Productivity pron 2: Zoo for a businessman

I like going to a zoo very much -

communication with animals makes us

calmer and friendlier. I have a zoo of my own which is always with

me wherever I go and whatever I do.

The zoo makes me an efficient battle

machine which hits targets. Please, meet

my animals and maybe you’ll get some for yourself.

Here they are, my adorable ones: a monkey, a dead

horse, an elephant and a

frog. I’m sorry for the horse... but I

really need it.

Today I will tell you briefly about

every one of them, though,

they each deserves a

separate article.

Monkey

You (a boss) are walking along a corridor and meet your employee. He says: “We have a problem, the thing is that...”

You understand that you can solve the problem, but you’re busy now so you tell the employee: “I have no time right now, but I will think about it and tell you what can I do”.

He put his monkey on your shoulder. Your employee made a subordinate out of you and now he can come to your office and ask how the monkey on your shoulder is doing.The most efficient method how you can get rid of monkeys is to delegate.

Dead horse

There are things that have become outdated but it’s a pity to throw them away and you have to waste your energy on them. For example, to wipe the dust off an old TV.

There are relationships which have outrun themselves, but you still have to communicate with these people and waste your precious time on them.

A business with no profit. You spend a great amount of energy and time. You don’t spend time with your family because you have to go on business trips to other cities.A piece of old Indian wisdom says: get off a dead horse.

Elephant

Sometimes we have to solve

really large-scale tasks. They are so big that we don’t know where to start from. An

elephant is here to help you.

As the wise suggest: divide

and concuer. Let’s follow the tip,

divide the elephant into

"bite-size" pieces and eat them one

by one.

Frog

Everyone has a small cart of unpleasant tasks. For example:● phone a customer and

inform him/her that there’s a delay.

● describe business processes which work for a long time in a corporate knowledge base.

● prepare a routine financial report.

These are frogs. They are unpleasant, but you

have to eat them. It would be better to do it in the morning. Because if you don’t do it, these little frogs will turn into

disgusting toads.

So, you know the animals dwelling in my personal zoo. Here’s the way how to get rid of them:● place monkeys on your

subordinates’ shoulders.● get off dead horses.● eat elephants in small pieces.● have frogs for breakfast.

About the author

Leonid Zverugo - 32dayz Co-founder & CEO

l.zverugo@32dayz.com

http://32dayz.com

@32_dayz