Delegating is not so easy!

I had almost given up on chores being done in my house. I was watching Supernanny the other night (OK, you caught me in a weak moment) and she put together a rotating chore list for the family's four kids to do. I thought that it might work with my family because I had been assigning specific chores to each of the kids. After a while, they gave up and always had an excuse why things could not get done. "He didn't do his chores so I am not doing mine." "I hate doing the kitchen because everyone just dumps their stuff everywhere." The pain and misery could go on and on.

I decided to create a chore list but switch off the chores so that each of the kids are doing a couple of different chores every day. For example, with vacuuming the living room, it rotates every other third day for the three kids and then I get Sundays to vacuum. I put together the chore list in Word and color coded everything and then printed out a copy for everyone that was to be taped to their bedroom doors. As I handed out the chore lists and explained the new system, I heard some grumblings at first. I was thinking to myself, "This is never going to work."

Guess what? It did. The kids were even helping each other out a bit. I almost fell over from a heart attack, but kept my composure. I will definitely have to keep you updated next week to let you know how the first full week went, but I have to say that I am hopeful that the new system will work out.

When I worked in Corporate America I was easily bored with my job because of the same menial tasks day in and day out. I always wanted to trade my job with someone else's just for a taste of something different. When it comes to your business, sometimes you just have to delegate the stuff you don't like to do or know how to do or just don't have time to do. If you have a group of tasks that can be delegated between a group of staff members, then set up your own rotating task list. Not only will it help keep your staff from that dreaded "I want to do something new" attitude, but it will help you to stay in balance should someone leave your business or get sick or go on vacation.

When there are no checks and balance, things can go wrong. In my college accounting class, my professor would relate stories all of the time about how someone embezzled money from the company because they were the only one doing the books. What if you were in a car accident and were taken to the hospital. Would you staff know how to complete a pet sit or put together invoices? If you are not training your staff how to run your business, you are setting yourself up for a disaster down the road.

Delegate for your own good!