Who manages your diary?

I haven't met a CEO of a small business that hasn't got too much to do. Diary management is always a big topic and most people develop their own methods to suit the way they like to work. However, sometimes the way a diary is run has more to do with what others want - colleagues, clients & peers - rather than what is important to us.

I am always intrigued by the way that peers can affect how we run our businesses. I occasionally speak to CEOs who suggest we get our PAs to talk and arrange a meeting - I tell them that I don't have one and then suggest a date & time. They believe that this is the way it should be done but it often comes down to the fact that they don't have good access to the system they use - paper or electronic. They give the impression that it is not their job and are shocked that my diary is mine to manage. I take the view that if a meeting is worth arranging it should be booked then and there with little fuss.

Our CRM system is used by every employee and all meetings are recorded - both companies that I am involved with use the same system. Every employee sees my diary and can / must enter meetings when they need me involved. They are used to this and are very considerate but I have an office manager who juggles activities for me when needed. On school run days the system tells me when to leave and I try to get personal activities logged where relevant. I have access at home and on the move but as all employees can see my diary it is easy to call in and organise events.

This approach wouldn't work if every employee had their own diary but I haven't been in that situation since starting Centurion 15 years ago. I can see that sharing diaries may be scary at first but I personally couldn't manage without it.

Invest in systems support

I have just taken on a new client whose system has been unsupported for the last year. I first spoke to them at the end of 2008 when they asked us to quote for supporting their business critical CRM system. However other more urgent issues got prioritised and it is only now that they have taken up my proposal.

It is all to easy to drop support for business systems now that we are all looking to reduce expenditure. However this can be a false economy. In many respects software support is like insurance - you don't need it until something serious happens.

People that know me will say that I am the first to recommend saving unnecessary costs. So I suggest asking yourself a number of key questions:

• How critical is the system?
• Can I manage without it?
• What would happen if I am without the system?
• How many users and processes would be effected?
• What is the cost of support compared to the cost of down time?
• Are we pushing the limits of what the system can do?
• Do I have good internal resource to manage the system?
• Does this resource have the right skills and time to apply them?
  

I would also suggest that there are a number of less relevant but still important questions such as:

• Did I use support last year? - that is no guarantee that you wont need it this year. You probably pay for fully comprehensive car insurance and are glad you didn't use it last year.
• Am I planning to replace the system soon? If it is currently a critical system that you can not do without then support should be maintained.
• What is the cheapest support option I can get? Cheap is not always cheerful.

There are certain situations where costs have to be dramatically reduced in a hurry and I am not talking about these. However, in most circumstances system support should be viewed as an investment to manage a business risk. Talk to your provider to get the most out of a support contract and they should respond by working with you to get the most out of your system.

Investing in IT

History shows that successful companies come out of recessions more productive than when they went in - productivity compared to the rest of their industry. Research suggests that no more that 3% of information available today is digitised, so investing in business systems to release corporate knowledge can give you real competitive advantage. Importantly, it is expected that the amount of information available digitally will double every 18months.

Companies that measure IT spend as a % of revenue are on the right track. But more than just spending on IT, it means focusing IT spend on growth projects rather than running IT. Growth projects can be though of as ways to use information to your competitive advantage - eg removing admin tasks from front line employees, driving targeted marketing campaigns using customer information, automation of management information.

Many commentators are starting to talk of 'post downturn' strategies and a companies IT infrastructure should be the most important. Companies need to be highly automated and quick take opportunities as they arise. In the same way, a companies IT systems must be nimble, cost effective and high quality.