Business mentor: Log on and win the time bonus

Business relationships - how to manage them on very little time

Genevieve Westcott, communications mentor, replies:

Well, the first answer is simple. It ain't easy. Secondly, there's no single, guaranteed, foolproof way of managing every relationship gracefully and to everyone's satisfaction within the constraints of available time. So be realistic and shoot for an eight out of 10.

Assuming all the usual protocols are observed - manners, politeness, decent response time, honest and straightforward answers - the real enemy is time. Most of our lives consist of eating, sleeping, playing, and keeping the boss happy, leaving a few scant hours to manage the working relationships necessary to stay solvent. Your biggest enemies? The clock and the calendar.

Your allies are the many sophisticated toys and whistles that 21st century science and technology have added to the tools bequeathed to us by our fathers - business tools made ancient by fancy metal boxes of wires and chips and relays and an army of wealthy young nerds.

Like us, the generation before us no doubt did lunch. But they also made business relationships work using a simple dial telephone and the post office. In their wildest dreams, they couldn't imagine an e-commerce world or the many other electronic gadgets that let us do in seconds, or even milliseconds, what took them hours and days.

However, if you lack the discipline and commitment to take real command of these devices and use them effectively to get more and better work done in less time, you're just wasting electricity.

The gadget wizardry now available can turn a mere slip of a lad or a lady (don't I wish) into a giant. With a well-orchestrated schedule, matching chores to time available and a reasonable understanding of the magic available at the touch of a keyboard, maybe, just maybe, you will feel the power of taking charge. Of knowing you are armed and organised to manage business relationships.

But keep in mind that you can be both the strongest and the weakest link. The hardware and proliferous software starts working at the flip of a switch. It doesn't hate Monday mornings. It can spell better than you. It doesn't need another cup of coffee to keep going. Nor does it have to go to the bathroom or pick the kids up at school.

So where does that leave you? Organisation is the staple as flour is to bread. Get organised - in your mind and in your day-timer. Don't waste time yakking with your pals or reading junk mail. Save that time. It's a bonus.

* Genevieve Westcott can be reached at westcott@communicationmentor.com

* Send your Mentor questions to: Ellen_Read@nzherald.co.nz. Answers will be provided by Business in the Community's Business Mentor Programme.