Virtual Marketeers

I found the definition of Time Management on Wiki to be quite interesting.  I also found it to be a bit long-winded and partially confusing when I was reading through it.  Is it really that complex?  I think it probably is!

The time management methods that one person might use aren’t necessarily right for the next person.  Also, those methods used seem to be forever changing, because it is continually evolving as people learn and implement their new ideas.  Books about both how to grow our business and life balance seem to emphasize time management as being a key skill that needs to be learned and mastered.  When the book or coach does not speak directly about time management; for example they might speak about leadership, or marketing, or lead generation…, but the mechanism that makes these models either successful or non-successful I would have to say is the overarching administration or management of each of these methods.

So what am I saying?  That if we are looking at developing a model of leadership, or client fulfillment, or a marketing method, we should also look at our time management skills, and we would need to develop a good administrative system in view to maximize the opportunity for  these models to work effectively.

Throughout the years I have been involved with many different businesses.  Through these experiences I have noticed the importance of the administrative side of the business being managed well.  It is particularly true that if the administration of the business is failing then the business 1) might not see growth that they would if they had good procedures in place, or 2) those things that might have initially been built up quickly, start to gradually fall down at the feet, sometimes without management even noticing.  So what I am saying is that the business might become unsustainable in the longer term.

I would consider an Association/Committee to be a good example to illustrate the importance of time management and admin.  A committee for this purpose is a group of people who come together to oversee the administrative management, or to do some strategic planning for the business/organization.  So many things that are involved with being on such a committee relate back to good time management skills as follows:

• A good Chair will keep the meeting moving along, but will also allow a good opportunity for members to discuss the agenda for the meeting, put forward new ideas, and question what is already there.  For the committee meeting to finish in good time it involves good time management skills and initiative on the Chair’s part.
• The secretarial role is extremely important to the effective running of a committee also, in fact it is imperative.  The agenda, the minutes and other paperwork that is dispersed to committee members or tabled at the meeting might allow for the meeting to roll along smoothly.  If it is not done well, it might cause for the committee members to waste time on unnecessary discussions.
• If actions aren’t completed in a timely fashion by committee members, these actions might continue to remain on the action list for sometime – meaning that each time that the committee meets these action items are discussed again and again, and again.  It is also quite probable that the non-completion of these actions might eventually serve to hold up progress in other areas.
• If the hard copy and electronic copy paperwork isn’t filed properly then, then  it becomes more difficult to follow through with matters, including to resolve a query from a third party.

And I am sure that there would be more to add to this list if I continued to think it through.

My point is that if the people who maintain a position that might allow for them to get the meeting rolling along smoothly, but they haven’t established good process, then the meeting is going to be twice as long and half as effective as it would be if all of these administrative time management needs had been met.