Editor's note: Investor and entrepreneur David Gardner is the founder of Cofounders Capital in Cary and a regular contributor to WRAL TechWire.
I believe it was Dale Carnegie who said that the secret to success in business is knowing how much time to spend on each task.
person who manipulates time management
As I managed and observed sales teams as a young entrepreneur, I began to notice common problems. My salespeople would sometimes spend a disproportionate amount of their time on activities they found less stressful or difficult. In other words, they gravitate towards tasks they are most comfortable performing. For example, making cold calls to potential decision makers is often the most profitable activity a salesperson can do, but it's difficult to actually systematically call and follow up. Very little time is actually spent on it.
Unsurprisingly, making sales calls is one of the most unpleasant tasks a sales executive has to perform. No one wants to interrupt important people who are often disrespectful or downright rude to make phone calls to make money. This can make you feel unimportant and unwanted. I find that many of my sales reps spend an enormous amount of time making small improvements to their sales materials and proposals. In some cases, we would spend an inordinate amount of time researching companies before making the dreaded phone call. Many of these salespeople were not meeting their quotas and all wanted to earn more commission, but they were not sure how to allocate their time in the most effective way to achieve their stated goals. did not choose to do so.
I started reading books on managing salespeople and found an author who noticed this same phenomenon and coined the term “telephone resistance.” He pointed out that humans have natural defense mechanisms built into their subconscious minds to avoid activities and situations that make them feel inferior or lower their self-esteem. He pointed out that this tendency must be identified and managed through personal discipline in order to realize one's full potential.
Management bias in entrepreneurs
When I started investing in startups and coaching entrepreneurs, what I knew about call resistance is actually what I now call “operational resistance” or “operational bias.” I realized that I was part of a larger phenomenon that was calling.
Sales executives aren't the only ones who unconsciously gravitate toward the parts of their jobs that they love and are most comfortable with. When founders come from a coding background, we often see them spending too much time on the technical aspects of the business to the detriment of other very important functions. If you come from a marketing background, you often end up spending too much time managing campaigns and branding while other parts of your business are underperforming.
In my book, The Startup Hats, I explain how entrepreneurs can perform many roles simultaneously and rationally until they gain enough traction and funding to hire people who can perform many roles more effectively. He pointed out that it must be possible to carry out the
This is why operational passivity is so detrimental to early-stage entrepreneurs who are making minute-by-minute decisions about how much of their daily valuable activity time to spend on sales, product, accounting, hiring, management, etc. The reason is. The tasks they most enjoy working on will influence other highly important tasks. There is little margin for error during startup, and erratic operation can lead to out-of-gear and, ultimately, catastrophic failure.
Defense against the dark arts
Successful and unsuccessful entrepreneurs spend the same amount of time each day. The only difference is how you use that time.
The cure for professional bias is the same as the cure for reluctance to make sales calls. I encourage founders to manage their precious time carefully. Their time should be allocated as carefully as a day trader manages a stock portfolio. At the beginning of each day, decide how much time you will allocate to the various roles and tasks that need to be performed, and stick to that ratio. If you decide that he needs two hours per day to make phone calls, schedule that time every day and stick to that schedule. If he's still wearing his QA hat or fundraising hat, schedule those hours proportionately and monitor your metrics. Proper control and adherence to schedules is the best defense against operational bias.
Here are some final time management tips I've learned over the years.
Schedule your least favorite tasks first every day. If you don't want to collect past-due accounts receivable, but you absolutely have to get it done, do it first thing in the morning and check it off your list.
Remember the 80% rule. When you complete a task about 80% of the way you can, move on to the next task or activity on your schedule. The last 20% or “polishing” stage always seems to take as long as the previous 80%. In a startup, having enough time is often enough. It is better to meet the minimum requirements for all important tasks than to complete only a few perfectly. If you have more time at the end of the week, you can always come back and refine it further.
The most important thing is self-aware. Know what you like to do and what you don't like to do, and how that subconsciously influences your time management decisions. Manage your precious time with great care. There are always things that come up that require your attention, so leave some time between scheduled tasks to avoid falling too far behind. Change priorities as needed, but try to maintain the same ratio. Adhering to a schedule will greatly help you allocate your time proportionately and properly. Learn to think in terms of opportunity costs. Remember that everything you say “yes” represents something else you must say “no” to.
I honestly believe that time management, more than any other factor, is the most important skill for startup entrepreneurs.
