Secret Recipe to Efficiency

The company’s semiannual meeting of our “broker liaison group” had gone well. These “BLG” gatherings were often referred to as the “bitching, lying and gloom sessions”, however, this one had moved along quite smoothly.

Our president had first welcomed our roomful of leading brokers, and delivered a brief “state of the union” address including an update on current market trends plus a snapshot of some fresh initiatives our company intended to launch in the year ahead. We had even got through our “open house” segment without too many bruises. This was always the final item on the day’s agenda: two hours of free-wheeling discussion when our group of brokers were invited to raise any topic of their choosing, or vent their displeasure at the company’s performance. Oddly enough, even the criticism had been muted this session, as if the current tough market conditions were acting like some invisible glue that bonded us all closer together.

Now, as was usual at these meetings, the assembly broke up into small groups as we walked away from the conference center towards the cafeteria which had been laid out with a bar and trays of hot and cold finger food. As our company’s senior marketing representative, my attendance was mandatory, but I usually enjoyed these gatherings for the forthright views that emerged, and for the good ideas that were often thrown up during frank debate between our leading brokers.

Walking in step with Al, a highly-efficient and fully automated broker in a small town community of 75,000, located some 160 kilometers from the city, we made our way into the cafeteria, got a glass of wine and some snacks and sat down at one of the tables. “Dave,” he said, “I look forward to these sessions, but I wish we could spend more time on basic office topics like effective time management and productivity.” I raised my eyebrows. “Yours, or ours?” We both laughed, for I was aware that office efficiency was one of Al’s professional trademarks and was a skill he had honed with great success over the years. I also knew he was a frequent speaker at broker association seminars where his presentations on running an efficient office were invariably packed.

“What I mean,” Al continued, “is that during these BLG sessions we spend a lot of time reviewing past events: what went right, what didn’t. We also put in a fair bit of time looking at the big picture: the state of the insurance market, industry problems, competitive challenges, broker-company interface, and so on, but we don’t seem to put much effort into everyday nuts and bolts stuff like how to work smarter and how to use time more effectively.”

He was interrupted at that second by the arrival of two others to our table: Bob Davies, owner of a successful midtown brokerage, and Joanne, the cheerful and outspoken co-partner of an all-female brokerage in the suburbs. “Did I hear someone yapping about the effective use of time?” Joanne said with her trademark booming laugh. “This big glass of wine in my hand is the most effective use of my time I can think of right now!” After some good-natured sparring, I tossed the conversational ball back to Al. “You run a very efficient operation, and even give lectures on how it’s done. You must have worked out a pretty sound formula for using time effectively in the office. How about letting us in on the secret of your success?”

Al gave us a short smile and flipped his hands apart. “There really isn’t any great secret. But here’s what I say when I start off my little speech on time management. I tell my audience that any hour of your business daytime is sure to be filled up with something, or with somebody. It’s up to YOU to regulate what – or who – gets to fill your ration of time. If you keep letting others dictate this, then you’re going to wind up losing a lot of valuable time. The secret, if you can call it that, is for YOU to stay in control of YOUR time.”

Bob Davies nodded. “I can’t argue with that. There’s just one problem – you can’t always control what happens to the time you have. People in the office have to talk to you, you have to attend meetings, you have to answer the phone…”

Al interrupted, “hold it right there! All these functions are necessary, of course. But I think you can control how much time you spend on most of them. People in the office need your time? Schedule those one-on-ones for a specific time of day when you’ve cleared up other duties. Let people know in advance that you’re not available at certain times – only when you want to be. Meetings? Try to attend only the ones you feel are vital, and leave when the decisions have been made. Don’t hang around for the inevitable socializing.” He paused for a second. “And, while we’re on the subject of meetings, I have some rules about them: they must start and finish on time, there must be an agenda, stick to this agenda – no deviations, keep minutes and review what was agreed to or accomplished. Now, as for the phone. Don’t let it run your life. Have a secretary or an assistant screen your calls. Give her the name of people you want to talk to directly during the day. Have her tell the others you’ll call back later.”

There was a quiet chuckle from Joanne. “Reminds me of an old trick I still use to get off a phone call that’s gone on too long: I hang up on myself.” Seeing our questioning glances, she carried on. “I simply tell the caller: Oops! Sorry, I’ve got another call, gotta go!’ Then I hang up.” I said, “hey, that’s a ‘golden oldie’, but it works”. Then I turned to Al again. “I’d be interested in hearing your very best rules for the efficient use of time in the office.”

He smiled and pushed his glass away. “I don’t think the guidelines for using office time effectively have changed much over the years. To my way of thinking there are five or six basic guidelines that work. And since there are no iron-clad rules in this whole subject, perhaps we should simply call these tips.” He flipped up one index finger. “Tip number one: work at a clean desk. Now that may not seem like much of a rule, but I think it’s one that a lot of people under-estimate.” He closed his eyes in thought for a second, then continued. “When you’re trying to concentrate on a problem, everything on your desk – no matter how slight – can be a distraction. Let’s say you’re writing to your lead insurer about them declining a new risk you had submitted from your biggest client. While you’re trying to focus on finding the right words, your eyes keep landing on that pile of recent correspondence you still have to answer, sitting on a corner of your desk.” Al waved one hand past his head. “Next thing you know, you’ve mentally switched gears and you’re thinking about that correspondence. Result? Your letter to the company takes twice as long and may be only half as good as it should be.”

That brought an affirmative grunt from Bob Davies. “I totally agree, although it took me a few years to realize that a clean desk does help you focus. Mentally it says to you, ‘there’s nothing on this desk but the job in front of you – now get on with it’!”

“Tip number two,” Al continued, “is to make a list at the end of each day. On that list you write down the tasks you want to complete the next day, starting with the toughest, down to the easiest. And prioritize these tasks, because sometimes the toughest ones don’t take too long, and the so-called ‘easiest’ ones don’t get done because mentally you think they’re a snap. Leave this list smack on top of your desk for the next morning.” He glanced quickly around the table. “Which leads me directly to my tip number three: start your day with that list, and start with the toughest job at the head of the page…”

“I was afraid you were going to say that,” Bob Davies said with a laugh. “Why not start with the easier task? Wouldn’t that encourage you to move on to the tougher jobs?” That brought a steady shake of Al’s head. “Not so, Bob. Studies have proven that it simply puts off the tough jobs. Human nature being what it is, you’ll keep finding easy jobs to complete because you just don’t want to tackle the tough ones! And there’s another factor here. By completing a tough job, it’ll give you a psychological lift and the encouragement we all need.”

As he finished speaking, a tray of cups and a pot of hot coffee were delivered to our table. We helped ourselves, then Al continued. “Tip number four: handle a piece of paper once only. We’re all guilty of reading a piece of correspondence, then putting it aside. We tell ourselves ‘I’ll answer that later’ or ‘I have to think some more about that.’ But you’re kidding yourself: it’s just procrastination. You have to develop the mental discipline to focus on that correspondence and develop an appropriate answer right there and then. Pick up the item, deal with it and move on. Handle that piece of paper once only.”

I had a question of my own. “Al, that’s not always possible, is it? Sometimes you may be waiting for information from another person, or another department, so you really can’t answer some letters as soon as they land on your desk.” Al replied, “true enough, Dave, these tips are only guidelines. They’re not cast in bronze. There are going to be exceptions to any rule. But that’s the whole point behind the proper organization of the time you have available during the day. You should organize that time so these exceptions don’t start to take over. So, here’s tip number five: take aim at your day with a rifle, not a shotgun. In other words, don’t charge in first thing in the morning and ricochet around your office from one task to another. Get focused. Organize your day and your duties. Try to set aside specific times for meetings, for visiting clients or companies, for internal administration, for forward planning, for correspondence, and so on. A lot of us like to do our client visits in the morning when we’re feeling fresh, then do administration in the afternoon. Find out what works best for you, then set up your day accordingly.”

At this point, Joanne groaned softly. “I’m starting to feel real guilty, Al. When I get into our office, I just naturally jump from one task to another.” Al smiled at her and leaned back in his chair. “My tips work for me. They may not work for everybody. But there’s nothing wrong with changing tasks. In fact, it’s my top number six, which is: change your office tasks every two hours, if possible. It avoids the boredom factor, it should give you a small mental lift, and it can be something to look forward to.”

Bob Davies’ head was nodding in agreement. “That makes sense. When I’m wading through piles of client renewal files I often promise myself the reward of switching to doing something else at the end of the hour. It’s like a treat.” Al nodded his head in acknowledgement, “whatever works for you. Okay, tip number seven: get in the habit of asking yourself: ‘Is this the best use of my time right now’? It’s easy to waste time solving small problems that a junior, or a CSR could handle. We’ve all done it because it’s flattering to be asked, it’s easy to solve, and it’s a quick boost to your ego. But it may also be a sign that you just don’t delegate enough. Either way, it can waste time that you could use more productively.”

At this point Al glanced around out table and scratched his jaw reflectively. “Before I bore you all to death, I’m just about done, folks. One more, tip number eight, which is: make full use of electronic helpers. There are lots of them around and good ones can help you save time. Cell phones, personal organizers, pagers, personal digital assistants like the Blackberry, and pocket tape recorders can each be helpful to us.” Al reached down and patted his pocket with one hand. “I carry a mini-tape recorder in my pocket all the time. When I finish a meeting with a client, or at a company, I record all the salient facts before I drive away. A secretary or an assistant transcribes all this information as soon as I get back to the office. It’s amazing what details you can forget in a couple of hours.”

That brought a cheerful guffaw from Joanne. “Hey, I can forget where I parked my car after ten minutes with a client!” she laughed. “So I’m with you on this one.” I looked over at Al. “Thanks for the mini-seminar, my friend. I’m like Joanne, my next problem will be trying to remember all these tips tomorrow, and to put them into action.” Al pushed back his chair, reached under it for his valise, and grinned at us. “My pleasure. I’ll even give you the little closing spiel I toss out to the groups I speak to: I tell them: work is the rent you pay for the room you occupy on earth – if that’s truly the case, then I figure we might as well be organized about it.”