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CEO Notebook

CEOs from across the country share advice and questions on topics ranging from staffing to taking time off.

By Inc. staff | 
 

CEO's Notebook

How often should I track key numbers?
Daily, argues Ron Friedman, CEO of Stonefield Josephson Inc., an accounting firm in Santa Monica, Calif. "Every morning by 9:30, I receive a printed report that tracks certain key results from the day before. That's a tremendous management advantage," he says, "since I can respond immediately to any problem signals. Think of all the time and money you lose when you find out about problems only at the end of the week or the month." Friedman is convinced that watching numbers daily is as important for his clients as it is for his own 75-person accounting firm. "Depending on the type of business you're in, the numbers you need to watch this closely will be different," he explains. "Key numbers might be how much was sold each day, how much was shipped--if that's relevant, how big your backlog is, and how much was collected." To make certain daily reports are user-friendly, Friedman keeps them short. And he knows how numbers should compare with daily target results. "Small fluctuations are only natural, but once you track daily results for a while, you'll get a feel for those fluctuations that are more troubling," he notes. --Jill Andresky Fraser

Benchmark
All talk and no action?

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. --Christopher Caggiano

Source: Survey of 282 CEOs whose companies have revenues of less than $50 million, by the American Management Association, New York City, February 1997. Note: Some answers do not add up to 100% because of rounding.
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

Summer's here. I know I should take a vacation, but...
If you have a hard time getting away, you're not alone. Ten percent of CEOs on the 1996 Inc. 500 list say they take no vacation. Terry Anderson is not among that 10%. As far back as 1991, when his company, Omni Tech, a computer manufacturer in Pewaukee, Wis., had $5 million in sales, he took three weeks of vacation. In 1995 he took a relaxing six weeks off. Anderson, whose company had $58 million in 1996 sales, says entrepreneurs do their companies a disservice by not taking breaks. "You get stale, and the business doesn't grow," he says. Here are his tips:

Plan ahead. At the start of the year, block off--in ink--two consecutive weeks on your calendar. "It takes me three to four days just to relax," Anderson explains.

Leave the business in good hands. For Anderson, the key to a tranquil respite is having someone ready to take the reins. He has already hired and trained the person who will ultimately replace him when he retires. Anderson has also delegated many responsibilities to managers. "Typically, the company runs just as well when I'm not here," he says.

Don't check in. Some CEOs can't resist frequent calls in. "If you call every day, your mind is still at the business," says Anderson. And worse, he adds, such calls communicate to your managers that you don't trust them.

Come back a day early. Anderson returns home on a Saturday, so he can spend Sunday at the office catching up on his mail. He claims that makes Monday morning a lot less hectic. --C. C.

How can we improve efficiency?
Ken Rizner tried a straightforward approach at Hyde Tools, in Southbridge, Mass. Rizner, the company's vice-president of manufacturing, walked with teams of line workers through every process used to make each hand tool at the 300-employee manufacturing company. The employees counted steps and eliminated those that didn't add value to the final product. They rearranged machines and tossed arcane reports. After combining two major operations and cutting out at least 30 steps, Rizner estimates, Hyde cut nine-tenths of a mile out of the production process. That reduced the time required to turn raw material into finished product from more than 10 weeks to 15 working days, he says. --Stephanie Gruner

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