27 Nov Leverage your time

We all want to be Superman at times. But, unless you have limitless energy and a superhero outfit, you are better off engaging others to achieve superhuman feats. Staff, contractors and suppliers are the Robin to your Batman — don’t go it alone.

But where to start? You want to outsource or delegate, but want to ensure the task is done properly. This is a real struggle for business owners, and I see too many get it wrong. The formula is simple:

Find an area of your business you spend a significant amount of time on every day (1 hour +) that is NOT within your core expertise and NOT a core part of what your business delivers.

Describe in minute detail what you do, how you do it, how often you do it, with whom you do it, and what tools/templates you use to successfully perform the work in this area of the business. For most this can be a daunting task. The simplest way to do this is:

Grab a video camera, or even have a friend video you in action. We’re not going for Hollywood production; keep it simple and plain, or

Switch on screen recording on your Mac or PC, and simply record what you do on the computer. Go through each task step by step, and explain in simple terms what you do.

This method will save you time and effort when delegating—nobody wants to write a ten–page manual if they can help it!