A Wider Perspective
We have all said the following to ourselves in some capacity:
“I would delegate this, but no one can do it as well as I can.”
What if the above perspective was wrong? What if you are not thinking it through clearly and deeply enough?
“How could we as leaders create situations where everything could be delegated with the understanding that the task would be done even better than we are currently doing it, while at the same time creating time for us in the future?”
Giving Time, to Make Time
Over the last few weeks, I was exposed to the wisdom of Rory Vaden and his time management principles. One of the principles is to delegate everything possible to people around you. Before you jump to conclusions on how that’s not possible because the tasks you do are just too important, too complicated, or no one can do them to your level… hear me out. Perhaps you have that mindset because you have tried to train someone to take over your tasks, but I would argue you did not spend enough time training the delegation of that task.
Enter the 30X rule
The 30x Rule from Rory Vaden dictates that you, as the leader of a team of people, should spend 30x the amount of time training someone to do a specific task—precisely as though you were doing it yourself. So, for example, if a particular process takes you 10 minutes to complete, you should be able to comfortably train someone for 300 minutes (5 hours) to complete that process, as the 30x rule suggests.
5 hours? Are you F*&%!ng kidding me? I don’t have 5 hours to train someone on something I can do in 10 minutes.
Let’s see if that’s, in fact, true.
It would help if you did not get stuck focusing on what this time will cost you in one or 2 or 3 days of training—instead, think about what this will mean for you in the long run. By taking this time to train someone to do this task, you save yourself way more than five hours in the future. In addition, you are delegating this task, ensuring that it will be done well, and giving yourself MORE TIME to focus on other aspects of your business that only YOU can do.
I Save How Much Time?
How does the time-saving math actually work? Let’s say you need to take 10 minutes per day doing this specific task, and there are 250 working days in a year; that’s 2500 minutes in the year (10 minutes x 250 days = 2500 minutes) that you spend working on that task! That’s over 45 hours a year! YOU ARE SPENDING 45 HOURS A YEAR DOING THIS 10 MINUTE DAILY TASK . . . .IN PERPETUITY
So can you spend 300 minutes (5 hours) training someone to become excellent at this 10-minute task? I would argue that if you cannot train the right person on how to perform a 10-minute task with excellence in 5 hours, we have other issues to figure out.
Does the extra 2200 minutes per year (36 hours in year one, 45 hours a year from thereon after) of “free” time sound attractive to you?
That’s a 700% return on your investment of time.
I hope this is making you think. What could you get off your daily, weekly, and monthly task list and create time for yourself in the future?