Most companies have some form of strategic planning, strategic development, goal setting and business planning. In fact, when was the last time a major corporation didn't go through annual budgets or a start-up business didn't submit a business plan to the bank? All forms of business strategy.
Developing a business strategy and a high level plan is critical whether you have 1 employee or 500. As the organization grows, the need for more strategy to unify the team and their efforts compounds. It is critical the plan is strategic and high level but also that it has ties down to the actions required every week. This is the downfall of most plans/strategy work; it gets done in a boardroom and never makes it into the hallways of action and tactics.
At Evolve, we love to help clients develop their strategic plan AND then help them start to implement it. Too often we find struggling companies with a solid strategic plan that is sitting in the president's office on a shelf. A plan without action is a waste of the time committed to thinking up the plan!
So the best value is in being able to know each week, month and quarter, what actions each person is undertaking to move the strategy forward. This requires a review and discussion of strategy every week, and even daily, at times. The regular review of strategy keeps what is important out in front of what is urgent (where most people exist).
Use some tools like the gazelles.com one page plan as an example of how your strategy should get down to a single page outline. We then recommend you take each strategic mandate and break it into pieces that can be executed weekly.
Strategic business is like marathon running. You know when the big race is, you know what training will be required AND you know what distance and speed needs to be implemented today to make it happen.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
The Key to Time Management is Condensing Time
It comes as no surprise that most of us struggle with managing our time and controlling our time. With the on-going interruptions of the blackberry, the endless emails, the days of meeting after meeting and even the old fashion phone ringing ... where does someone find time to work?
Most people think the issue is FOCUS. In some ways, it is. But the second dramatic improvement that can be made for all of us, in terms of time management, is CONDENSING time. When you book a meeting is it always 60 minutes? When you sit down to do email, is it a set period of time, like 30 minutes? How many 15-30 minute breaks do you have between events in a day?
One of the best exercises to condense your time is taking a 5 day week and being forced to condense it into a 3 day week. You are instantly forced to look for opportunities to save time and put limits on things that can be limitless (ie. email).
Here are 7 other tips:
1) Set time to review email ... and then TURN IT OFF. Yes, I am saying that to really maximize your time, you need to cover off emails early in the day and again later in the day but turn off the incessant bings, alerts and notifications.
2) Cut your meetings from 60 minutes to 45 and then to 30 minutes. Try odd numbers to make the time limit more obvious and conscious - 28 minute meetings work better than 30 just like 43 works better than 45.
3) Stop accepting every meeting that is requested of you. Review all meeting requests once a day and book in only those that add value to your role or work. Have someone else in your office cover the meetings that "might" add value - get a report in 5 minutes instead of a 45 minute meeting.
4) Know what the top 3 ways you create value are and ensure that 80% of your time is dedicated to these focuses.
5) Move weekly meetings to bi-weekly with slightly more time.
6) Have stand-up meetings and daily huddles with your team - 10 to 12 minutes tops!
7) Set meetings back to back with 5 minutes to transition; have your meetings 3-4 in a row to cover them off in a half day and then enjoy a half day back at your desk where you can get some work done.
8) Work outside of your office in a meeting room or outside place (a coffee shop) to avoid interruptions and distractions.
9) Don't set any meetings until 10am. Create a work period for yourself which your team and colleagues know is a Do Not Disturb period. Buy a sign for your door if it isn't clear to others. If that fails, buy a lock.
10) Review meeting agenda's and participate in only the pieces that affect you. Excuse yourself when you are not vital to a conversation. A 60 minute meeting may only require you for 20 minutes.
As you start to condense your time and create urgency it will be something people begin to respect and honor (maybe not in the first 4 weeks but soon after that). Move your 5 days into 3 days and watch how you suddenly feel a new control on your time and your workload.
Most people think the issue is FOCUS. In some ways, it is. But the second dramatic improvement that can be made for all of us, in terms of time management, is CONDENSING time. When you book a meeting is it always 60 minutes? When you sit down to do email, is it a set period of time, like 30 minutes? How many 15-30 minute breaks do you have between events in a day?
One of the best exercises to condense your time is taking a 5 day week and being forced to condense it into a 3 day week. You are instantly forced to look for opportunities to save time and put limits on things that can be limitless (ie. email).
Here are 7 other tips:
1) Set time to review email ... and then TURN IT OFF. Yes, I am saying that to really maximize your time, you need to cover off emails early in the day and again later in the day but turn off the incessant bings, alerts and notifications.
2) Cut your meetings from 60 minutes to 45 and then to 30 minutes. Try odd numbers to make the time limit more obvious and conscious - 28 minute meetings work better than 30 just like 43 works better than 45.
3) Stop accepting every meeting that is requested of you. Review all meeting requests once a day and book in only those that add value to your role or work. Have someone else in your office cover the meetings that "might" add value - get a report in 5 minutes instead of a 45 minute meeting.
4) Know what the top 3 ways you create value are and ensure that 80% of your time is dedicated to these focuses.
5) Move weekly meetings to bi-weekly with slightly more time.
6) Have stand-up meetings and daily huddles with your team - 10 to 12 minutes tops!
7) Set meetings back to back with 5 minutes to transition; have your meetings 3-4 in a row to cover them off in a half day and then enjoy a half day back at your desk where you can get some work done.
8) Work outside of your office in a meeting room or outside place (a coffee shop) to avoid interruptions and distractions.
9) Don't set any meetings until 10am. Create a work period for yourself which your team and colleagues know is a Do Not Disturb period. Buy a sign for your door if it isn't clear to others. If that fails, buy a lock.
10) Review meeting agenda's and participate in only the pieces that affect you. Excuse yourself when you are not vital to a conversation. A 60 minute meeting may only require you for 20 minutes.
As you start to condense your time and create urgency it will be something people begin to respect and honor (maybe not in the first 4 weeks but soon after that). Move your 5 days into 3 days and watch how you suddenly feel a new control on your time and your workload.
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