5 Tips to Prioritize your Work

There are times, when each and every work seems like a priority. It looks difficult to figure out where to begin with. All this confusion quite often impacts productivity at the workplace.

Having too many responsibilities at the same time can become stressful. However it is all manageable if you learn to prioritize your work. Check out these tips to prioritize tasks on day-to-day basis:

1. Create a list

First thing in the morning, create a to-do-list of all the tasks that need to be done that day. Rank your work according to their importance or urgency. Ideally, you should put client’s work over internal work. Delaying client’s work may hamper your delivery schedules and hence it should be checked off first.

2. Set realistic targets

When you set your priorities, be realistic. Estimate the time each task will take. Be practical about how much work you can finish within that day or week. Setting unrealistic deadlines will lead to frustration and stress.

3. Don’t be a slave to e-mails

Don’t rush to check your e-mail every time other minute. Mobile devices, iPhones and Blackberry’s have enabled you to carry your office with you. However, they also have ensured that you unintentionally develop a habit of checking your email every few minutes.

Unless you are expecting some urgent mails, do not keep tapping into your inbox frequently. Check your emails at preset regular intervals. Or else not only will your emails take up more of your productive time, they will push other urgent matters behind.

4. Multi-task wisely

Some people like doing a number of things all at the same time. And the result is less productivity because none of your work gets your undivided attention. Multitasking is good but it should not affect quality of work.

Ideally manage different type of tasks in a day but at one time, give your attention to a single task.

5. Tips for managing urgent tasks

How would you handle two equally urgent tasks? Figure out which task will be more time-consuming. Ideally choose the task that will take less time, so that you can finish it off and then focus your mind on the rest of the work.

For the CEO, prioritizing work can become difficult at times. If you are finding it tough to set your priorities, consult with other CEO peers at a CEO peer group or CEO association. In such CEO clubs, you meet experts and other CEOs from non-competing industries.

A CEO club provides an easy atmosphere where you can share your fears with the experts openly and get in-depth insight into dealing with a particular situation.

Strike the Right Cord with a Perfect Business Idea!

“You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over.”

~ Richard Branson

If you dream of owning a business enterprise and possess the requisite expertise, adequate capital, and above all the courage to enter and excel in the world of your choice, then the sky is the limit for you!

Do not forget, starting a business is not a cake walk and requires extensive research, planning, expertise, and hard work especially if you are starting it from the scratch without any Godfather or financial cushion.

Keep the following factors firmly in mind before you take steps for launching your own business:

Think something that matches your expertise

All businesses sprout from an Idea. It is very important for you to choose your business idea from your set of expertise and knowledge. If you are launching a product or offering a service, you should have the complete knowledge of all aspects attached with what you are going to sell. 

Even if you opt for an all new business idea, something you do not understand much, study it in detail before finally making it happen.

Understand the market demand 

You cannot sell a product or service which has lost its market value. Also, be careful not to jump into a market which is dominated by some big players especially if your pockets are not that deep to challenge the giants. Pick a business idea that will allow you to carve out a niche, and about which you have a good, first-hand knowledge.

Identify your target clients or customers 

You should have a good knowledge about your target audience. Design your product or services keeping in mind a particular category of customers and then serve them with a USP. 

For example if you are opening a restaurant, you can focus on continental food to make it as your main USP. You can gradually come on to other cuisines once you grab the attention of food lovers.

   

Be very sure about your capital or investment cap

Decide on the kind of investment your business idea would require and how much you can afford to fork out. Once you know the kind of investment the idea entails, you can plan out your finance – i.e. raising funds, distributing capital, managing ROI and so on.

Share your idea 

Sharing your idea with like-minded and experienced professionals at CEO Clubs will help you get a reality check on how workable or feasible your idea is. If you are a member of a CEO Club or CEO association, you can thrash out your idea with other CEO peers who have had entrepreneurial experience from which you can gain valuable insights. The honest, no-strings attached opinions and feedback you get at a CEO Coaching not only helps you mature as a businessman but also boosts your confidence and widens your vision.            

Learn the Art of Retaining Employees

Recruiting employees is never easy. Retaining good employees is trickier.

One common refrain you will hear from your employees who are leaving the company for greener pastures is, “You know, I loved working here but I need better opportunities to grow and improve my skills”.  And you are left wondering, what are those opportunities that you missed giving and other companies offered to draw away your prized employees.

It can get frustrating when the most talented of your employees quit suddenly, especially those on whom you had invested quite a lot of time, resources and money.  Retaining the performing employees is critical for your company's growth and success. Here are a few tips for CEOs who are keen to retain the employees they have groomed and mentored:

Retain the right person

Not all employees are worthy of retention. Some departures might actually be a blessing in disguise as laggard employees are ones you can do without.

But there are employees who either have the necessary skills and performance capabilities or have been painstakingly trained and groomed by you to handle varied responsibilities.

When you are planning measures to retain employees, make sure you know which employees are assets for the company and you can thus have significant plans for them in the long run.

Let employees leave the difficult manager & not the company

Quite often, employees leave their job not because of the company but due to their differences with the manager. In such cases, you can allow employees to change departments and work with the managers they are comfortable to work with.

Give opportunities

Give opportunities to your employees to learn new things. As a CEO or a business leader, it is your responsibility to motivate your employees from time to time. You can assign them short term goals such as learning about new software or giving them a chance to lead a project. You can also make them undergo corporate executive coaching sessions to hone their skills.

Offer rewards

Pay your employees fairly. Money is the biggest motivator. From time to time, you can offer increments or bonuses to your employees. It is not just the money that can make you hold a strong grip on your employee. Even small rewards such as taking your employees out for a dinner or a movie can go a long way in strengthening bond. You don't need to indulge your employees all the time. Offer such rewards occasionally for a good job performance.

Be generous with compliments

Acknowledge your employees for the hard work they put in and compliment them. Treat them with respect. This will boost their morale and push them to perform better. Even when you criticize, be constructive about it and tactfully convey your message.

Be nice and yet assertive

Try to maintain a good rapport with your employees. As a CEO, you need to maintain a fine balance. Sharing a joke with employees is fun and healthy. But maintain a certain authority so that you are treated with respect.

You can learn the fine art of maintaining business relations and hone your leadership skills at a CEO club or a CEO corporate association. At CEO clubs, you get to mingle with experienced CEOs and presidents who can provide you guidance on retaining your employees and making your business a huge success.

Mastering the art of time management for a CEO

As a CEO, do you feel overwhelmed or totally stressed out at times, because of the work and complex situations you have to handle each day? Handling clients, conducting meetings, recruiting efficient staff, motivating employees – all of these can take a toll on anyone, especially on personal health and family life.

Being a CEO, handling heavy work pressure day after day can be taxing. Here are some tips to help you manage your time efficiently in office so that you are able to preserve your energy for healthy living and an enjoyable family life:

Plan

Maintain a to-do list in your diary. Plan your day in advance. This will give you a clear idea as to what you need to accomplish in that particular day. Besides planning and maintaining a dairy will help avoid confusions and enable you to complete more tasks than you thought you would.

Set your priorities right

Most importantly, learn to prioritize work. It might take some time, but it is essential to prioritize work according to their importance and urgency. When you fail to prioritize, you unknowingly waste a lot of your energy and precious time on things that don't need your immediate attention. Set your priorities right. It will help you remain focused.

Learn the art of delegation of work

As a CEO, you need to learn how to delegate your work. Managing all the work on your own can be exhausting for you. You need to learn to say no to tasks which can be managed by others. You need to have faith in others and delegate tasks to the right individuals. You can learn the art of delegating work by joining a CEO Club or CEO corporate association which provides corporate executive coaching. Proper delegation of work can reduce your stress and increase productivity.

Be realistic

Try to be realistic and break large tasks into small achievable goals. Handle one work at a time and give it your undivided attention. Besides, set realistic deadlines for your employees so that you get quality results in the end.

Keep a track record

Keep a thorough record of your undergoing projects. You can maintain a Microsoft Excel sheet which you must update regularly to keep a track on the progress of the targeted project. This will help you analyze how each project is going and what needs to be done to finish it within deadline.

Efficient time management is an art which every CEO must learn to master. You can join reliable CEO Clubs or CEO associations where you can meet experienced CEOs and like-minded people and learn the success secrets to take your business to higher level by managing time efficiently.

Tips to Conduct a Business Meeting Effectively

Meetings are essential but not all meetings are always successful. You may have sometimes got a feeling after particularly stretched out meeting, “What a sheer waste of time. Now let’s get started on work.” Meetings can go off the track if you don't plan well in advance. As the CEO, you need to be thorough and well-prepared to chair a meeting. Here are some tips to help you conduct a meeting which is effective and leads to some fruitful results:

Set a time limit

Set a time limit for the meeting. And make sure to inform everyone attending the meeting about the start-time and end-time. Be precise and try to cover all the topics within the set time. Don't stretch the meeting for too long. It gets boring and is wastage of time as well. Stick to the topics you need to cover in a meeting within a set time limit. This helps you to be more productive as well. You can take inspiration from CEO peer groups or CEO clubs where exact topics are discussed and solutions are provided by the experts within the set time.

Set an agenda

Be sure what you want to discuss in a meeting and set a clear-cut agenda for that. Send a mail to the attendees informing them about the agenda of the meeting and the planned start and end time. This will save unnecessary time of explaining to attendees why they are in a meeting and what needs to be discussed. Besides everyone who has to attend the meeting will get an idea about the topic and can prepare or review any stuff that is to be discussed.

You need to prioritize things. If certain topics can be discussed later on, you should postpone such things till the next meeting.

Be clear about the objective of meeting

Having a discussion on a subject is not enough. As a CEO, you need to clearly outline the objective of the meeting. A meeting is futile if you just discuss about the issue. You need to emphasize what goals need to be achieved and the results you are expecting from the attendees. Assign responsibilities to certain people and set deadlines for them.

Invite executives who are crucial to meeting

Don't invite everyone to the meeting. As the CEO or a senior executive, you need to figure out which people are actually required for the meeting. Calling employees for a meeting who don't have any role to play in the meeting is a sheer waste of time for the employee and the organization too as a whole.

Sum-up

Summarize the meeting by reviewing the actions that need to be taken and targets that need to be accomplished. Besides, identify once again who will be responsible for which task.

Generally for CEOs and top-level senior executives, a good amount of time is spent in meetings, making strategies and in discussions. How you utilize your time in a meeting influences your organization's future and growth.

As a CEO, you need to keep improvising and learning new things to stay ahead of competition. You can join a CEO club or a corporate executive coaching where you can share your ideas with the other experienced CEOs from the non-competing industries and get practical solutions. Being in a CEO corporate association would help you understand how to conduct a meeting effectively and get maximum results.