CEOS all have a different perspective on how they manage their time. This may be due to the specifics of their duties. One thing is true for all CEOs, each day is full of meetings, communications, reports and management and think tank strategizing. When it comes down to minute-by-minute time management, CEOs watch clocks as if they were bank accounts for their businesses. Each CEO will find the best method for managing their time based on their years of experience in their jobs and their management skills.
Fortune 500 CEOs Manage Their Time with Ingenuity
Bill Gates of Microsoft fame is an example of a Fortune 50 CEO with excellent time management skills. His time is divided between his corporate and his philanthropic duties.
Another CEO, Warren Buffet, of Berkshire Hathaway, comfortably manages his time in a variety of business pursuits that show his proven track record of time management in knowing when to buy, sell and manage investments and business decisions. He has an impeccable record of timing in business. He is known as the “Sage of Omaha.”
Other CEOs like Richard Branson, point out that he considers time management that includes learning how and when to delegate. CEO Eli Broad, who founded two Fortune 500 companies was quoted as saying: “The inability to delegate is one of the biggest problems I see with managers at all levels.”
Josh Weston, CEO of ADP, understands the importance of time management in the extreme degree. His payroll division processes payroll of over 500,000 client employers in 100 countries around the world. His famous time management quote to his employees is “Pilot before you pile it.” Time management is one of the crucial elements that ADP employees learn in scientifically designed training programs.
Significant Time Management Factors
Workflow for CEOs, whether their own or that of their staff, is carefully designed and implemented so that the value of time can be most beneficial to goals. The CEO of a major processing facility will monitor details of the length of time processing products takes and if there are any impediments to production that inhibit maximization of time value.
Another consideration with regard to time management is influence training. In order to encourage time efficiency and effectiveness, CEOs know the importance of their influence and motivational skills. Companies that offer these types of employee training programs find an increase in time values.
What Job Seekers Learn from CEO Time Management
When seeking a job, note the length of response time to resume submittal, the job interview and timeliness of the CEO's interview process to learn how CEOs manage their time. This is a clue to how well time will be managed for the prospective job. Job seekers can also study the work habits of CEOs for the companies they choose for their future jobs or careers.
Develop Methodical Time Management of CEOs
One factor that plays an important role in time management is methodical planning of daily activities and duties. Each CEO develops their own sense of priority for the day's activities and duties. Take notice that sufficient time is afforded for unplanned meetings and potential problems. This is the key to great time management. Consider the possibility that every day in a large industrial facility a minor crisis like equipment downtime or a high incidence of employee absence can occur without notice. These events require time to review the problems and remedy them in a timely, effective manner. CEOs set aside a certain portion of their time so that when a difficulty arises, they are able to produce the most desirable resolution. CEOs tend to possess a keen sense of methodical time management. Some compartmentalize their time so there is no overlap or time wasted. The most proficient CEOs “eyeball” slots of time to achieve their goals.
Photo Credit: Flickr/Jérôme LAPORTE
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This guest post is courtesy of Greg Dastrup.
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