PEMBROKE, Mass. — Time—how do you manage it? Seems like a pretty basic question, doesn’t it? “I go in, ready the store, see a few customers, and then go from one matter to another until the day is over, and I have a few minutes to pay bills or call customers before I go home.”
It's possible your time could be managed better, more efficiently, more economically. Perhaps you could squeeze out an hour every day for reflection, future strategy, and employee education. Wouldn’t that be something!
At the end of a workday, review that day's actions. What portion did you spend profitably? By profitably, I mean that your time spent contributed to the flow of your concern. What portion of the day was spent unprofitably? What portion was spent doing the work?
That is, did you press for two hours, relieve the cleaner for two hours, and work the counter for an hour? If so, five hours out of eight or nine was spent on the assembly line. Maybe 60% of your time is spent processing.
