Feel as if you spend all day on the phone? Join the club. A recent survey by the American Management Association found that the majority of small-company CEOs spend one to three hours a day on calls. Jim Iversen knows the feeling. The general manager of W& H Systems, a $38-million integrator of material-handling systems in Carlstadt, N.J., says he often spends several hours a day on the phone. "To get anything done," Iversen says, he usually comes in around 6:30 a.m. and frequently stays past 5. To escape the barrage of calls, he works at home every Monday but calls in every hour to check his voice mail.
| PHONE HABITS OF CEOS | |
|---|---|
| How much time do you spend on the phone daily? | |
| 18% | Less than one hour |
| 68% | One to three hours |
| 11% | Three to five hours |
| 3% | More than five hours |
| What's your policy on how soon you return phone calls? | |
| 44% | The same day |
| 30% | Within 24 hours |
| 5% | Within 48 hours |
| 1% | Within one week |
| 17% | No policy |
| 4% | Other |
| Do you place your own calls? | |
| 97% | Yes |
| 3% | No |
| Do you answer your own phone? | |
| 41% | Yes |
| 52% | No |
| 7% | No answer |