114 Proved Plans to Save a Busy Man Time Intro - Plan 10
HOW TO GET THE GREATEST VALUE
FROM THIS BOOK
There are scores of time-saving plans in this little book, but each of them was selected only after one or more similar plans had been discarded. Several hundred plans were carefully inspected to secure the 114 printed in the book.
“Where did they all come from?” you will probably ask. They have been furnished by a group of unusually successful business men with which the editorial organization of the A. W. Shaw Company has built up a confidential contact. Only those in this group who have specialized on working out plans and methods for saving time supplied material for this particular book. So the book really not only contains the very best plans from among several hundred for cutting down time wastes, but the best plans worked out by the men with the best records for perfecting plans whom the A. W. Shaw Company has been able to discover after a country-wide search extending over a number of years.
This explains why the plans cover so many types of business. But this only increases their value, of course, for it is a demonstrated fact that nine out of every ten plans that succeed with one type of proposition can be used for almost all other types. Furthermore, the ever- increasing intensity of the competition which business men face nowadays makes it necessary for them to draw their ideas from more than one type of proposition if they are to keep up to date.
Just try out one or two of the plans that appeal to you most if you want a first-hand proof of this assertion that ideas can be transferred from one field to another. As a matter of fact, there are many classic incidents illustrating this truth—the cash register is said to have come from a device for recording the revolutions of a ship’s engines, for example. These incidents all go to illustrate the important fundamental truth that the various types of business are after all very much alike.
The A. TV. Shaw Company has on file records of hundreds of letters which demonstrate the practicability of using the other man’s idea. There is even a department “How I Used Another Man’s Idea” in its magazine, System, which you will receive in connection with your purchase of this book.
Here is a good example of these letters from a recent mail: Joseph L. Holbrook is office manager of the Fuller-Morrison Company, and a regular reader of System. In his December 1916 copy he read an article by W. H. Leffingwell on “What Scientific Management Did For My Office.” Mr. Holbrook quickly saw how he could use Mr. Leffingwell’s plan to advantage in his business. Let him tell in his own words about the idea which cut time losses for him:
“This plan,” writes Mr. Holbrook, “is a dandy in handling
mail. We give credit for it to System, as it is a combination
of various methods that we read of there. The last plan that
we saw described hi the magazine before we completed our new
building and installed the equipment was in W. H. Leffing-
well’s article, ‘What Scientific Management Did For My
Office.*
“A new sorting rack, placed as part of the dividing line
between the mailing department and the general offices, is the
result. Since our mail for individuals is likely to be rather
bulky, we changed Mr. Leffingwell’s idea. He described a
rack on the ‘incoming mail’ table, with narrow vertical divi-
sions in which the sorting clerk places letters and department
notes to the various men.
“We have, instead, compartments that run clear through
the rack. The incoming mail is sorted into the respective
pigeonholes by the man who handles this work on the mail-
ing room side of the rack. On the office side of the rack the
letters are taken out and stuffed into the deliver}’ folders for
the boy. It saves us lots of time in handling the incoming
mail.”
Be sure to read each issue of System carefully, for it will describe to you month after month not only many other tested plans for saving time, but also new and practical methods for increasing your sales, for advertising, training salesmen, keeping records, holding down expenses, and carrying on all the other activities of your business in the most effective way.
PLAN I
THIS PLAN MAKES A DESK DO MORE WORK
Here is described a new way for handling detail by means
of which a Detroit business man makes his desk do tasks
that formerly he, or his secretary, had to do. In fact his
desk has become a real “partner.”
” I have one great little time saver,” says an executive with a Detroit firm. “My work makes it necessary to have before me a variety of lists and tables of information. My desk top and all the convenient wall space are utilized, and I was puzzled, for a time, as to where to put a running record of the whereabouts of my men and when they expected to return. You can see that this record must be handy and have frequent attention.
” I solved the difficulty by having the right-hand slide leaf of my desk planed down about a quarter of an inch on the under side; turned it over and put my records on it in a frame under glass. The glass is cut in strips about two inches wide. By pushing the strips to one side or the other, it is easy to write in any column.
“My office is laid out on the principle of quick and easy access to everything I want, ignoring all traditional arrangements. So well has my idea worked that every man in my department uses the same plan and as a result anyone here can go to any desk and find any information it contains without difficulty.
“In addition to a standard system of desk drawers, files and basket, I have a file for departmental matters that belong to no one desk; and a simple little idea has saved me a world of time—just putting the index under the glass, on the right-hand corner of my desk. The file stands almost touching that corner, so you can see I have reduced the time necessary to find a paper in that file practically to a minimum.”
This same man has a simple little attachment on his desk which, he says, has returned its cost several times in the minutes it has saved him. And he thoroughly believes that time is money. He had his dictating machine mounted on a drop in one side of his desk, and by pressing a lever with his foot, he raises it into place, or drops it out of sight. As a result the machine is never in the way, invisible when not in use, and can be put in position for use in less time than was formerly required.
PLAN 2
A PLAN WHICH “GETS THE INFORMATION
ON THE SPOT”
This plan, as you’ll quickly see, is not unlike some others
in this book, but this man carries it far enough to make it
do the work in almost every case. Surely almost anyone
can lift a helpful suggestion from what he tells.
“It’s wonderful how much time and annoyance I’ve saved myself since I applied this plan to my desk,” declares an Iowa business man. “I was slow in coming to it, for it is my misfortune to be of the type that chucks work away in a desk hurriedly. However, I’ve become accustomed to my plan now and find it worth more perhaps than any other move I ever made toward greater effectiveness.
“The upper left-hand drawer of the desk is instantly available as I turn in my swivel chair. It contains a card index for quick reference to the information in the other drawers and files. The shallow center drawer is divided into little bins for clips, pen points, rubber bands, erasers, and the like. The upper right-hand drawer holds a filing system for work in process. Beneath these are storage drawers—not ordinarily used for any regular filing purposes.
“The vertical file consists of manila folders between pressboard guides, fitted with tabs and compressors. It is indexed alphabetically, numerically, geographically, and chronologically, to suit my peculiar needs. As it contains only unfinished business, the guide headings read: ‘Pending Correspondence,’ ‘Rush Dictation,’ ‘Telegraph Business,’ and the like. Into the folders go the papers that formerly were chucked into the pigeon-holes of my old desk. The moment any pending transaction is closed, the papers regarding it are removed and transferred to the permanent files. This keeps my desk and personal files clear of all except live data, and I can find the papers I want.
“I have also an extra cabinet near by to use occasionally when press of business takes up all my own available space. The card index is specially divided to show me instantly what information is in this subsidiary desk file. My clerk keeps the index and drawers in order and I can refer to what I am looking for quicker than the time required to give instructions to anyone else as to what I want and where to find it.
“In the lower drawers of the extra cabinets are filed catalogs, drawings, and other large and bulky papers. The other drawers contain salesmen’s reports, follow-up systems, comparative statistics, advertising figures, buying records, current invoices, stock records, and special information not needed every day but important enough on various occasions to have quickly available when the demand for it does arise.
“The folders are numbered. If I wish to refer to certain advertising statistics under the subtitle of some magazine, I turn to my index and find the card bearing the name of the periodical, in its alphabetical position in the tray. This gives the number of the folder in the cabinet. I have found, too, that often the index card itself can be used to present brief summaries or tabulations, or concise statements of facts, so that the mere reference to the card will sometimes suffice, without opening the cabinet.
PLAN 3
HERE’S A TESTED PLAN FOR CUTTING
A FEW CORNERS
And that is not all. It also provides a simple way for
handling and disposing of unfinished work in quick order.
A Cleveland executive whose desk tray had become a catch-all for miscellaneous papers and letters which had to be kept ready for reference but individually were hard to find when needed, worked out a simple plan for overcoming this handicap. He had filing folders made of different colors of stock: red for papers of importance which he may have to refer to at any instant; blue for papers to go over with the sales manager; and buff for plans or suggestions to be considered later.
When a note or letter comes to his desk which cannot receive immediate attention, it is placed at once in the proper folder, to be taken up at the earliest opportunity. The items may include important letters that require answers within a day or two, details to take up with a department manager, reports to be acted on, or other memoranda that cannot be permanently filed.
Now he doesn’t have to rummage through the tray and take the time to see if he has forgotten some duty.
PLAN 4
“SAVES HOURS WHICH MIGHT OTHERWISE
BE WASTED”
There are surely a score of ways in which the idea back
of this man’s plan can be adapted to special circum-
stances—and no doubt you’ll quickly work out all of them.
A management consultant, whose duties take him to various industrial plants in and around a large city, has evolved a plan for saving time in calling upon those of his prospective clients who are located in the sections in which he already has clients.
The task of “routing” himself on these trips is simplified by a large wall map of the city mounted on a wooden frame which hangs directly before his desk. Into it he sticks numbered tacks of different colors to indicate the location of his prospects and their financial ratings according to the leading commercial agencies.
The “key” to this map is typewritten on sheets of paper that give the names of the concerns (opposite numbers corresponding to those on the tacks), the individuals in charge, and additional details about the ratings.
Before starting out to visit one of his clients, he glances at the map, makes out his itinerary on a small card, and drops in to see his prospects on either the way out or the way back. The idea is, of course, applicable to the work of any man, whose business calls him outside the office at times.
PLAN 5
THIS PLAN HELPS IDEAS GROW
Here’s a plan which doesn’t cost a cent to start, and yet
the man who uses it says it is a gold mine of minutes
and no doubt you’ll agree that’s a pretty good recommen-
dation for any plan.
” I now prepare my letters in about half the time that it formerly took,” says one man. “By this I do not mean that I have allowed quality to sag. A good letter is, of course, worth all the time necessary to make it good enough to engage the reader’s attention.
“Here is my system: Every interesting letter that comes to my office goes into a special file. Two or three times a month I run through the letters I have collected and pick out the ones that seem worth keeping for reference and further study.
“In this way I have secured a permanent collection that I value highly. When I need an idea I go to my file of good letters, and usually quickly get a valuable suggestion that I can use in the letter I am planning. I often find paragraphs ready made, almost always suggestions of wording, arrangement, and sometimes whole plans, and so my special file is a ‘veritable gold mine’ of both minutes and ideas gained.”
PLAN 6
THIS MAN HARDLY EVER GETS “SNARLED
UP” IN DETAILS
And that’s what every business man is trying to do. So
this plan for handling the day’s work is almost bound to
contain suggestions that may be north your while.
An executive with an eastern company does not allow himself to get snarled up in a mass of detail, because he has developed a definite plan for each day’s work.
First of all, when he saw his tasks increasing, he established a statistical department, which has become invaluable to him. “With this supply of information at his command at an instant’s notice, he does not have to hold up an expensive proposition while all the facts essential to its completion are gathered from various sources.
This department is really nothing more than an enlarged information file. It keeps this executive in close touch with every branch of his own industry, as well as with market conditions affecting the commodities in which his company deals. It affords him ready access to every feature of operation and maintenance in both the manufacturing and merchandising ends of the business and collects every desirable fact on trade conditions for his use at any time. Articles by financial and trade authorities are also carefully filed for future reference.
As this executive’s product is used in finishing new buildings he has placed on his desk each day tabulations of the building permits issued throughout the country. Thus, without holding long conferences or wondering over business conditions he can tell at a glance just about what the market possibilities for his product are.
On his desk stands a tickler file. Any proposition that can be decided at once is decided at once. He disciplines himself against even a moment’s waste of time.
If it requires investigation and a report, it is ticketed. to the person who is to handle it, with instructions as to when a reply is expected, and a tickler memorandum, is put under that date.
In order to keep his memoranda distinct and different from all other memoranda in the office, he notes them all in purple pencil. In this way he saves considerable time because he does not have to affix his signature or add any unnecessary explanation. Every assistant and employee knows the source of a purple note. This idea of individual pencil colors is carried out by each department head who uses his own particular color, for instance, one blue, one red, another yellow, and still another green.
The executive allows no business to accumulate on his desk. He never permits himself to become tangled up in any routine which is better understood and handled by his lieutenants—and, since it is better understood, is better executed by them. He has clearly defined departmental policies, and details are thus carried into effect by his subordinates without frequent interruptions to consider unimportant details.
PLAN 7
“ONE OF THE BEST TIME SAVERS I
HAVE EVER FOUND”
Here’s a plan to gain a lap on the clock which has stood a
practical test. You may say that there is nothing par-
ticularly new about it, but it actually did sate time for
this man, and surely a plan that actually saves time for
one business man ought to interest all of us.
” It wasn’t so very long ago that the deep lower drawer of my desk was cluttered with odds and ends—bits of information I thought I might have use for some time,” writes a southern business man. “But it did me no good because I couldn’t find what I wanted without wasting too much time. So I cleaned out the material one day and fixed up an orderly information file in its place. This plan for keeping items where I can find them in a jiffy has proved one of the best time savers I have been able to find.
“Whenever, in my reading or elsewhere, I come across articles that may later prove valuable to me I clip them and place them in folders carefully indexed as to subject in this deep lower drawer. If, for example, I read a particularly good article on ‘ paints,’ I clip it and file it in a ‘paints’ folder. If I receive a good circular letter, I file it with other ’sample letters.’ I have quickly accumulated in thi9 way an excellent review file, in which I look for ideas when I need them on short notice. It contains the data I need, and I can get at it just when I want it.”
PLAN 8
A “SHOCK ABSORBER” PLAN FOR SAVING TIME
At least that’s what it is called by the man who uses it.
He says it has saved him many valuable hours. The
idea is not new, perhaps, but some of the features of the
plan are different and, as like as not, will be useful to you.
The president of a Pacific Coast concern believes in extending the utmost courtesy to every visitor from the “least to the greatest,” but his time is too valuable to see them all, so he saves precious hours by having a specially trained assistant receive them.
He first analyzed his plan from various angles and then selected a courteous and diplomatic young lawyer for the job. The young man was not thrown blindly into his task. For several months he simply was present at all interviews conducted by the head official. He was introduced as the “assistant to the president” when he began his new work.
When he had sufficiently imbibed the concern’s courtesy policy he was given the title of “vice-president” and assigned the duty of receiving all callers. As an incentive to guard the interests of his employer he was given one share of stock in the company. Now, with the exception of a very few persons, whom it is unquestionably to his chief’s interest to see, he satisfactorily takes care of all visitors.
This “shock absorber” arrangement, as the president himself calls it, has given him incalculable minutes for his larger problems. Of course, the selection of the right subordinate is essential and he must be carefully trained.
PLAN 9
SPECIAL PLANS ARE OFTEN NEEDED FOR
SPECIAL CASES
You may say that this plan only applies to special cases.
That is quite true, but the principle behind it—eliminat-
ing petty details in order to have more time for the real
problems, applies to scores of cases.
In an office where diagrams and graphs have been used for some time to visualize periodic reports and statements, the executive has hit on a plan to cut his routine still further and at the same time to secure very satisfactory results.
Frequently he has occasion to refer to these reports in working on his various financial and development problems. Formerly this meant getting out the ones desired and going over them on his desk, which had to be cleared for the purpose. This meant loss of time. Now he has them mounted and hung on swinging racks near his desk. Each statement is before the executive and he can gain his information without moving even a piece of paper. He uses racks to hold 12 graphic charts. Each chart, of course, contains facts on a single, specific phase of the firm’s activities.
The fluctuations in the amount of business on hand, the numbers of employees, the financial account, the purchases of material, and even in market prices of commodities, which have a bearing upon the welfare of the business, are among the items thus charted.
The graphs are all of uniform size and are mounted under glass in the rack frames, which are suspended from a wall holder. Thus all important reports are preserved just as perfectly as if filed. Furthermore, the frames are so arranged that they can be closed together to insure privacy whenever desired. It is the task of a clerk to keep the graphs up to date.
“I have found the plan elastic and adaptable to the needs of the individual case,” says this business man. “Indeed, one or two such graphs might serve the purpose of the average office. Sales records, cost records, and production records are particularly well expressed in this graphic form which I am using.”
PLAN 10
ANOTHER PLAN WHICH BRINGS INFORMA-
TION TO HAND QUICKLY
In folders like this carbons of all items that require follow-
ing up are filed, and they automatically appear on the
proper day.
“A little thought outside the office and an ‘information’ file inside have combined to save me many hours of mechanical search for information during office hours,” says a southern business man.
” Some years ago my tasks broadened into fresh channels and led me to seek new funds of information. I found myself exclaiming with increasing frequency when searching for some specific fact: ‘Why I read about that in some magazine only a week or so ago.’ But which magazine or which issue I could not tell. In fact, the more I racked my brain the more I became confused as to just where I had read it. This uncertainty and con- sequent waste of time bothered me, so I worked out the following plan for cutting out the guesswork:
“”Whenever I run across anything in my reading that I feel has some bearing on my own business activities I clip it and slip it into a small, vest-pocket book. I do this no matter where I am or when I come across it. The newspapers often contain important items and business magazines are prolific in suggesting better business methods.
” Once a week I take the clippings from my little book and file them in folders, arranged by subjects to afford ease in looking up any desired fact I keep this file near my desk and as I work I refer to various subjects which put me in touch quickly with the ideas I want. I thus have at my command a fairly complete reference library of practical information.”
114 Proved Plans to Save a Busy Man Time
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