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Running a business of any size is daunting for most business owners; with so many micro and macro processes to oversee, it becomes challenging to ensure adequate time management. According to Trafft (2022), under a basic time management schedule, the average individual spends approximately 80% of their time executing trivial tasks and only 20% on high-priority business functions.
According to a recent LinkedIn post by Kanakia (2022), many business owners remain trapped in a cycle of poor time management, predominantly working in their business rather than working on it.
Imogen Roy (2202) defines working ‘in’ your business as time spent managing your business at the ground level while working ‘on’ your business as the time spent investing in your business at a strategic level and planning for the future to ensure longevity.
However, we must further unpack how efficient time management is crucial to balancing your time spent working ‘in’ your business and working ‘on’ your business.
According to Small Business Rainmaker (2022), working ‘in’ your business refers to the time management of any micro-level daily business tasks. While these low-level tasks are critical for your employees and essential to running your business, they remain a low priority for business owners, who should prioritise high-level tasks in their time management schedule.
Some of these low-priority tasks include:
When it comes to effective time management, all these tasks necessitate running and micro-managing the business at the ground level but do not necessarily require the immediate attention of the business owner.
In contrast, working ‘on’ your business refers to the effective time management of macro-level tasks that require the business owner’s attention (Small Business Rainmaker, 2022). The average employee does not have the experience, foresight or in-depth knowledge of the business to complete tasks of this nature; therefore, business owners cannot rely on delegation and must deal with these tasks themselves. Some of these macro-level tasks include
All these tasks necessitate macro-management of the business and its vision at a strategy level. They hence cannot progress without the attention and active participation of the business owner. When it comes to working ‘in’ your business versus working ‘on’ your business, the question remains – which is more critical to your business in terms of success?
While the day-to-day micro-level tasks and processes keep a business running smoothly in the short term, they do not facilitate or contribute to the long-term growth strategy. According to Small Business Rainmaker (2022), enterprises require visionary leadership, top-level innovation, big-picture thinking and a robust management strategy to survive and thrive in a competitive market. Unfortunately, only around 66% of businesses last two years before failure, and only 30% reach the ten-year mark (Supply Chain Game Changer, 2022). The primary reason is that most business owners strike the wrong balance and become too involved in their business’s daily operations rather than formulating strategies and a long-term vision for growth and business longevity. According to CNBC (2021), Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page adopted a “20% time” rule that contributed to significant advances like AdSense and Google News. The “20% time” rule is an effective time management technique which gained popularity in the early 2000s. The rule dictates that business owners must spend a minimum of 20% of their time working on their business to prevent stagnation and eventual business failure (Small Business Rainmaker, 2022). Ultimately, while working ‘in’ your business matters for the short-term survivability of your business, opportunities for growth and development are unlikely to happen without the active time investment. Business owners must remain vigilant of spending too much time working ‘in’ their business instead of projecting forward and strategising for the future.
Many businesses fail to survive in a competitive market; on an average workday, business owners spend 80% of their total time on low-priority tasks and only 20% on functions of fundamental importance (Time Doctor, 2013). It remains clear that efficient time management is a critical skill that almost every business owner requires to ensure the profitability and longevity of their business. Business owners and managers should lead by example, as their position on time management directly influences company culture and, in turn, profitability and overall success (Orbital Shift, 2016). Therefore, developing time management skills remains critical to any business owner.
Businesses that utilise time management better position themselves to consistently and efficiently deliver their service or product on time and reinforce customer confidence and long-term loyalty, significantly contributing to success. Efficient time management practices remain essential for businesses that rely heavily on constant output to increase their return on investment (ROI). Therefore implementing an efficient time management system in your business can help you balance the time spent working ‘in’ your business and working ‘on’ your business. Doing so will dramatically boost your overall productivity and significantly bolster your company’s chances for success in a competitive market.
Knowing where to spend your time is crucial to success. Nevertheless, around 82% of people worldwide do not have a dedicated time management system. However, what exactly is a time management system, and how can it help your business? A time management system is typically a tool to help you manage your time better to spend more time on high-priority macro-level tasks rather than wasting time on trivial micro-level tasks. Business owners can use a time management system to track their time. They can ascertain how much time they should spend on specific tasks and see where they can create gaps to focus on and complete functions of greater importance and priority. These higher-priority tasks include business growth and development strategies (Time Doctor, 2013). As a business owner, you should encourage a workplace culture that values time management and simply implementing a time management system can provide a range of benefits to your business.
Some of these benefits include:
According to Lucemi Consulting (2020), practical time management skills can significantly boost productivity and ensure you complete more daily tasks. Managing your time can reduce stress and help you prioritise your time better. Furthermore, as a business owner, it allows you to efficiently complete your high-priority tasks and delegate low-priority tasks with allocated time and due dates to your employees. This process will significantly increase productivity in your business and speed up service or product delivery.
Delivering quality work takes time; however, if you or your employees spend too much or too little time on tasks, the quality of work output will differ or drop dramatically. If you implement an efficient time management system, you can effectively track time spent on daily tasks and ensure the production and delivery of quality work.
Many business owners miss significant billable hours due to inefficient time tracking. Therefore, businesses that utilise a time management system with automatic time tracking functionality will vastly increase the number of billable hours to invoice clients for additional income (Timing Blog, 2021).
SatoriXR is the division of the Vibromech Group that focuses on 3D, VR, AR and XR technology; Vibromech Advanced Technologies was founded in 1970 and employed many expert staff members over the years. The Satori division is under current management by managing partner and technocrat Mahesh Ramamurthy, who spent 22 years in product design and technology. SatoriXR’s products and services that use 3D/XR/industry 4.0 technologies remain instrumental in the digital transformation journeys of their clients.
According to Mahesh Ramamurthy, Managing Partner of SatoriXR, the company is flat from a hierarchical perspective. Mahesh does not believe in complex hierarchies in business. He dislikes the term generally, stating, “Hierarchies add little value to the company and just cause delays in process and progress”.
Most employees spend around 90% working ‘in’ the business doing micro-level tasks of a lower priority and 10% of their time involved in business strategy.
Mid-level management employees should split their time down the middle, spending around 50% of their time working ‘in’ the business performing mundane tasks of low priority and 50% interacting with top management.
Business owners cannot exclude themselves from this equation as it is necessary to further the business vision and formulate development plans or strategies. Business owners should spend 90% of their time working ‘on’ the business and only about 10% of their time dealing with low-priority tasks.
“To stay ahead of the curve is what’s important,” said Mahesh Ramamurthy.
Tracking employee working hours does not take place in Satori; instead, managers will delegate work to employees, and the overall completion of tasks measures productivity. Employees receive a warning that if they cannot achieve their tasks, they must inform their managers with sufficient time to generate a solution; otherwise, they are held accountable.
“I do not believe in micro-managing my employees,” said Mahesh Ramamurthy.
As a business owner, to do this, you must hire competent staff and have a robust hiring process. The SatoriXR ecosystem runs on trust, honesty and, most importantly, accountability principles.
Mahesh employs these time management tips to ensure the business runs smoothly and his customers remain confident in the brand’s product and service offerings; some of these tips include:
Mahesh is a big believer in the use of automation technology at Satori to ensure adequate time management and employs a wide range of systems, from reliable Customer Relationship Management systems to accounting systems and even automated payroll systems. All these advanced techniques, technologies and systems remain readily available and cost-effective for businesses of any size to implement. Because the systems are automated, all you have to do as a business owner is set up the systems and assign the right employees to oversee and regulate them accordingly. This technology-driven method saves SatoriXR and Mahesh ample time, which he can better spend on higher-priority tasks like growing the business vision and strategic planning.
Mahesh firmly believes in applying the Covey Time Management Matrix to ensure efficient time management. According to Indeed (2020), the Covey Time Management Matrix is a framework designed to efficiently prioritise your time and tasks to optimise efficiency and productivity. The Covey Time Management Matrix splits your time into a four-quadrant priority system based on urgency and importance:
You can efficiently manage your time and avoid falling behind by correctly categorising your tasks in each of the four quadrants and including achievable deadlines. The author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Steven Covey, created the Covey Time Management Matrix to help individuals focus on improving their personal and professional relationships and promote growth and accomplishment. Mahesh regularly applies the Covey Time Management Matrix to himself and endeavours to instil this way of thinking in his employees at all levels of SatoriXR.
Efficient time management is essential for any successful business owner, knowing where to spend your time and what tasks you should delegate versus which tasks require your immediate attention. Mahesh Ramamurthy has a distinct managerial style that runs through the SatoriXR ecosystem and revolves around a single principle; accountability. Mahesh offers his employees the freedom to manage their hours, so long as they remain accountable for their actions and complete all their work to the best of their ability in the time allocated.
This managerial style allows Mahesh to focus on the macro-level tasks of great importance, such as business planning, goal setting, strategic thinking and innovation; all of which have been pillars in growing SatoriXR and its vision into what it is today.
SatoriXR is a 3D, AR, VR and XR technology company dedicated to achieving industry goals of reducing cost, increasing profitability and sustainability. We offer an extensive range of specialised software products and technology services to boost your business ahead of the competition.
Contact us today or book a live demo to see how our 3D, AR, VR, and XR models can support your organisation’s goals.
悟り…
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