Effective Email Management
“I spent all afternoon sorting out my email”
“I can’t get on top of my email”
“X Department seem to think that we all sit around waiting for emails from them”
I hear complaints like these from many of my clients. Email is great for communicating, but it can also be the bane of our life. It lets us reach out quickly to literally thousands of people – and if we’re doing it, so are others.
Newsletters, requests for meetings, useful information that may be needed in the future, “urgent” (to the sender, anyway) messages, updates, reports all flood into our “Inbox” and we find ourselves “drowning” in cyber paper – especially when we get back from a day out of the office.
I recently looked at the emails that I received over a period of several days and categorised them by High/Medium/Low priority and by the action that I took according to the “Four Ds” (Do, Delegate, Defer, Delete). The results were in terms of priority:
• 5% were High;
• 14% were Medium;
• 80% were Low or Irrelevant.
This is an exact illustration of Pareto’s 80/20 principle – 20% of the emails I received were medium/high in importance, but 80% were of low importance or irrelevant.
When I looked at the action taken on the emails, I:
• Deleted 47%;
• Deferred/Filed 32%;
• Actioned (Did) 21%.
Again, just under 80% of my emails could be deleted or deferred/filed, whilst only just over 20% required action.
The trick is finding the 20% of emails that will bring you 80% of your rewards (and on which you should therefore spend 80% of your time).
A great approach is to look at your “inbox” a maximum of four times a day and sort its contents into “Action”, “Read Later” and “Maybe” folders. It takes discipline (as I have found) to sort things, and it takes experience to be able to tell the difference between the “Read Laters” and “Maybes”. However, like so many skills, the more you practice, the easier it becomes. By sorting things out, you’re then left with a folder of what needs to be done as soon as possible, a folder of emails to be read “when you have time” and a folder of emails to be read “if you have the time”. Your priorities have been set.
One folder that I have added is a “Keep In View” or “KIV” folder for all those emails I send out to which I expect a response, to follow up or on which someone has to take action. I look at this ONCE ONLY each day and transfer items from this into the “Action” folder as needed. It’s a great way of making sure that I follow up what needs to be followed up (and leaves others wondering how I do it).
A final tip: use the “auto-delete” and “archive” functions on your email. In some companies, the system will delete emails after 3 months, so if you need to keep something for longer, put it in a specially designated folder or save any relevant attachments to your hard drive or server.
I have spent more than half my life working in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in the world financial services industry running different service, operations and lending businesses, I started my own Performance Management Consultancy and work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email . My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services.Labels: Crisis Management, Customer Care, Productivity
Effective Management - Is Micro-Management A Good Thing?
I recently saw a discussion on micro-managing where views were varied but, for the most part, negative. It made me think about this concept and its pros and cons.
Most of us see micro-managing as a process where our line manager “breathes down our neck”, criticises or negates everything we do and saps our confidence. I’ve been through this and it’s the most soul-destroying experience.
Some managers may do it because:
1. They are managing a low-skill team required to perform complicated processes where all inputs need to be checked before moving on to the next stage;
2. It’s needed to manage the team’s way out of a short-term crisis;
3. They’ve just been promoted from the supervisory ranks and haven’t yet made the mental leap from supervisor to manager;
4. They feel that this is the only way to maintain control;
5. They have a hidden agenda;
6. You may have given them the feeling that you need it;
7. They are still assessing you as a new team member;
8. They need to re-focus you as part of a development plan/disciplinary process.
Reasons 1-2 reflect the nature of the job or a temporary situation. Reasons 3-5 reflect more on the manager. Reasons 4-6 reflect more on you as an individual but at least lie within your control.
I remember one senior manager from the mid-80s who insisted on seeing every email our team wanted to send out before it was sent. Yes, he spotted errors, mistakes or stylistic inconsistencies which he was able to correct, but we all felt that it implied a lack of trust in us. Equally, it meant that too much of his time was taken up “proofing” emails and not adding value. He soon saw the light…
If you’re being micro-managed, ask first what’s causing it. Talk to colleagues to see if they’re experiencing the same thing. If yes, then it’s a team issue and you can do something about it as a team. If only you, then meet the boss to determine if it’s reasons 5-7, where matters are under your control.
If 6, then bear with it, but find out how long it’s likely to go on for and ask for feedback about performance. Suggest a framework which will allow you some freedom, but keeps the boss happy. Where there’s a development/disciplinary issue (7), then you’ll have to bear with it and make sure that you meet any targets set.
The one many don’t pay attention to is 6 – the trickiest. Different people build up speed, experience and confidence at different rates. As a result, they seek their manager’s guidance in the early stages until they’re happy that they understand how he/she wants things done. The downside is that this can be seen as needing to be “spoon-fed” so they need to set up a framework to agree that this is how things will go for a short period. They should ask their peers and reports the “really dumb” questions to avoid too much pressure on the boss who has other things on their mind and will only get irritated, but the boss should be ready to act as mentor.
In these days of “hitting the ground running”, noone likes micro-management, but sometimes, it can’t be avoided. Both sides need to set the ground rules. However, too much micro-management destroys value and needs to be corrected as soon as possible.
I have spent more than half my life working in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in the world financial services industry running different service, operations and lending businesses, I started my own Performance Management Consultancy and work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email . My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services.Labels: Career, Crisis Management, Risk, Teamwork
Tools For Effective Cost Management
Every business needs to understand not only what its costs are and how they arise, but also whether they’re “normal” for the particular business concerned. This is where a good finance team, book keeper, accountant or even your own knowledge of the business’ numbers comes in.
The first tools are
budgets (or
forecasts) and
reviews. A number of businesses don’t bother to forecast what they think they will spend – especially in good times. However, if you don’t do this, how will you know if the business is “on track” or not? A forecast need not be highly complex and it can be refined as the year progresses and more information becomes available. Banks will always ask for forecasts when deciding whether to lend, so you should have the latest actual and forecast numbers available.
The review is just what it sounds like - a review of what you have done against what you thought you would do. It helps you refine forecasts and make more informed decisions.
Another tool that banks use to make lending decisions are
ratios. These cover any number of aspects of the business, but as a minimum you could use:
1. Gross Profit Margin:
This is your profit after costs of sales (purchases, direct advertising, sales commissions) but
before overheads (e.g. rent, utilities, salaries, etc) divided by your total revenues. The answer is expressed as a percentage and shows how
effective the business is at selling its products or services. In isolation, the answer is helpful; taken month by month or year by year, it will show a trend which can then be investigated.
2. Operating Profit Margin:
This is your profit after both costs of sales and overheads have been paid, divided by revenues. The answer shows how
efficient the business has been in selling its products or services. Trends can be investigated to understand what may be getting better (or worse). If the percentage is decreasing, it means that costs are going up and that you may need to take action, depending on the reason.
3. Retained Profit Margin:
This is the final profit left after all costs (including tax, interest and depreciation) have been met, divided by revenues. The answer shows how much cash is left in the business to support further growth.
4. “Burn Rate”:
The “burn rate” is how much actual cash goes out of the business every month to keep it going (i.e. overheads, interest costs, depreciation). This is what the business has to earn
as a minimum every month just to cover its costs after meeting costs of sales. Some say that depreciation shouldn’t be included as it is not an actual cash outflow, but if you want to be cautious, keep depreciation in as you will need to replace equipment, vehicles and other items.
5. Sales to Number of Staff:
Found by dividing revenues by headcount. If the answer increases or decreases (particularly the latter), find out why.
6. Costs to Number of Staff:
Found by dividing overheads by headcount. If the answer increases or decreases (particularly the latter), find out why.
A knowledge of these as well as any others that you find useful in your own business is vital in knowing how the business is performing (which you can discuss with staff, investors and lenders) as well as being a source of early warning if things are starting to go wrong.
I have spent more than half my life working in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in the world financial services industry running different service, operations and lending businesses, I started my own Performance Management Consultancy and work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email . My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services.Labels: Crisis Management, Financial, Productivity, Risk, Strategy
Adding Value - Effective Cost Management
Some costs are “value-adding” and others “value-destroying”. “Value-adding” costs are basically anything directly incurred in producing and/or supporting the product/service that brings in the cash.
“Value-destroying” costs are those that don’t add value. Businesses will have a mixture of each, and the trick is to minimise the destroyers. What you define as value-adders and destroyers depends on your business, but some examples of value-adders might be:
• Rent
• Rates
• Utilities
• Sales/production line salaries
• Raw materials
• Maintenance
• Staff training
“Value-destroying” costs might be:
• Time spent waiting
• Time spent checking
• Compliance costs (“red tape”)
• Correcting mistakes
• Fines/penalties
Small businesses frequently complain about the cost of “red tape” and its impact on their ability to do business. “Value-destroying” costs will never be eliminated. You have to pay the inspector who certifies your restaurant fit for business, otherwise you can’t do any business. This is a “bad” but “must have” cost. What you
can do, however, is
minimise your potential for incurring “value-destroying” costs such as waiting, checking, correcting mistakes or fines. These are the costs that arise from either inefficiency or errors and can be reduced or eliminated.
To find out your value-adding and destroying costs, ask yourself:
• “What do we do to produce our goods/services?"
• “What costs
must be incurred to produce our goods / service?”
• “What are the values/standards on which we can’t afford to compromise?”
• “What can be done internally to reduce / control / eliminate mistakes?”
• “What will be the consequences (and can we live with them)?”
As much as possible, ensure that your costs are:
•
Quantifiable;
• Ones where the results can be
seen;
•
Understandable in terms of what drives them and how;
• Ones that can be forecast with a relative
degree of accuracy;
You have a potential problem if they are:
• Incurred in
correcting mistakes.
•
Not quantifiable until "after the event".
•
Not measureable in terms of results, or if relationship to results is questionable.
•
Not understandable in terms of what drives them.
• Not always forecast with any degree of accuracy.
• Incurred by
default.
A business manager, finance director or finance team must have this sort of information. Make sure that the finance team aren’t running the business just to make the numbers look nice, however. Their job is also to
add value without sacrificing cash inflows.
I have spent more than half my life working in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in the world financial services industry running different service, operations and lending businesses, I started my own Performance Management Consultancy and work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email . My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services.Labels: Crisis Management, Customer Care, Productivity, Risk, Strategy
