Time Is A Scarce Resource

October 2, 2008 | By | In Management 


When someone says to you, “I’m sorry, but I just don’t have the time.” you know they are lying. What they are actually saying is ” I don’t want to spend time with you, in the manner you’re suggesting.”

As managers, we control how we invest our time. We don’t want to sit in on unproductive meetings, or on low-priority issues. If the job cannot be done in the course of a normal working day, there is either something work with the job or that person just isn’t performing.

I’ve seen time-management programs that actually take up even more of our time, we attend meetings to schedule our work, meetings to update head office management the progress of our work. Then the people who can help our business are told that we are not available because we are all at a meeting.

I like to invest my time in the following ways:

  1. Talking to our customers to discover our problems.
  2. Develop the people I work with.
  3. Learn and assimilate information and new techniques.
  4. Create new standards to improve our performances.
  5. Show ways to motivate the organization.

Invest your time in things and people that matters. Keep pushing the information down to the front-lines. Keep the channels of communication open. When you do that, your people will know the direction you are headed, and have the knowledge to handle problems down at their level. And you will be the first to hear about it.

Recommended reading: First Class Manager by Andrew Rondeau.

Also recommended: Our Emperors Have No Clothes by Alan Weiss.

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2 Responses to “Time Is A Scarce Resource”

  1. Benny on October 2nd, 2008 9:51 am

    A nice post. It is true that we waste our time doing things which doesn’t contribute much to our growth. It is therefore necessary for us to keep our mind focused and use the time in the best possible way. Consider reading for time management techniques.

  2. Adrian Lee on November 12th, 2008 3:23 pm

    Benny, thanks for taking the time to post a comment. I have always found that people in the front-lines are pretty focused on what they do. Sometimes, senior management needs to be convinced.

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