By Greg Winteregg, CEO
Goodbye, sixty-hour work weeks
I’ve seen very many capable executives/business owners work themselves to death. They complain about how they are overworked and have no time. They don’t take vacations because they are so swamped with project after project.
I don’t have that problem for one very simple reason:
I delegate!
I’ll bet you’re a lot like me. I feel great when I’ve helped someone! They had a problem and I helped them solve it. That’s why I get out of bed in the morning.
I have great news for you: your best employees feel the same way! They get out of bed in the morning to help others. Not everyone is like this; just the best ones.
My question to the overworked executive/business owner then is: “Why are you taking away all the pleasure from your employees of helping you?”
What I have usually observed is that the overworked has some great people standing around, very willing to help, and not being utilized.
This baffles me. Are they afraid the employees will mess up? Are they afraid they will cost the company money? Are they afraid they will lose some customers? I have news for you. Of course they will! But all this is already happening while they stand around watching you go up in smoke by yourself. So why not turn over some of your simpler tasks and let them help you?!
You must always be looking for your replacement.
Look for someone who is passionate about the company, someone you can apprentice for a few years, someone to gradually give more and more responsibility to and someone you can be patient with. Like one of your kids, or an employee who has been with you for a long time.
Always be looking for good managers and cooperative workers. Throughout your day, notice how you are treated when you are the customer somewhere else. I have no problem hiring someone away from another business if they have treated me awesomely.
Groom your successor. Then work until you’re a hundred. By the time you’ve been in business for ten or twenty years, or more, your greatest value will be all of your experience and connections. Stay active in the business, but turn over the day-to-day challenges to your replacement.
Become a ‘consultant’ to your own company. There are so many ways to participate and contribute without working sixty-hour weeks, but you have to empower and reward those around you as you grow the company.
And look at all the time you just created.
My Philosophy:
I’m always looking for my replacement.
This gives me lots of time to do other things.
About the author:
Greg is an internationally recognized speaker and management consultant. After retiring from his first career at age 38, he went on to join a management training firm and helped increase their revenue 200X. He’s now been in the management consulting game for over 25 years and is ready to share his experience and knowledge with you.
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