Regardless of the size of your business, a hand tally of the day's business will not take long. Project management requires team work. Policy issues, while important, occur infrequently in small businesses and are very seldom urgent matters. Defining the company's policy on vacations after five years of employment or the policy on education reimbursement doesn't sneak up on you. Try to limit policy issues to one or two major meetings per year.
Effective meetings are essential to building a company.
A recent phone call with the management of a highly successful, two-unit sports bar company provides a typical example. The company does very well, but management is frustrated by its inability to execute many of its creative marketing ideas and its failure to build effective measurement into every marketing and promotion program. The operating team meets regularly to set up the next quarter's promotion plan. Management informed me that they meet the last week of the quarter prior to the one for which they are planning. That means that during the week of March 31 they are meeting to finalize and launch the promotions for the quarter beginning on April 1.