Are You a
Fire Fighter?
If you are running a business, or indeed part of a
company, it is time to look carefully at what your
job is and should be. If you are like most
executives and managers a large part of your time
will be spent with a fire blanket over your shoulder
and a bucket of sand in your hand. Large amounts of
time will be spent putting out fires.
If you are spending your time fire fighting you do
not have time to think conceptually, to look at the
world outside and consider the big picture.
Unfortunately fire fighting just leaves you fighting
another fire tomorrow and does not move the business
forward. How do I know this for a fact? Because I
have done what you are doing and many business
owners I speak to say they do not have time to look
at the big picture.
If you are fighting fires and
concentrating on the day to day running of the
business ask yourself why?
Is fighting fires really your job?
If fire fighting is your job what
are your direct reports there for?
Many years ago I had the pleasure of
spending a few hours talking to the Finance Director
of a successful private company. The company had a
December year-end and the time of year was mid May.
The Finance Director informed me that as far as the
owner / manager was concerned the year had ended. He
was concentrating on what the business would be
doing next year and the year after that. His direct
reports were taking care of this year.
The owner of this business did not
start out wealthy but you my not be surprised to
learn that he had created a very successful business
and had become very rich.
Try this exercise.
For the next two weeks record
everything that you do in 6 minute units. A
solicitor would do this as a matter of routine so I
feel sure that you can manage. At the end of two
weeks analyse how you spend your time. How much is
spent on day to day routine, how much is spent on
fire fighting and how much is spent on the BIG
PICTURE and moving the business forward.
Remember that you are giving up
other things in your life, perhaps time with your
family, in order to fight fires and real with
routine. Now comes the difficult part.
Analyse your routine work and
establish how much can be delegated. You are the
most highly paid person in your business, should you
really spend all that time on routine?
Analyse each of the fires that you
put out and ask yourself a few questions:
Who started the fire? The sad
fact is we usually start our own fires either
because of something we did or something we did not
do.
Who was the best person to put
the fire out?
What steps can be taken to ensure
this particular, or a similar fire does not start up
again?
When you have finished this exercise
use the time you have created to begin work on the
BIG PICTURE.
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