13 QUESTIONS FOR
DAILY ANALYSIS
It's easy to become absorbed in the day-to-day grind of worklife, to do only the next task on your plate and lose sight of the bigger picture. But is merely getting things done enough? Forcing yourself to take a step back, get perspective, and separate day-to-day busywork from the bigger problems your company aims to solve is an exercise every great manager can benefit from. It separate GREAT managers from the merely effective ones.
The quality gurus called it
PDCA (plan-do-check and act) The medical profession calls it “post mortem” The
spiritual gurus called it ‘SOUL SEARCH’ a examination of your conscience where
you are the witness and prosecutor both!
1. Am I doing
what I love and getting better at it?
The questions we ask ourselves daily define our quality of life, and
this makes picking just one tricky. So here are two. The first is inspired by
Steve Jobs and his famous Stanford graduation speech: "Am I doing what I
love?" The second is "Am I improving every day?" I believe
these two questions could help any great manager achieve fulfillment,
expertise, and a successful company.
2. Am I doing
my best to empower my team?
As an great manager who likes to plan out every minute of my day, I can
get into the flow of my own tasks and lose focus on those around me. So I try
to make time each day to deliberately check in with my team and see how they're
doing, what their frustrations are, and what I can do better to help them
succeed. A successful business great manager is one who helps employees do
and be their best. –
3. Am I
having fun?
Obviously, running a business isn't always fun. But, overall, I think
you have to enjoy what you're doing to be successful. Even when things get
challenging, it's important for me to have fun: to do work that I enjoy and
work with people I enjoy. I want to be engaged and continue to feel the passion
for what I'm doing that brought me to start my company in the first place
4. How can I
learn from this?
Every great manager fails. And every great manager learns from
that failure. Whether it's a difficult phone call, a team conflict, or a
business challenge, always remind yourself that it is a learning experience no
matter how it turns out. This way, everything you do is worthwhile
5. What will
I do today that will matter one year from now?
Great managers need to stay focused on the bigger picture rather than
the minutia of running a business. At the top of every day's to-do list I put
one key bigger-picture task that will matter in the long run. Just having this
written at the top of my calendar, along with a little picture of an eagle,
reminds me to focus on the big picture and only dive down to ground level when
it's crucial.
6. What do I
want to accomplish today?
The Roman philosopher called it “CARPE DIEM” (sieze the day) Every great
manager needs to have milestones that lead up to the endgame or an overall
goal. Taking a step back and thinking, "What is something I want to
accomplish today that will get me one step closer?" helps set the
tone for the day and what the main focuses are. It is easy to get distracted
with so many things going on, but accomplishing things will keep you
focused.
7. What did
I not do?
Become your personal growth guru... begin by asking yourself WHAT DID
YOU NOT DO. With the restrictions on your time, you can't do
it all, and that's OK. But there's a difference between accepting that and
being conscious and deliberate about the things you are electing not to do.
A great manager knows the difference by asking the question.
8. Is this
the best use of my time?
One question you can ask daily or several times a day is: "Is this
the best use of my time?" It's easy to get caught up in what feels like an
urgent situation and forget about the big picture. Just because something can
be done doesn't mean it should be done or it should be done by you
9. What
should I delegate?
Thinking about what you're doing that you shouldn't be doing can help
you recognize when you're focusing on the wrong things or you need to delegate
more. As a great manager, you need to understand your strengths and how to use
those to best help the company and not waste time on things that aren't
moving the needle forward
10. How am I
moving things forward today?
Most of us have so much on our plate that we have to make choices about
how we spend our time, and it's easy to get bogged down in tasks of lesser
importance. Asking "How am I moving things forward today?" keeps you
focused on the most important tasks that actually advance your business and are
the most valuable.
11. What is
the most important thing for me put FIRST on my timetable ?
BITE THE BULLET...It's rarely the easiest task or the thing that's right
in front of me. Tackling the most important task first helps me avoid busywork
and instead use my time to further my company's goals.
12. What
isn't working?
It might be unorthodox, but I keep a list of what is the most pestering
in my business at the moment. What makes customers unhappy, doesn't work right,
or looks bad? Making the worst thing OK often has a higher impact than making
an OK thing good.
13. What
matters to my customer?
Your customers are both
internal and external. If you continually challenge yourself to get into the
minds of your customers and employees, on the basis of current events and
future needs, you can prioritize your day. Assuming you know where you want to take
the business, you can adapt your communication to what resonates best with
current events to get support for where you want to go.
with best compliments
Dr Wilfred
Monteiro
