Survival of the Fittest: Be Ruthless or Die

When it comes to survival of the mid-market firm, you have two choices. You can be ruthless. Or you can die. Time is your biggest resource and the one most often abused. Because of the precarious spot in which midsize companies are wedged, inefficient use of time will kill you every time.

Larger firms typically have enough resources to keep them from drowning, while small companies are scrappy enough to make lifeboats out of paperclips if needed. But the midsize guys go under, and go under quickly, if they’re not ruthless about their priorities.

How to Prioritize Ruthlessly

Since time is your most precious resource, midsize company execs need to respect time. They need to get the rest of the crew to respect it as well. That means minimal missed deadlines and decreasing inefficiencies. It also means adhering to a trio of tips from the venerable Harvard Business Review. Harvard guys can’t be wrong, right?

Chop unnecessary projects. Ruthlessly slice through your project lineup, leaving only a small handful of those initiatives truly critical to your business. Midsize companies have limits, often with enough resources to manage only one major initiative at a time. Try to manage more and projects will invariably suffer from shoddy implementation and delayed delivery.

Be upfront about project progress. Expose the gritty details of every core project to every department involved, even if the project is stumbling. Being upfront ensures:

• Those involved are still available to perform required tasks at a later date if needed.
• No one can hide. Team leaders must be fully transparent on progress (or lack thereof) with team members and with their CEO. Members falling down on the job can no longer continue to flail without being noticed.

Reward time management genius. Promoting your most time-efficient employees shows that you value work done well and delivered on schedule. Since midsize firms often lack stock options or other large-firm perks, career learning and advancement opportunities are major motivators. Keep employee motivation focused with harsh consequences for projects that are delayed or done poorly.

Need help managing that all-too-precious resource of time? Chrome River gives you back your precious time with complete ap automation and cost controls for your organization. For example, with Chrome River's mobile expense report software, most business travelers can submit their expenses before their plane lands on the runway back home.