rental property management? Because doing it all yourself is the surest way to make your real estate investment experience a bitter one. You also have more time to find the next deal when there is someone taking care of the details for you....
What is debt management?
Debt management is a topic most people will have to deal with at some point. Debt is acquired by not living within your means. Living within your means is simply that you do not spend more than you make. Debt management is controling and managing...
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When Is Time Management Not Enough?
A working manager needs more than time management.
That old saying, “Dance with the one that brought you to the ball,” came to mind as I received a reality jolt recently.
Let me share with you that jolting insight. I was in transition away from managing several groups of technicians and professionals to more personal hands-on production management. My self-image and reputation lead me to assume that simply putting in the same hours in my usual efficient manner would do the trick. So, I continued tracking my time.
Wrong assumption!
It was necessary to get back to basics or, to use the wisdom of that old saying, to dance with the one who got me from there to here. Namely, tracking specific actions that produce results instead of tracking time spent on specific and general activity.
What I was suspecting was painfully true. Effective results were falling short of my own standards and objectives.
I replaced my time managing controls with production controls. My daily discipline, attitudes and focus changed immediately and so did the output. I was no longer deceiving myself by playing that look-how-hard-I’m-trying game
It’s a humbling experience when the manager needs the same supervision as salespeople, technicians and other such producers. It’s embarrassing when a manager applies to oneself the same stringent supervisory methods he or she once used on salespersons and other responsible persons working in critical profit centers.
While this piece is directed to the owner/manager who plays a hands-on role in a small business, it serves as a reminder to all managers who could be due for a comparative review of daily actions, time use and
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actual output.
Now, let me share with you the simple control device that did the turn-around for me.
It was set up as a spreadsheet. In the first column I listed the items to be produced, in the second column were the objectives (e.g: 10 / week, 0.2/day, 12 in can, etc.) and to the right columns headed with dates of the workdays for the month into which you tally your production. In the far right columns are totals and evaluation against your objectives.
The vertical tally gives you a quick view of your daily output.
You can construct this on your personal workstation, laptop or palm device. I opted for a printout for recording my single stroke [|||] tally because I was working at my desktop computer. Results can be entered on my spreadsheet or into my database later if I want more extensive analyses or records.
This is especially valuable for the manager assuming the responsibility of selling to key accounts and may have excused himself or herself from the scrutiny of a sales manager.
It’s a good idea to occasionally review all of your functions for any possible lapses into some gold-bricking activities. It pays to ask yourself, “Who’s managing the manager?” Should you find a weakness, you have my empathy as it can be a humbling and/or embarrassing experience. Take heart – it’s rewarded with valuable improvements in your own productivity along with improved self-esteem.
About the Author
Gerry McRae has taught time management techniques in his university courses and at several police colleges. He is also the author of "Time Management for Entrepreneurs - What to do, When & Why" available at http://www.unclemaxsays.com/timemanagement.php
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