One of the most important skills that any entrepreneur or small business owner can acquire is the ability to organise and manage.
I have created and run many different businesses and undertakings since my first one in 1986.
The one common thread running through all of them, like a seam of gold running through bedrock, is the requirement to be able to organise my affairs in an efficient, effective way.
I liken it to being a puppet master pulling the strings of a fast-running show in a changing landscape.
But the specific skills of allocating and delegating tasks, assessing the suitability of those to whom you allocated the tasks, and a system of basic checks and balances to ensure work is being done in a timely manner to a certain, acceptable standard is the skill of organisation and management which will ensure the best chance of success for any start up or small business.
And whilst this may seem self-evident or obvious or simple so many small businesses in various spheres of activity do not have this basic skill at work in their organisation on a daily basis.
In fact, they have quite the opposite: a frenzy of hanging on and just coping with an apparently frightening “to do” list and looming deadlines.