As CEOs or business owners of a company, we have no time. The details of driving revenue higher, managing cash flow to meet obligations, marketing our firms, delivering high quality products/services, and handling the billing and accounting of our companies are immense and pressure-packed. But we have the same amount of time in a day as everybody else. We have feelings of overwhelm and wonder, “How in the world am I going to get done what needs to be done?” It shouldn’t be so hard to manage our time. Time management is a key challenge for us as CEOs and business owners.
Picture a large planter-size glass container. You put big rocks in, then smaller rocks, then pebbles then sand. Is it full? Not yet. You can still add water. The moral of the story is “put the big rocks in first”. All of us have a to do list, but do we prioritize our to do list by putting the big rocks in first? I call the big rocks the A priorities (these are urgent and important). Next, are the B priorities (these are items that are important, but not urgent). Last are our C priorities (these are items that are urgent, but not important). If we assign priorities to our to do lists, we’ll find ourselves being more efficient and effective over time and enjoying a higher quality of life.
However, as our companies grow, the amount of time a CEO needs exceeds the time we have. So, we must do only what we can do and delegate the rest. Caterpillar CEO, Jim Owens, said, “The key to personal effectiveness is prioritizing the most critical issues that only the CEO can solve and delegating any remaining tasks.” Wise words. I challenge all of us to adopt this mindset.
