Artur Lupashko, CEO of the Ribas Hotels Group management company, tests his day for efficiency on a daily basis. He shared tools that help him in this. And they are significantly different from those that have gained popularity recently.
Honest schedule - no schedule
The entrepreneur doesn't have a schedule. As Ayn Rand wrote in the entrepreneurship Bible, "Atlas Shrugged," he wears "work clothes" around the clock. I fully agree with this: a businessman wakes up and falls asleep in this "clothes", gets married, raises children, has a rest and goes in for sports in it too.
For a male entrepreneur, his business is a vital purpose. And no matter how hard he tries to fit all his affairs into the schedule from 9 to 5, and what is not on the schedule is impossible to cancel.
That is why I will not bore you with a list of services for planning; tell you what things to do before and after lunch, and what not to be distracted while working. It's all about discipline. I'm not going to underestimate its importance. However, we already know all this very well and have heard it hundreds of times. Without a drop of hypocrisy, we admit, first of all, to ourselves (and this is the most difficult thing, be sure), and then to others — there are many things we do not do, and probably will never do.
Spoiler: it's for the best. Exhaled?
And now let's look why, in fact, this happens.
The cult of the planning
Today, everyone around you is learning to plan so that they can do as much as possible during the day. Day. But the time deficit is getting bigger. And instead of giving themselves time, people steal it.
If you don't see a clearly defined goal, but you have a lot of time management techniques and planning your time, then I have disappointing news for you: you improve in unnecessary things and let the most important things out of your sight. We have learned to praise the clock, but we underestimate the compass.
We assess all unforeseen circumstances as obstacles. Because we worry about deadlines and agreements.
"Time should serve us, not in the opposite way."
Fans of plans and deadlines live only in the future. And they will live for the future. And, unfortunately, they will not be able to appreciate the present. This is a road to nowhere.
We believe that we should take on as much as possible and carefully set our schedule. After all, when there is no business-we miss, we feel unnecessary. I believe that only those who do not know how to think and be aware of every moment are bored. One of the main tasks (if not the most important) of a business owner is to think! Evaluate the situation in your life and in your company in the "here and now" mode, evaluate its performance, and move towards global goals.
"Set big goals. They are easier to hit"
Think about your global goal every day.
We don't take this banal thing that many great people talk about as practical advice.
"How does this help me here and now?" "you'll be outraged. We need to look for a new sales Manager, taxes have been raised again, and we don't have enough working capital ... what global goals can we talk about?
That's right. In the early stages of entrepreneurship, tactics dictate the rules of the game and, as a result, form a strategy. The task of the owner is to form a business development plan for himself as soon as possible, based on his own business model.
By tactics, I mean all current work. In the first year of Ribas Hotels Group, I discovered the clear needs of my clients - hotel owners. I learned how to solve their queries in a way to generate a net profit sufficient for active growth. Thus, I decided on the business model of the management company. And from the second and third years, I formed clear long-term goals for myself. And now I delegate the operational work as much as possible, focusing on development and attracting investment.
Let's return to the original thesis "Think about global goals every day". You won't have any more time. And every day when you get a task or plan your day, week, or month-ask yourself questions (and over time you will develop a quick intuitive understanding) - is this important for achieving my goal? Am I the only one who can complete this task?
Do one thing for as long as you need to achieve the best result.
Tasks that are really important for achieving the goal and require only your performance have the highest priority. Immerse yourself in them completely. Postpone everything else, don't be afraid to postpone and postpone what takes a lot of time and doesn't bring results.
If I can make a decision quickly, I give it up to one minute. If the question needs to be studied and the decision can't be made quickly, I ask myself the question I already wrote about above.
«You don't need to do much, you need to do the main thing.»
It is the privilege of the business owner to choose important tasks and devote as much time to them as necessary: an hour, a day, a week. I had negotiations that lasted two weeks in a row. From morning to night, I spent time with my future partner. We had breakfast, lunch, dinner, and discussed business. As a result, I achieved the desired result and this partner gained 40% of the company's net profit in two years. Of course, at this time there were many small issues that I did not pay attention to at all.
And you know what?
They were successfully solved by my employees. Probably even better than if I did them myself.
Communicate!
The second main task of an entrepreneur, as an owner and manager — is to communicate. You can only achieve your goals with someone else's hands through communication. Therefore, communication with employees, clients, and partners should be a system.
Some simple rules:
Limit the time and fix the issues that need to be discussed first. Communication with employees that lasts more than 60 minutes is usually narrative in nature and increases the chances of ending unsuccessfully. But it is important to do this systematically. How often? For you to decide.
My clients-the owners of the hotel. These are successful people who know the value of their time. This is why I always describe the expected result and purpose of our meeting at business meetings. This helps you stay on a clear course and achieve what you want in the shortest possible time, even in a lively discussion. At the same time, I pay special attention to informal communication. I consider it a multiplier of loyalty to your business and to you personally.
Our partners highly appreciate our originality in congratulations on all holidays and attention to detail. The fact is that we congratulate them on personal special events: the birth of a child, the success of children, the birthday of his wife, with success in other areas of business that are not related to our joint activities). Make a system out of this and plan for a week and a month your communications with key people who help you achieve your global goals.
Record everything. Now.
There are many methods of memory training. I recommend visiting some of the courses offered on the market-the result is phenomenal. In three sessions, I was able to memorize 50 words in a row in 10 minutes. Although the first lesson wasn’t that successful — in only 11. However, it is reckless to rely entirely on your memory, as well as on your intuition.
Many people recommend the services of dozens of applications. I suggest simplifying everything. Use the basic phone apps-calendar and notes. I immediately record all meetings and calls in my calendar. Meetings are recorded in Notes, and I schedule tasks for myself with goals, deadlines, and measurable indicators — also in Notes.
Bitrix24 is also successfully working in Our company, where we set a task, launch business processes, and conduct communication. And if I need to assign a task to an employee — I do it without postponing it, and I don't duplicate it in my Notes.
Don’t imitate. Be yourself.
The excess of information in books, on the Internet, on tv, and from the mouths of info businessmen forms certain images that many strive for.
But!
Every business is a unique organism. Neither of them is like the other. Even if they provide the same services, in the same city, with the same market share — they are very different. Because their owners are also different people, with their own principles, views, abilities, acquired and innate, life circumstances, etc.the Desire to imitate and conform to sustainable images is rather harmful for a self-confident entrepreneur. It is important to develop your strengths. Thanks to this uniqueness, you have a chance to build a business and become the best in the world in your niche.
You don't need to acquire the top five most popular habits that YouTube blogger X talks About, the 7 skills that author y writes about, and follow the 12 principles of a successful businessman that infobusiness z promotes. You have to get up at one time, go to bed at another, watch and read the third, think about the fourth ...
Stop!
"Don't compare yourself to someone other than yourself."
It is very dangerous to adopt thoughtlessly or even callously what is now so popular.
I read 1-2 books a month. From one book, I can only make one thesis that is relevant to me personally. Although very smart, experienced people worked on the 400-page book and Packed all the wisdom of their lives into it. But for me personally, only one phrase will be important, which will move me higher, further, closer to my goal. Nothing else matters.
Don’t imitate. Only your uniqueness will help you become a legend in your business. And if you don't want to become a legend, why start it at all?