Jun
27

Trouble Delegating? Let Go in Order To Grow

Filed Under small business strategy | Leave a Comment 

As your business grows, so too will your responsibilities. In order to help you manage stress and stay sane, you will need to learn the art of effective delegation. Business owners who are able to hand over some of their responsibilities have more time to tackle the larger issues associated with growing their business, see a greater life-work balance, and develop their people beyond their current capacities.

It sounds simple, so why do people have such a hard time delegating?

Entrepreneurs have a hard time giving up control because they think they can do almost everything better themselves. They also think they are the only ones with enough knowledge to do the job properly.

Let’s say, for example, that you have always been in charge of payroll. What are the pros and cons of continuing to do payroll as your company grows? You might have a tried and tested system in place that allows things to run smoothly, so you think to yourself, “It’s much easier for me to continue to do payroll than to try to find someone else, who can do it as well as me.”

The problem with this kind of thinking is that it prevents you from handing over tasks that eat up a lot of your time—time that you could be spending on more critical aspects of your business.

Why do you need to let go?

Delegation is often difficult in the short term, but the long term benefits will make your organization much stronger and make YOU a better leader.

For starters, you will give your workforce access to new skills and experience. By developing others through delegation, you will open the door to new perspectives and solutions that you wouldn’t have had if you continued to do the task by yourself.  

Most importantly, you will have more time and energy available to focus on growing your business. Too often entrepreneurs become enslaved to the day-to-day operations of their business. This prevents them from seeing the bigger picture, and can actually harm their business in the long run. Just think of how much more time you would have for creative and strategic thinking if you weren’t caught up doing payroll, accounting or whatever?

Try this:

Take out a blank piece of paper and draw a chart with two columns. In column A, list the jobs that you do that no one else can; in column B, list the jobs that you do that someone else could also do. Then, make a delegation timeline for yourself out of column B. Think through how you might delegate 25% of the activities in Column B in the next 3-6 months, and 50% of them within the next year.

Don’t delegate everything at once! Start slow, LET GO, and watch your business grow.

letGo.jpg 

10 Mindsets Women Entrepreneurs Must Have To Succeed - You must be willing to pay for high-quality dynamic people and be able to delegate tasks and projects. Web entrepreneurs are innovative people that like things a certain way and often fall into the trap of doing everything themselves. …

Do You Delegate it or Do it? - One of the biggest weaknesses of poor managers is their inability or unwillingness to delegate tasks, responsibilities or outcomes. In order to be an effective manager you need to know what you can delegate, when you can delegate it and …

Necessary Tasks You May Want to Delegate - The type of tasks you should delegate will become obvious quickly. Below is a list of commonly delegated tasks. I bet you can add a few to this list! Necessary Tasks You May Want to Delegate. Secretarial services. Research …

Delegate in a small business (part 1) - Learning how to delegate tasks it’s not really something specific in a small business. If you are a boss somewhere and have some colleagues to help you over, it means that you have to know how to delegate. However, in a way, …

Source: delegation

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Jun
27

Strategic Planning - Why it Works

Filed Under search engine marketing strategy | Leave a Comment 

Something I notice all the time when I work with business owners is that they often don’t set aside enough strategic time because they’re too busy with day-to-day operations. Businesses should be engaging in creative planning on a regular basis to ensure survival and success.

I always encourage my clients to schedule time in their calendars for brainstorming or idea generation. These are not problem-solving sessions, or a time to address issues that have already presented themselves. This is specific time for fresh and innovative thinking about directions for the business.

I’ve said before that four is an ideal number for brainstorming. The power of four is one of those natural dynamics of synergies in teams that has a powerful affect on their effectiveness. In brainstorming and strategizing, it’s harder when one person tries to do it alone. With two people, you develop velocity in the communication. The addition of a third person adds mass. With a fourth person, you add volume.

If you already set aside strategic time every week, good for you. If you are like most, however, spending time contemplating the “big picture” each week might take some extra motivation, but they are well worth your time. Too often, business owners forget why they started their business in the first place, and where they see it going in the future.

Here are a few “big picture” questions to ask yourself:

PlanetEarth.jpg

Business Purpose – what was your original purpose for building your business and how have things changed since you began. How do you plan on accomplishing what you set out to do?

Organization Goals – how do you see your business evolving? Have these goals been clearly communicated to your employees? Which industries does your organization currently serve and where might your reach be expanded in the future?

Strategies for Attaining Goals – which methods will you use to reach your targets? This part of your planning may change frequently.

Action Plans – state specific objectives for your company. These don’t need to be set in stone, but should be thought through with care.

Remember: Strategic planning is not only for large corporations that can afford the time and personnel to develop a sound plan; it is a matter of long-term survival for small businesses.

Planning

A couple other thoughts on this from around the interweb…

 Companies Without Strategies Are Heading For Tragedies - Executives always have the excuse for not doing strategic planning. They reckon that things are changing so rapidly. It does not make sense to do ten or even five year planning as events will change and it is not possible to preempt …

Brainstorming Tips and Techniques – 6 Colored De Bono Hats - The hats can be used even by an individual brainstorming alone. If in a group members identify which hat they are wearing so as to feel free to speak their mind without worrying about offending anyone. …

Effective Brainstorming: 7 Tips To Brainstorm Better With Your Team

Source: brainstorming

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