Think Strategically

His nervous twitch wouldn't go away. It bothered me in our meeting and I tried not to look at it but couldn't help it. This was one tense CEO and it showed. He was stretched well beyond his limits and seemed to have surrendered to the challenges of running a large organization. His entire life was spent responding from one crisis to another.

I could empathize with him because I've been there, too. Living on reactive fumes instead of a proactive tank of gas is a problem with most executives and managers. They have too much on their plate. They must react to their immediate issues and cannot take the time out of their busy day to think strategically. Many managers understand how important it is to build up the systems and processes of a company, but if they take the time to do that, then their deadlines are missed and their current opportunities are gone forever or given to a competitor.

The more time you spend in the strategic focus and direction of your company, then the easier it is to run it. But how can you become strategic when most of your time is spent on tactical issues?

Consider these three steps to balancing your work day between the strategic and tactical issues that compete for your time:

1) Plan your week in advance. Ask yourself this question: what are the two or three main objectives that I must accomplish this week? Think in terms of those critical fires that must be put out, the ones that you would consider catastrophic if not completed by Friday. Tackle them quickly and effectively and move on.

2) Schedule strategic time. Dedicate at least ten percent of your week to strategic issues. This can include spending time developing the skills of your team, planning with colleagues and employees, conducting "system autopsies" of why your systems are not working, and spending time facilitating discussions on which processes can be improved and creating those systems. If you look at your week, break it down into ten segments: mornings and afternoons, five days a week. That gives you ten blocks of three and a half hours of time segments. Dedicate one of those segments to strategic issues. Start with Friday afternoon when you probably spend most of your time thinking about the weekend anyway. Start with ten percent of your week and build from there. Time management is a myth. What is important is focus and execution. The areas that get attention generally improve over time and when you take a small sliver of your week and step back and look strategically at it, your effectiveness in managing your enterprise will improve.

3) Make a list of all of the critical issues that you must accomplish for the week. Ask yourself two questions: first, which ones can be delegated to someone else? And second, which ones can be used to develop a future leader in your department? Take what is on your plate and use it strategically as a development tool. You will find that next generation of leadership eager to assume more responsibility, so use your busy schedule as a way to identify and groom your future managers.

Think in terms of strategy whenever you do anything. When you start thinking this way, you will maximize your performance and start realizing your full potential as a manager. This simple concept can increase the effectiveness of a manager by at least thirty percent. Not only are you freeing up your day for more strategic issues, but you are using those tactical deadline oriented projects in a strategic manner. And if you follow those three steps to effective personal management, you'll never have to worry about anyone seeing that nervous little twitch again.

Scott Love shows managers and sales people how to manage their risk and win the game of business. He is a professional speaker and can be reached at 828-225-7700 or on his website at www.nolimitachievement.com