As a college entrepreneur, time management is important and yet, I can’t seem to take control of my time and balance my ongoing ventures with college studies. I am sure that you as an entrepreneur face the same problem of insufficient time as well. We always want to do more for our business but we just don’t have the time.
This week, on Wayne Liew Dot Com Entrepreneur Interviews, I have invited Jim Estill, a time management expert who also possesses years of experience being the CEO of multiple companies.
In this interview, Jim Estill shared some valuable tips on time management for entrepreneurs and the correct mindset to tackle time management issues. All I can say is that throughout this interview, you will find useful and practical steps that you can implement right away in order to do more as an entrepreneur.
Interview with Jim Estill: Time Management for Entrepreneurs
Wayne: Hi Jim, welcome to Wayne Liew Dot Com Entrepreneur Interviews segment. Thank you for accepting my invitation to do this interview with me.
Wayne: Jim, I know that you are a time management expert. For the sake of my blog readers, can you talk a little bit about yourself, your background and what are you currently doing?
Jim: I started a computer distribution company from the trunk of my car in 1979. We went public in 1994. We grew the company to $350,000,000 in sales in 2004 when we sold it to SYNNEX. I then ran SYNNEX Canada for almost 5 years. By the time I left, sales were about $2 Billion. I am just starting a new position as CEO of Nu Horizons, a $750,000,000 electronics distributor.
Wayne: How do you came across this idea of helping executives and entrepreneurs to better manage their time?
Jim: Originally, I did it to help my own company become more productive. Then other people heard about it and it spread from there. I also know that my life purpose is to help as many people as possible to achieve their greatest potential. Helping other entrepreneurs then is only natural.
Wayne: Now, let us jump straight into our topic today, which is time management for entrepreneurs. As an entrepreneur yourself, why do you think time management is crucial for a person, especially for an entrepreneur?
Jim: Time is our most precious asset. We have to maximize what we get from it.
Wayne: Do you have an interesting example in mind about an entrepreneur benefiting from proper time management practices?
Jim: I attribute my success to properly managing time if that counts.
Wayne: Jim, both you and me know that entrepreneurs are always busy. They are the strategic planner, marketer, purchasing officer, customer support person and basically every position in their respective businesses. How can they get started with time management?
Jim: I suggest they do a simple goal setting exercise. The one I suggest is at http://www.squidoo.com/60minutegoals
Wayne: I understand that you run time management workshops as well. From your experience, what are some of the worst time time management mistakes that you have seen people doing?
Jim: I prefer to approach it from the positive. What are the best habits successful entrepreneurs have:
Jim: 1 – Deliberately set up success habits. We are the product of what we repeatedly do. Some success habits that I use and have seen are: getting up early, working out and eating right, leaving the room a bit neater than when you arrived, etc.
Jim: 2 – Do the worst thing first. This is the best way to get things done. Choose the most distasteful task on your list and do it first. The rest of the day will get better.
Jim: 3 – Prioritize your tasks. Success is doing the important things first.
Jim: 4 – Keep your work space organized. There is a clear link between organization and proper time use.
Jim: 5 – Take a bit of time to plan. 20 minutes of planning is often better than an hour of doing busy work.
Jim: 6 – Just do it. "The best way to cross the river is to cross the river". Looking at the tasks does not get the job done.
Wayne: In your ebook, Time Leadership, you have incorporated some self improvement or personal development elements together with time management concepts. How do they blend against each other?
Jim: The concept of Time Leadership is that Leadership comes before Management. Leadership is about being effective, Management is about being efficient. Leadership is about goals and direction. Management is about the follow through. So the most important concept I emphasize is to make sure you know yourself, your goals etc before you work on just Time Management.
Wayne: If I am an entrepreneur with terrible time management skills and now, I want to slowly get my life back in order, what will be your Top 3 tips for me?
Jim: 1 – You become what you say you are so rather than saying you have terrible time management skills, I would say "I am learning great time management skills."
Jim: 2 – Set goals. All time management starts with knowing what you want to accomplish.
Jim: 3 – Almost too simple but have a to do list. Using the goals, you can then prioritize tasks. Remember the 80/20 rule applies. You get 80% of your value from 20% of your time so spend time on the right 20% of your tasks.
Wayne: What are your recommendations on tools or softwares out there that will help entrepreneurs to manage their time better?
Jim: Every Time Management book or course is based on the To Do list. So this is the most important tool. I keep my To Do list in Microsoft Tasks and prioritize it. As far as other tools I use. I use a Blackberry. As a CEO, I have also become very proficient at using an assistant. I communicate a lot with my assistant using an electronic Dictaphone (it is faster and easier to say things than type them).
Wayne: You mentioned using an assistant. Sometimes, having the wrong person managing our time can be of a hassle rather than of convenience. What are some specific characteristics of an assistant that we should look out for?
Jim: An assistant does not manage my time. She simply extends my time. I accomplish more because she does things for me. A good example might be traveling to a tradeshow. I simply tell her that I want to go to the show and meet with these 15 people.
Jim: She books a flight, arranges a car, MapQuest if needed, prints briefing of the sales we do for each meeting, schedules the meetings, books a hotel. This would be hours of work if I had to do it myself.
Jim: Another example might be a letter of reference for an ex-employee. I simply dictate the characteristics I appreciated in the person and she writes the letter. She also politely turns down appointments etc that I do not choose to do. A good assistant doubles my output.
Wayne: Jim, I’m sure that my blog readers will definitely learn from some of the valuable tips that you have given throughout this interview. How can they get in touch with you if they want to?
Jim: Read my blog at www.jimestill.com or follow me on twitter @jimestill. My email address is jimestill@gmail.com
Wayne: Jim, thanks again for doing this interview and I appreciate the tips and insights on time management for entrepreneurs that you have provided in this interview.
Afterthoughts on Interview with Jim Estill
I don’t know whether it is the exam stress or something else but recently, I am very negative when it comes to time management as you can see from the questions that I directed.
Jim corrected me and repeatedly states that one must look at time management from the positive side in order for the steps to work effectively for you. During my upcoming holiday, I will be spending more time on developing goals that I wish to achieve in the second half of 2009.
What’s Your Take on Time Management?
Do you have a time management tip that you wish to offer to entrepreneurs and small business owners reading this interview?
How do you manage to overcome time limitations and grow your business on a daily basis?
Share your thoughts by commenting below. Hearing from you is priceless.
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