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Work The System: The Simple Mechanics Of Making More and Working Less
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by: Sam Carpenter
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Word Count: 700
There’s one guy like this in every office.
His desk is always clean, he can always find what he’s looking for, his computer desktop has folders for all of his files and he always knows what’s on his schedule. And, except for his boss, everyone else in the office would like to Fed Ex him to Siberia.
In his book Work the System: The Simple Mechanics of Making More and Working Less, a May 2009 release from Greenleaf Book Group Press (www.workthesystem.com), author Sam Carpenter says the reason we all hate that guy is because we all secretly wish we could be him.
“He drives us crazy, only because we don’t know how he does it,” Carpenter said. “The thing is, we can be like him – and reap the rewards of hyper-efficiency – by making a simple adjustment in our perception of how the world around us operates. If we can look at our business lives from this slightly different angle, it will not only get us organized, but enable us to get more done in less time.”
Some of the assumptions Carpenter re-adjusts in his book include:
• Stop “doing the work” – The reason a successful business owner or department manager can work a few hours a week, or take an extended vacation without stress, is because he or she has created systems, implemented written procedures, and has learned to delegate. Successful people don’t work harder; they work smarter, so focus on what needs to be done to make your business grow. Automate or delegate the ”work.”.
• Use your “prime time” wisely – Understand this: “Biological prime time” is when your brainpower is at peak capacity. People function at maximum effectiveness only about six hours out of a twenty four-hour day. It is important to determine precisely when your personal prime time occurs, and then use that time period wisely. Six hours each day is not much, so, presuming you wish to reach your goals sooner rather than later, it is best you perform the tasks that contribute most to your success during your prime time hours, and that you protect those hours from interruption.
• Create written documentation – More than 50 percent of small businesses fail in the first year, and 80 percent fail within the first 5 years, according to the U.S. Small Business Association. Boring but true, the single, major difference between a small, floundering company and a large, successful company is this: The large, successful business employs documentation. It’s a simple equation: Documented procedures equal freedom and profit. If you already own a small business, and you don’t have documentation, carve out time today, sit down, and develop a Strategic Objective for your business. It’s like a mission statement, but punchier and more specific. Next, move on to your General Operating Principles, a 2-4 page collection of “guidelines for decision-making.” Third, you need written Working Procedures – instructions describing how the individual processes of the company or the job are to operate.
• Ruthlessly cut the fat – If you own a business, your mission is to work hard but not long, to reduce the workweek by 95 percent, and to make more money than you require. If you have a job, the goal is to quickly ascend the management ranks until you can call your own shots. But no matter what your situation, if you are going to work, then work! Turn the radio off, get your feet off the desk, stop the pointless babbling with a coworker, and put your head down. Get in, do the work, and get out! Suggest polite ways for keeping a conversation moving along, especially if a long-winded coworker comes into your office for a “quick question,” then starts recapping last night’s episode of American Idol from start to finish. And, what about staff meetings? Are they a waste of time? Yes, if there is no agenda.
“Focus and concentration are enhanced, work gets done faster and productivity soars when we can adjust what we do and how we do it to a new perspective that focuses on what is important and while cutting the waste,” Carpenter added.
About the Author
With a background in engineering, publishing and journalism, Sam Carpenter is a telephone answering service industry consultant, writer and speaker and has served as president of several regional and national telecommunications organizations. As CEO and General Manager of Centratel, with a simple change in perspective, he quickly cut his workweek from 80 hours to 2 hours, while increasing his income by a factor of 20. His book, Work the System, first self-published in April 2008, is in its second soft-cover printing and is available at www.workthesystem.com. Through his new publisher, Greenleaf Book Group Press, it will be available in bookstores in hard cover in May 2009.
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