The Organized Executive: A Program for Productivity: New Ways to Manage Time, Paper, People and the Electronic Office A Review Introduction
Organized Executive in the 1980’s. A huge success, it provided a wealth of
ideas for better organization and management. This review is for the special
1990’s edition of the book. Stephanie is founder and president of the time-
management consulting firm, The Organizing Principle, and is an expert in the
organizing field. She is the author of several books on organization and has
been on the New York Times bestseller list. Her combined titles have sold
over one million copies.
and organizing principles in order to discover organization needs and then
gives step-by-step guidance for designing an office system. The writer
addresses daily routine, ending paper buildup, increasing productivity with a
five-point program, mastering time wasters, planning business travel,
combating procrastination, equipping your office, and taking advantage of
technology.
The Organizing Principle
there’s a way to do so without compromising our priorities or dropping out of
society. She begins by defining what organization is and what it is not. It is
not neat desks and straight rows of sharp pencils. Neatness and organization
do not go together as a matter of style. Nor it is creative to be sloppy.
Organization liberates, it does not restrict.
the reader determine which potential organizational program best fits his or
her needs. I was surprised when I scored in the 1-5 range on the Organizing
Audit, which indicates that I am well organized and that the best reorganizing
program to meet my needs is to use this book as a reference source. Since
I’m not naturally organized, I attribute this high score to the fact that I
recently read and applied the principles of, Organizing for the Creative
Person ,[1] a book designed to appeal to artistic people. That book delves
more deeply into the reasons why some people have trouble with organization
and focuses on the different ways the right and left hemispheres of the brain
work. While it gave some less conventional suggestions about how to
organize, they worked very well for me.
up guidelines for how to spend your time. But, as Stephanie writes, “Being
organized is not an end in itself, it is a vehicle to take you from where you are
to where you want to be.”[2]
The Paperwork Crisis: A Solution in Five Stages
the TRAF Technique. First toss, second delegate, third act, fourth file, four
and ½, read. This involves sorting all incoming papers through the TRAF
system; moving them from your desk to wastebasket, referral folder, action
box, file box, or reading stack. This includes a process for deferred actions,
staff follow-ups, and task due dates, paper tracking, long-term follow-ups
and repetitive tasks. The author recommends keeping track of complex,
deferred, and referred actions using a tickler file in which papers are placed in
a numbered folder that corresponds to the call-up date.
papers piled in the office over days, months, and years. According to Dorothy
Lehmkuhl, “Once you’ve succeeded in ‘digging out,’ and have established
natural places to hold your papers, it’s time to begin maintaining the order
you’ve established. Be especially aware of accepting any new papers you
create or that are given to you. Become more judicious about creating
papers—in the form of reminder notes to yourself, copies of memos or letters
you write to others, notes taken at meetings and so on.” Streamlining
detailing the process of controlling the paper and reports that come into your
office. Start by identifying unnecessary or unimportant reports, excerpt
important parts of information received, and delegate what you can.
“do I really need this?” Star the more valuable publications and eliminate the
rest. Make the “rip and read” technique a habit in order to enable you to
throw away what is not needed. I personally use this technique and
appreciate the fact that it reduces the size of publication piles. It is further
recommended that after reading articles they be treated as other documents
for filing. A valuable axiom is “Don’t read it till you need it.”[3] Some other
excellent hints for reading expeditiously include: learning to skim, considering
a rapid reading course, and reading slowly when appropriate.
progress made in the amount of information I’m able to read. Another great
idea is to have the sender of a book or thick report for your review, indicate
specific sections or chapters for your attention. Finally, flag or circulate
articles of interest to your staff and ask them to do the same. Scheduling
time for reading and other tasks is an effective way to keep on track in the
office.The Fine Art of Filing
and simple categories that reflect your concerns, permit retrieval of any paper
within three minutes or less, facilitate the orderly incorporation of new files;
and, provide a simple consistent method for clearing out obsolete files.
Labeling file folders appropriately—putting the right heading on each label—is
the key to rapid retrieval. This is best done through broad, generic headings
that are comprehensive enough to absorb a substantial quantity of papers.
Once files are properly named, you need only mark an “F” on papers you want
to save, jot an appropriate heading, and place them in your out-box or “to
file” folder.
instructions for creating and maintaining a well functioning filing system. It
has been my personal and professional experience that an efficient filing
system is the foundation for a smoothly running office.Time and Task management
can make the difference between crisis management and calm control.
Stephanie suggests taking an action step, which involves recording in a single
notebook, every idea, assignment, call, project, task or errant—large or small,
minor or important as it arises in a Master List. This is a “to do” record that
organizes your workload for today, tomorrow, next week, next month or even
next year. Then each day a review of the list will include deleting, breaking
down large tasks into smaller ones, redistributing tasks, scheduling action
dates and selecting what needs immediate attention. Mastering Timewasters
program. Some helpful ways of handling interruptions are to have the
secretary intercept it, use voice-mail, keeping calls brief, consolidate call-
backs, consolidating visitors, setting limits, and streamlining meetings.
Fight Procrastination by Finding your Personal Work Profile
profile and then avoiding putting disproportionate effort into any project. To
get the most from your time take a problem solution approach that will help
you find your optimum work style. In this way you will realize true efficiency
by getting the most from your time.
into a tough assignment by warming up with simpler, routine, aspects. I
appreciated the suggestion about compiling an index card file of major
research topics when beginning to write a new book. I am enjoying the
benefit of adding this step into my writing efforts. Project Management
project has a deadline. The project must be broken down into subtasks by
defining the steps required to meet your goal and assigning appropriate order
of performance. Set targets dates and benchmarks in order to evaluate
progress, assign subtasks to self and others so that responsibilities and
deadline dates are clear. Finally, monitor progress until completion.
Time Evaluations From Objective to Reality
mastery of the use of time. Steps include logging all telephone calls,
appointments, drop-ins, appointments, meetings, time spent on paperwork,
projects, writing, planning and a calculation of priority/payoff ratio. In other
words, how are your priorities stacking up? Do the number 1 or 2 priorities
qualify as high payoffs? If not, move them to a lower level priority. Finally,
consolidation and an efficiency wrap-up are performed for the purpose of
asking if you are complicating tasks, taking on inappropriate work, doing too
much for others or not delegating.
addressed for pinpointing specific, professional objectives; analyzing how well
your present use of time squares with objectives; and guides you into making
time for the work that’s important to you professionally and personally. The
goal is to do what you want to with your life. This type of evaluation is
priceless for staying on track and living your life with purpose as opposed to
moving ahead without clear objectives. The Art of Being the Boss
delegation. According to the author, “delegation is not simply a means of
increasing productivity, but a means of actually multiplying it—by one-third or
more.”[4] I can personally vouch for the success of effective delegation and
the benefits of multiplied productivity. On Secretaries: the Two Teamwork
In order to make the best use of your secretary become a team of two.
Make your daily meeting with your secretary the keystone of your day for
organizing the day for you both. At the end of the day schedule another five
or ten minutes to wrap-up and cover any questions that arose that day and
to begin planning for the next day. Protect your secretary’s time and let
others know that she is your substitute. Be sure to keep her informed.
helped to make me look good by their support and high quality work. It is my
opinion that secretaries should be treated with respect and appreciation
because of the magnitude of support they provide. I would love to have a
secretary now!Getting Organized the Electronic Way
desktop computers, portable computers, palm-based devices, networks,
electronic mail and the essential features of each necessary for efficiency.
Details are given on how to use TRAF electronically. All of the tasks
previously detailed can be set up electronically in order to save energy and
time.
which I use in order to save time and energy. I just hope the electricity
doesn’t go out!
Phones, Faxes, and Dictation Equipment
date. Though the author writes about the advantages and disadvantages of
owning a cell phone, technology has advanced at such great speeds that
today almost everyone has one. According to the author, the decision
whether or not to own a cell phone can be made by determining whether or
not it essential for you to make and receive calls anytime anywhere.
Apparently, these days the majority of us feel that it is essential.
companies. And, while dictation equipment is less often used in offices
today, it is still a very useful tool. It would be hard to imagine the office I
recently managed without a fax machine. It was heavily used and depended
upon by both our office and our customers.
Conclusion
operation of any workplace whether large or small. The many charts, audits
and checklists make the possibility of increased organization and productivity
readily available to those who would like to put them into action.
I recommend this book highly for those who need help with organization. Bibliography Organizing for the Creative Person. Random House: New York. 1993. The Organized Executive: A Program for Productivity: New Ways to Manage Time, Paper, People, and the Electronic Office. Warner Books: New York. 1994.
END NOTES
[1] Lehmkuhl, Dorothy and Dolores Cotter Lamping, S. S. W. 1993. Organizing for the Creative Person. Random House: New York.
[2] Winston, Stephanie. (For footnotes, cite first name first.) 1994. The Organized Executive: A Program for Productivity: New Ways to Manage Time, Paper, People, and the Electronic Office. Warner Books: New York. p. 25
[3] Winston, p. 81
[4] Ibid., p. 241
All pages copyright 1999 - 2008 Leslie Shaw Holzmann
