Managing global business demands doesn't have to be overwhelming. As we greet our Monday morning inbox, how can we be ensure that we manage our global clients’ business needs efficiently? Dreary-eyed we all think ' How on earth do we prioritize what to do, who to do it for and when to do it?' Well it’s not easy – but here are some quick guidelines that may help you organize your day and tasks more efficiently to start your week with clarity:
1. Watch the clock! What time zone is the vendor, customer or media/analyst contact located in? If they are East (Europe) start your day supporting and communicating with contacts who are in Europe and have been awake since 3am EST. Start your day checking in eastward and then move westward as the sun rises – and sets.
2. Management. What does your manager need and require you to focus on? If you don’t have an immediate direction then lucky you! This gives you the opportunity to tackle the little things that you keep pushing aside so that you can clear your plate for emergency and urgent requests that will come in. (Read WILL – because I guarantee you they WILL).
3. Review your day. When do you have meetings scheduled and review against daily priorities and projects to see where and how you can fit in the ‘work.’
4. Deadlines. Be sure you are aware of deadlines. Whether it’s promised proposal, scheduled meeting, turn-around on copy for a data-sheet or design to speaking submissions and more. Calendar reminders aren’t just for collaborative planning, you can use them for your own reminders as well (I certainly do!)
5. Check out west. By now it’s noon. When I think of the West Coast I think of Roxie, JS&A's trusted Publicist. By this time, she is just starting her second cup of coffee, analysts have caught up on the news of the day and clients are clamoring for attention because they need to get their projects done with only 5 more hours of support from their East coast consultants! Time to attend to the needs of our west coast friends and implement the communications necessary to get their attention, response and ensure projects are managed timely and efficiently (and now we only have an hour – if we’re lucky – to bridge the gap between our west coast and European friends).
There are a lot of factors that push and pull us from task to task throughout the day – and with more and more distractions it will continue to be challenging to efficiently manage our day-to-day business. When email became the rage, executives (and many still do), would check in every hour or two to ensure they attend to incoming requests. Unfortunately, we are long past the days when we had the luxury to check email only a few times a day. Instead, apply this practice to social media to ensure you check in on the conversations about your clients and the industry to get an ongoing pulse of the market. That way you won’t be caught off guard when a competitor gets acquired or a major development occurs in the world of IT and telecom. Weave in some down time too – we all need a coffee break, time to sit and look out the window, to read a a funny story or view a clever video – just don’t let those distractions consume you too much – because the clock is ticking and soon Asia will awake and the outreach begins again.
