Busy, they are. Working efficiently, they are not.

It is less than 2 weeks ago, since I wrote this about busy managers, who paddle in circles. And despite the short space of time, the same scenario has keept charging back at me from different clients.

Earlier this week, I was mapping out a course with a prospective client. Committed to their cause, the CEO complained that they did not know where to start. There was just so much to do.

I pointed out that the company had been established because they had become fed up doing the same things for others, who did not seem to appreciate them. Agreed.

So I asked what it was that would get them to appreciate the value of their own time, and thus encourage themselves to become organised? “Are you able to visualise what you are missing out in the meantime?” I received a pained look in response.

A few days earlier, a friend was discussing a new enterprise, which they had been trying to kick start for a long time. One of the main drawbacks had been the lack of time. All spare moments are invested current commercial practices, and I was subjected to a full explanation.

Fine, but this ignored how much they were looking forward to a change. The potential money-making opportunity was given second place to the on-going management of something which they did not necessarily enjoy……and again I eventually received another set of awkward looks.

Dan Kennedy has a mega track record in mentoring young companies. He has observed that:  –

I organize everything with predetermined start and end times; if someone has a phone appointment with me, they know in advance when it will end, not just when it will start–and the call does end as scheduled, even if in midsentence. I have trained and conditioned myself to be hypersensitive to time, and I train my clients to respect my hypersensitivity about it. Why?

Because last year’s bank balance and your satisfaction or dissatisfaction with it is more a reflection of how you invest your time than of anything else. In reality, time is one of the few assets the entrepreneur owns outright and has total control over.

Entrepreneurs only? No – all of us.