I don’t want to spoil your holiday, but can your business manage without you for a while?
It’s probably not so much of an issue for a one-man band or a partnership, or even the family corner shop, where you can literally put a ‘gone fishing’ sign in the window, shut up the shop and take off for a couple of weeks of well-earned rest.
These days, mobile phones, the internet and laptops have made it easier to keep in touch 24/7, should you be needed to take a strategic decision while you head off to even the remotest tourist destination.
Of course, this has also helped increase the tendency of owner-managers to micro-manage so that the person or people left in charge feel they have to consult on every small decision they are asked to take.
But you can’t always rely on internet access or the mobile phone network being up and running, for you to be available to give advice. And that’s when, if you’re running a bigger firm, the art of delegation is vitally important.
You do trust the person you’re leaving in charge, don’t you? Of course, you’ve handpicked the team and they’ve been with you since the start-up launched. Or if you’re in a fast-growing sector, perhaps there are more recent recruits in your line management. They need to know how you expect them to respond to a crisis, or when to pick up the phone and call you.
Are there any outstanding issues with key customers that have been put to one side? Any bills that need paying other than those on your list of direct debits? Who are your contacts at the bank or the partner who looks after your affairs at the solicitors’ office?
If you have any doubts about how things might be handled while you’re on holiday, then just think how important it might be to face up to these sorts of issues now. Because next time, it might be illness that takes you out of the loop. But as I said before, I don’t want to spoil your holiday.