Resources for Management

Whether your company is large or small, you can begin today to spend less time and effort on business management. It doesn’t matter whether you’re managing a business that you own yourself or managing a company or department for another owner, firm or corporation. By accessing the appropriate business management information and making a few smart management moves, you’ll begin building better business management solutions for your company. At the same time, you’ll eliminate many mundane tasks that sap your time, energy and patience.  

Here are a few of the advantages you’ll enjoy when you begin managing better by managing less: 

1.  More time to focus on planning, coordinating and developing a vision and direction for your company 

2.  More competent, confident, happy and productive employees 

3.  Greater control—over your time, your executive management decisions and your life 

4.  An operation that runs more smoothly with less hands-on management from you 

5.  More free time for things other than business management, companies and company issues

Say "no" to micromanagement

Micromanagement may sound slim, but it isn't. It gobbles up the time, energy and focus you need for other tasks. Resist the urge to constantly check up on everyone and everything. Once your employees know your expectations, assume they'll follow through. Check in with them at pre-planned intervals, review their work and hold them accountable for its quality. Spend the time saved completing the executive management tasks that are actually part of your job description.

Foster communication

Let employees know when you're not to be disturbed, yet exercise an open-door policy at appropriate times. If you're serious about both time and business management, solutions like these will be the order of the day for your company: Never allow "upward delegation" of tasks; encourage employee collaboration and peer mentoring, instead. This will benefit both you and your staff, as you proactively free up more time for your own work and they learn to accept greater responsibility for theirs.

Empower your staff

Arrange for training to better equip your staff to do their jobs. Provide the needed tools, resources and authority. Then, as their experience, competence and confidence grow, begin giving them greater latitude for independent decision making. Free both yourself and your team from the burden of having to give or receive approval for everything done.

Get good advice

Tending to your own ongoing leadership growth will help you run your business or department with increasing effectiveness. One way to gain greater managerial insight is by using management consulting services. You may also attend local or not-too-distant seminars or workshops or take online courses or webinars, where you'll have access to all the latest business management information, strategies and techniques.

• Business management services can help get you on the road to a tighter, more efficient management style. But, if you're serious about self-study, you may get just as much from many of the courses available online.