The Organizational Tune-up

A Publication of Lighthouse Consulting Services
3130 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 550, Santa Monica, CA 90403 (310) 453-6556

Bruce Breier is a leader in assisting executives and staff members to better organize themselves to improve productivity, daily efficiency and to create a better balance in life.� Take a look at each line of the following questionnaire, decide your answer then click on the corresponding �Ref� number to get ideas on how to deal with your specific organizational challenge.� If you have additional questions, or would like to have Bruce speak at an organizational function, or to work with a specific individual, you can reach Bruce at (858) 551-8860 or bhbcs@msn.com.� Have fun and please feel free to share the questionnaire with staff members and friends.

ORGANIZATIONAL ASSESSMENT

	Scoring Key�Check the Appropriate Box �T�: True �ST�: Somewhat True �F� : False REF: Reference # for Suggested Technique	T	ST	F	REF
1	I schedule time every day to be unavailable and uninterrupted to work on my priorities, projects, and promises				4
2	I am an excellent delegator who constantly conveys requests with clarity of what I want and when I want it				5
3	I have scheduled, formalized one-to-one briefings with each of my direct reports for coaching, communication and collaboration				6
4	All group meetings that I lead are very well organized				7
5	Our company�s strategic planning process is organized in a formalized manner, producing the written plan for success by the 15^th of the month prior to the beginning of our fiscal year				8
6	I begin every workday with a prioritized plan of things to do, people to see, places to go, people to call, and things to discuss or delegate				9
7	Unnecessary and unjustified interruptions are not a problem in my workday				10
8	My office is consistently uncluttered and stack-free with excellent filing systems in place for quick and efficient retrieval				11
9	My working relationship with my assistant is superb, with clearly defined expectations and on time delivery as the bookends of that relationship				12
10	I have an excellent system to organize and manage my electronic mail and consistently correspond in a timely manner, stress-free				13
11	All of my direct reports have excellent systems of organization to manage time, paper, information, projects and people				14
12	Generally speaking, I arrive home at the end of each workday feeling as though my day were productive, effective and efficient				15

Reference #4:� Private Work Time (PWT) Back to Question 1

1) Every week, schedule 5-10 hours of appointment time to be unavailable and inaccessible to work on projects, promises, and priorities.� Use the abbreviation �PWT� for the subject of the appointment.

2) Announce this new technique to all appropriate people, notifying them that the closed door means �privacy please, priority work in progress�; interrupt only if it�s crucial.

3) Before leaving the office the previous day, setup all work items related to the next day�s PWT commitment in order to be ready when the time arrives.

4) Prior to PWT, make management rounds to assure that everything is �under control�.

5) During PWT, bring to the desktop, PC, or laptop the predetermined activities for the day, working on one thing at a time until completion.

Reference #5: Delegation Excellence Back to Question 2

1) For all requests (face-to-face, e-mail, telephone, etc.), define and articulate precisely what you want, by whom, and most importantly, when in advance of making the request.

2) Eliminate non-specific time frames and target dates from your working vocabulary (e.g., ASAP, sometime this week, whenever you can, etc.).

3) Establish a culture of internal on-time delivery whereby if commitments are not going to be delivered, the person responsible requests a revised due date or time.

4) Avoid keeping track of everything you have delegated, replacing with trust in the individual that the commitment will be delivered on time unless a change order is requested.

5) Where appropriate, recognize and commend individuals who responded and delivered your requests on time.

Reference #6: One-to-One Briefings Back to Question 3

1) Organize and schedule 30 minute briefings with each direct report to occur either weekly or bi-weekly; schedule 15-30 minutes each day with your assistant (if applicable).

2) Create a standard agenda-checklist for these briefings whereby the direct report or assistant is prepared and�� organized; suggested agenda includes:

� Progress reports and updates

� Questions, problems, challenges needing advice or counsel

� Paper and document transferring

� Future delegation

� Personal �chat� about family, health, sports, etc.

Note: avoid accepting any questions, problems or challenges without proposed answers or solutions attached

3) Start and stop all 1-1�s on time.

4) Meet in private with the door closed and no interruptions.

5) Request an e-mail from the direct report in advance of the briefing to avoid surprises as well as to force appropriate preparation.

Reference #7: Group Meetings Back to Question 4

1) Create and implement a standard agenda format for use at all company meetings and require that a meeting is to be cancelled or postponed if there is no agenda.

2) Always start and stop meetings on time unless there is consensus agreement or extenuating circumstances to the contrary.

3) Consider noting the cost of the meeting on the top of the agenda.

4) Establish a designated note taker at all meetings who will e-mail the official notes to all participants within 5-24 hours; consider using a PowerPoint projector for the notes to be visually presented.

5) Follow-up all meetings (where applicable) with a formal review of the notes (minutes) of the previous meeting.

Reference #8: Strategic Planning Process Back to Question 5

1) Create a checklist of all strategic planning activities with a target date for each one for completion prior to the beginning of the fiscal year (with some exceptions).

2) Every year, create a new or revised Vision Statement that defines and articulates the future direction of the company.

3) Establish goal leaders for every fiscal year goal and assign them to create the action plans and scoreboards (graphs) for their particular goal.

4) Schedule 90-120 minutes each month to convene the goal leaders and the Strategic Planning Team to review scoreboards and respond accordingly.

5) Keep all employees informed of the company�s progress on a monthly basis, satisfying their need to know� factor.

Basic elements of a Strategic Plan

� Executive Summary/Assessment

� Mission Statement (Includes Values, Principles, etc.)

� Vision Statement

� Fiscal Year Priorities

� Action Plans

� Master Plan

� Scoreboards

� Monthly Management and Monitoring

Reference #9: Next Day Planning Back to Question 6

1) Schedule the last 30 minutes of the workday for NDP (enter as a recurring appointment in the calendar).

2) Use an excellent calendar system (e.g., Microsoft Outlook) that provides the template and ability to organize:

� Things to do

� People to see

� Places to go

� People to contact

� Things to discuss with others

� Things to delegate to others

3) During the next day planning activity:

� Recap today (check off as complete or reschedule)

� File (process in) all new items, information, commitments

� Plan the next day using the checklist in item #2 above

� Arrive home on time with next day readiness

4) Send e-mails to all individuals (where appropriate) with discussion or delegation items for the next day.

5) Master the skill of electronic tasking, entering in the subject, due date, and priority level (low, normal, high) if using Microsoft Outlook.

Reference #10: Managing Interruptions Back to Question 7

1) Determine the cost and consequence of unjustified interruptions in your workday, understanding that the customer or client is never an interruption.

2) Implement a diagnostic interruptions management technique whereby every interruption caused or received is immediately diagnosed for urgency.

3) Avoid interrupting others if it�s not urgent; avoid accepting interruptions from others if it�s not urgent; exceptions are a matter of judgment.

4) For all non-urgent interruptions, either note them in a calendar (Microsoft Outlook) thus waiting for a grouping of 3-5 items and then setting up a delegation briefing, or e-mail the request to the applicable person(s).

5) Implement a policy that all internal interruptions are diagnosed before they occur, and that the closed door is respected for what it is, a non-verbal request for privacy for priority projects or tasks in progress.

Reference #11: The Organized Office Back to Question 8

1) Schedule 2-16 hours (depending on the current condition of your office, to complete eliminate all unnecessary and unwanted paper, documents, folders, office supplies, etc.

2) Determine what, if any, filing systems (see below), storage tools or furniture are needed and proceed to purchase (e.g., desktop trays, file cabinets, bookcase, etc.).

3) Review the layout and relocate or reorganize for ergonomic efficiency (ideal layout is one that is U-shaped).

4) Create soft lighting that is conducive to relaxation and avoids eye strain.

5) File, route, act on, or toss (�FRAT�) any/all documents, etc. that have come in during the day or are left over from the day.

Reference #11: The Excellent Filing System Back to Question 8

1) Create a chronological filing system using either the desk drawer folders (1-31) or desktop trays (Mon-Fri, Wks. 1-5).

2) Create a categorical filing system whereby all file folders are organized by category first, alphabetically (within each category) second.

3) Institute desktop trays to keep:

� The documents and paperwork for the current day�s tasks

� Project folders that are active and in-progress

� Documents that are awaiting a response from someone

� An �out� tray for an assistant, if applicable

4) Eliminate the �In-Box� from the desk, replacing it with an external mailbox system located outside of the office.

5) Implement a policy that the only documents that enter your office during the workday are those that are considered crucial or urgent for the day.

Note: consider assigning most of the above to your assistant

Reference #12: The Exceptional Assistant Back to Question 9

1) Create a document that describes, in a prioritized list, the characteristics of an exceptional assistant (list all items that you request, require or desire of that person).

2) If recruiting for an assistant, organize all recruitment activities from �exceptional� list; if an assistant exists, evaluate current performance against the list.

3) If the assistant is new to the organization, allocate the first week of employment to orient and train against the list; if an assistant exists, put together a training or development curriculum to raise any assessment points to acceptable levels within 30-60 days.

4) Schedule and hold daily 1-1 briefings with your assistant (see page 5) and insist that the assistant make this a high priority scheduling function.

5) Announce to all appropriate staff, employees the role of your assistant, especially if the behavior will be a true �gatekeeper� or chief of staff� type position.

Reference #13: E-Mail Organization and Management Back to Question 10

1) Purge the e-mail inbox, sent items, and deleted items of all unnecessary and unwanted messages; everyday file, forward, reply, or delete all e-mail messages that arrived that day.

2) Under the inbox, consider setting up a Monday-Friday chronological filing system (five new folders), with other folders as needed and desired.

3) Everyday, drag and drop all messages from the inbox to the day�s folder that you wish to address and reply, or to applicable and appropriate categorical or labeled file folder.

4) Allocate 2-4 time slots per day for e-mail organization and correspondence, avoiding waiting until the end of the workday or the evening to manage your messages; consider having your assistant schedule these activities or provide your assistant with the authority to screen and process/reply to several to many of your daily e-mail messages.

5) Use your �Sent Items� folder for pending or waiting for response e-mails, clearing that folder when the reply has been received.

Reference #14: The Organized Management Team Back to Question 11

1) Create an organizational assessment for each direct report (see page 2) and evaluate each member of the team.

2) Create a training or development program/curriculum to improve each team member�s assessment within a 30-90 day period of time.

3) Establish company-wide policies (or principles) related to managing time, paper, information, projects, and people.

4) Consider a total office purge organized and led by your management team whereby the entire office is uncluttered and becomes stack-free.

5) Establish an Organizational Task Force (OTF) to ensure that the policies established in step three as well as the condition of the office are maintained after they have been improved.

Reference #15: The Balanced Life Back to Question 12

1) Develop a document that describes your personal life mission and current priorities and read it often (daily, weekly, etc.); allocate time every week to plan for important personal life activities in your calendar, based on your priorities.

2) Determine the hour (in general) that you wish to arrive home each day, subtract commuting time, and schedule next day planning one-half hour prior to your commute.

3) Upon arriving home, check your attitude at the door keeping in mind that it may be inappropriate to be the �CEO� at home.

4) Institute a personal and enjoyable fitness and nutrition program, acknowledging that there are many people whose lives are affected by your physical, mental, and emotional health and well-being.

5) Consistently answer �True� to all of the points on the assessment�you can�t help but achieve the status of �The Organized Executive� with the major byproduct of a much more balanced life.

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Bruce Breier is an Organizational Consultant headquartered in La Jolla, California, a suburb of San Diego County.� Bruce began his consulting career in January 1978 and is currently in his 27^th year as a facilitator, trainer, and consultant.� His programs typically get excellent reviews and high evaluations.� He presents practical tips in the areas of time, paper-flow, information, project, and people management.� The primary purpose of his programs is to assist busy people in leadership and management positions to become more successful by becoming more organized.� Bruce has been a speaker for TEC (The Executive Committee) since 1985 and has addressed hundreds of leaders and managers on this subject since then.� You can reach Bruce at 858.551.8860 or bhbcs@msn.com.

If you would like additional information on this topic or others, please contact your Human Resources department or Lighthouse Consulting Services, 3130 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 550, Santa Monica, CA� 90403, (310) 453-6556, dana@lighthouseconsulting.org� & our website: www.lighthouseconsulting.org� Lighthouse Consulting Services provides a variety of services, including personality assessments for new hires & staff development, team building, interpersonal & communication training, conflict management, workshops, and executive & employee coaching.