Short On Time? Manage By Exception.
Time is one thing I constantly run short on. For over four years now, the task of running the small business I work for consumes a great deal of my time. Whether I’m running staff meetings, discussing acquisitions with business owners, or working trade shows, a ten-hour workday passes in what feels like a blink of an eye.
For small businesses and entrepreneurs, your time is arguably the most valuable commodity you have. You have the vision, the drive, and the passion to succeed. When it comes to delegating, it is very difficult to entrust the vision of your entrepreneurial vision to someone else to then execute. If it’s your small business, you have worn all the hats and understand the importance of everything being done on time and right. The problem that so many entrepreneurs and small businesses face is — at a certain point, you just don’t have enough time to go around.
If you are going to be successful longer term, it is imperative you build a strong foundation. In my professional experience, I have positioned our small business to grow tenfold without imploding. That’s not to say the growth doesn’t come along without growing pains, however, we are positioned for longer term success. What does a good foundation look like? The following are must haves:
- The right people in the right seats (check out EOS for more info on this)
- Processes that support efficiency and simplicity
- Systems that enable processes to work and work well
- A lean organizational hierarchy
- Effective communication systems — both up and down the hierarchy
- An experienced leadership team (fits with right people, right seats but is worth its own bullet)
Each of the bullets above warrant their own post. Hell, each of the bullets above could keep someone busy for a career when it comes to understanding, planning, executing, and getting good at having/implementing each one. That’s a bit beyond the scope of this article though. This article focuses on what you should do as you put all of the above in place.
Manage By Exception
When I talk about managing by exception, I’m referring to the idea that you are only addressing the outliers. An outlier is something outside the norm. Because time is so valuable, spending it on things that are working well or that are already being addressed becomes a waste. Where the real win comes into play is when you can focus your time on the things that should require your time. Let’s take a look at an example.
Last week, in one of my regular manager’s meetings, a customer satisfaction case came up. The case had to do with a product we shipped that ended up getting damaged in transit. My management team spent the better part of ten minutes reviewing the case. We looked at the customer, which freight carrier was involved, the options to remedy, and a few other items. After some back and forth, we agreed to take it offline and revisit next steps. As it turns out, the whole conversation was a waste.
One of our sales team members had already engaged with the customer, determined the best path to resolution, and was working on the appropriate next steps to get our system updated to reflect all of this. If we as a management team would have allowed the process and systems to work, we would have saved ourselves time. Not surprisingly, the case came up in the manager’s meeting NOT because it was an exception but rather because it was at the top of someone’s mind.
In this example, the case had only been open a few days and had not been escalated in any way. Nothing about this particular case was exceptional. Nothing about the case was unique. Our team simply got caught in the same trap so many other teams get caught in. Somebody took something totally routine and made it into something bigger. Something that wasted other people’s time. While ten minutes in one meeting might not be a huge deal, when it turns into ten minutes in every meeting followed by a derailed agenda and frustrated staff, the problem compounds quickly.
To manage by exception requires a certain level of trust and experience. To know that you have the right people, processes, systems, and communication in place is key. Knowing isn’t enough. Placing your trust in these things is what allows you to manage by exception. When you trust that people, processes, and systems will do what they are paid and/or designed to do, you have the opportunity to free up massive amounts of time.
Saving time, or more appropriately, having more time to allocate to other items requiring attention, is not the only benefit of managing by exception. When you manage by exception, your employees will end up thanking you. Why? Here are a few positive changes you’ll likely encounter:
- Employees will not feel as if they are being micromanaged
- An environment of empowerment will likely emerge. When you’re not looking over shoulders, employees will get used to making decisions on “normal” stuff and will feel empowered to do their job
- Trust will build between staff members as routine problems are solved quickly
- Optimism will prevail. People will not feel inclined to complain about all the small things because they will be in a position to address them
- Creativity will blossom. With time saved across the board, people will have time to be creative rather than always be face down in a problem
While it may seem counterintuitive, letting go via allowing the people, processes, and systems to do their jobs will actually allow you to take more control. As your time will shift to the things that stand out from the rest, you will ultimately become more proactive on real issues. Real issues are what stand to impact your business in more significant ways. And, if you’re lucky, the exceptions become few and far between which eventually lands you with more time on your hands. Be careful what you wish for though. Time is a dangerous thing for idle hands.
