One of the hardest things for a President & CEO to do is properly allocate time. Goodness knows I’ve had these problems at all my startups (FORE Systems, Vinomis, Brava Fashions, Avidia Systems, MediaSite, Haley, etc. etc.). We all seem to spend TOO much time on small firefighting issues, and too little time on the truly important things like: SALES, Marketing, Products, Business Planning, Hiring key employees, Finances, and yes — CUSTOMERS!!!
So what’s a CEO to do?
Here are some suggestions that I’ve found helpful:
1. Keep a ToDo list and get that stuff done. Prioritize each ToDo (including voicemails, emails, etc.) on a 1-3 scale. Make sure all the 1’s are taken care of, do something on the 2’s. And ask yourself if the 3’s are really that important. And if you can assign any of this ToDo list to someone in your company, then do it.
2. Make another ToDo list of Big Picture things with headings like strategy, products, marketing, etc. These are generally very important for real change in an organization, but CEO’s never seem to get them done.
3. Be sure to do SOMETHING on the Big Picture list every day, and keep track. If you’re not making progress — you’re not making progress.
4. Shut your office door! And do the Big Picture things without interruption. Even put a Do Not Disturb sign on your door — for an hour. Really.
5. Have less long, worthless meetings. One company I know actually had their meetings with no chairs standing up, so they were shorter.
I know this all sounds kind of fuzzy, but the Big Picture stuff is truly the important things to change your organization.
Startup Life by Mark Juliano 