Well, here we are near the middle of August and almost time for the kids to head back to school. Had your vacation yet? By this time most of you have taken a bit of time off to get away from all the pressure of work. Right?
Talk about pressure! Most people I know are really under a lot of pressure when they are getting ready to go on vacation. Oh my, we have to be sure that everyone knows where we will be. Who will be responsible for making important decisions while I'm away? Should I notify my customers that I will be on vacation and who the contact person will be in my absence? Who can handle the major situations that may come up? What if a major prospect calls and wants to see someone right away? What if a major customer calls and wants to see someone right away? I better contact as many customers as I can before I leave to make sure everything is okay before I go. Should I even go? Will the company survive while I'm gone? Am I forgetting something?
Does this sound like you before you left on vacation or those of you getting ready to go on vacation? Did you decide you better call the office every day or check your phone or computer for e-mails and other notes every day? Did you tell your staff to copy you on every e-mail so you will "know what's going on"? If you've already gone on vacation, did you REALLY relax the entire time you were gone?
Zig Ziglar in one of his Strategies For Success training classes uses the example of the trip to Acapulco. In the story, you get a phone call from a friend early in the morning telling you the friend has won a trip for 2 to Acapulco and wants you to be the friend they take along BUT...you must leave today.
The rest of Zig's story takes us through the decisions we make that allow us to go to Acapulco today. And the moral of his story is why not manage your business and life so you could go to Acapulco everyday?
So, how are your managing your time? Have you put the pieces in place so you can go on vacation this year and every year without having to worry if you'll have a company when you get back? Are you training your replacement? Are you training your people on the way to communicate with customers properly? Do you have someone who could "save" a customer that is angry or know what to do if an important prospect is now ready to become an important customer?
Unless you want to forever be a nervous breakdown candidate, it is important that you build your staff so the company operates whether you are on vacation or not. I know, I know, easier said than done, but don't you think you should start? What about starting now? You can't do it any earlier and you're not getting any younger.
My wife and I both grew up in the Midwest and never enjoyed the harsh, cold weather in the winter time. The way I found to help her keep her humor throughout the dreary winter was to take her to Hawaii for about 2 weeks every February. It sure made life a lot easier for me and Hawaii wasn't hard to take either. Now why am I telling you this? What does it have to do with anything? I mention it because I knew my company was progressing positively when one year I came home after our two weeks in the islands to announce to everyone that I was back from vacation and was greeted by several of the branch managers with "you were gone"? After a few moments of self pity saying nobody needs me, I realized what I had accomplished. Our organization was able to run on a day to day basis without me having to make every major decision. What a blessing. What a great group of people that had been assembled to make my life so much easier.
So...what about you? Are you vacations stressful to the point you wonder if they are even worth taking? If you haven't already started, START NOW to develop your staff to where they can manage without you even when you are in town. Oh, I know, you are still going to have to be in charge of planning the future and supporting your people in the major decisions but that life if far more fun than having so much stress and then taking that stress with you on vacation so it seems like you haven't even been gone. START TODAY, IT IS WORTH IT.
Another point to mention. If you ever decide to sell your company, one of the major areas a prospective buyer looks at is your staff and are they seasoned and trained to keep running the organization with or without you. Can they tranisition your company into theirs without a lot of hassle. Important point to keep in mind.
A quick note. This week we post our 300th FREE pod cast at www.tripodcast.com. Hope you will tune in for this special broadcast and next week our special guest on the pod cast will be Ian Greig as he discusses day cleaning. A great interview.
Also, we have added about a dozen new DVD's to our web site. Hope you'll check them out at www.consultantsincleaning.com.
Till next time.
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