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V O L . X X I N O. X I J U N E 1 , 2 0 1 5 18 H OW TO T oo busy? Too much to do? Not good. When your workload is greater than your capacity, you have no control over what bounces off the back of the truck. It could be the most impor- tant thing you should be doing today. Organizations of a certain size can handle the productivity ups and downs of their employees to a certain extent. Small businesses, though, are seriously dependent upon how well a very few people function. Often, the whole enterprise hangs on the pro- ductivity of one key person — you. So it isn't just a good thing for small businesses to manage workfl ow well — it is vital. Forbes routinely tells us that the failure rate for small busi- nesses can run as high as 80%. "Too busy" and "too much to do" are not the same thing. e fi rst refers to a dangerous mindset; the second is about a failure to manage the work properly. We often use them together because each feeds the other. e strength of small-business people is that they generally have an entrepreneurial streak in their make- up, so they are perhaps more innova- tive and action-driven than people in larger operations. However, that tendency can encour- age a "just do it" attitude, and that can be fatal for the business. Leaping into action in the present is not always the best use of the decision- maker's time, eff ort and attention. It is an excellent management practice to stop now and then dur- ing the day and question oneself: "Is what I am doing right now the most important thing for me to be doing right now?" is implies, of course, that the person has a way to answer the ques- tion. Does he or she know his or her responsibilities, including the ones that aren't clamoring for attention at that particular moment? And does he or she have a way to sort among them and make adjustments as circum- stances change? A manager should never be in a situation where multiple simultane- ous crises demand attention — when some of the problems could have been anticipated, or could have been avoided entirely. Too many managers, especially in small businesses, are task-driven doers, happiest when they have a lot of work to engage in. at is not good management, and its practitioners often are the ones whose processes do not work well. eir attention too often is absorbed in problem solving when it should be in problem anticipation. On the other hand, such manag- ers do not have much time to devote to detailed planning and preparation. So what's the solution? Priorities. Priorities come in various shapes and sizes, and can easily become one more sticky part of the problem if they are not handled well. When we say, " is is a priority," we mean it is a high priority. But the true understanding of priorities is that they are in hierar- chies — high, low and in gradations. Establishing the hierarchies, placing planned activities in them and man- aging them is what managers do. You can't set priorities on just fond hopes and vague expectations, so the manager, working with staff members, develops specifi c descrip- tions of what is to be done, includ- ing identifi cation of sequences and dependencies as appropriate. Priorities are assigned to those specifi cs based on such factors as importance to the organization, availability of resources, windows of opportunity, etc. e activities are given time esti- mates, and then placed on an exter- nally displayed schedule. e schedule is taken seriously by staff members and enforced by managers. It is adjusted whenever necessary, perhaps several times daily. Done properly, this process washes out overbooking and unreal- istic expectations. And, of course, it eliminates unpleasant surprises. It is relatively simple and need not be at all time-consuming. It does require clarity in planning and disci- pline in execution — so it may help shape up the organization. And it's a morale booster. Few things feel as good as getting things done on time. Jim MilliKen is a Portland-based consultant and trainer in skills of personal productivity, project management and organizational d e v e l o p m e n t . H e b l o g s a t JimMillikenProject.blogspot.com and can be reached at jim @ milliKenProject.com. Make priorities your top priority B Y J I M M I L L I K E N "at's My Bank!" SACO BIDDEFORD WESTBROOK SCARBOROUGH SOUTH PORTLAND OLD ORCHARD BEACH SBSI Business Banking Team Left to Right: Nancy Scimone, Geoff Scimone Our team of professionals can help you with all of your business needs: • Cash Management Services • Business Debit Cards • Business Online Banking & BillPay • Business Mortgages • Business Line of Credit • Business Equipment Financing • Merchant Card Services "We talked to quite a few banks and chose Saco & Biddeford Savings because they wanted to know us, not just the business. ey worked hard to meet our needs and still do. When we call or stop in any branch the service is always top notch." Geoff & Nancy Scimone, Owners of the Riverside Motel, Ogunquit "They went the extra mile to make the deal work" Delivering Results for Maine Businesses Since 1992 Direct Mail • Email • Social Delivering results since 1992 Rockland, ME | www.TargetMaine.com | (207) 596-6203 Visit Our Website to Learn More!

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