As I said last week, inadequate communication is the biggest source of frustration for most managers and business owners. Poor communication is also the biggest source for lack of productivity in the work place. Lots of entrepreneurs have the dream of working what productivity guru Tim Ferriss has deemed “The 4-Hour Work Week.” Yet they don’t have a sufficient structure in place to manage their team remotely. If your dream is to be able to travel, to be “disposable” in the daily operation of your business, you must be sure to have 3 things in place.
1. A replacement.
You must have someone who can do your job better than you can. Your replacement needs to be someone smarter and more efficient than you are. They need to own their results and feel as if they have a stake in your company’s success.
2. Full, unadulterated communication.
It is impossible to manage someone remotely who is not in full communication. “Unadulterated” means not mixed or diluted with any different or extra elements; complete and absolute. Your replacement must be an expert in communication. They must know what and when to communicate; both in success, as well as in failure.
3. Standard protocols for every job.
You must have systems in place. How your company runs must be clearly defined and outlined such that ANYONE could walk in to ANY POSITION and do the job, following your protocols. Every system must be mapped out in black and white.
How you put these three things in place is a whole other issue. It takes preparation and vision to create a business that runs without you.
CALL TO ACTION: If you want your business to run effectively without you, consider: Who is YOUR replacement? Begin to train them to take your desk. If you don’t currently have a replacement, poise your business such that you can hire one in the next year. What will that take? Make a plan and get in action!
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