Griessman, B. Eugene. 1994. McGraw-Hill Publishing. 233 pp.
WELD Book Report, submitted by Jeff Schalau-WELD
Griessman's book discussed the value of time and how several businesspeople went about maximizing it for productivity and reserving it for unforeseen tasks. His major time saving strategies were: organization; hiring good people; time allocation; and knowing you own work style/habits. Each topic used multiple examples that provided context and a range of work styles used by various time-saving experts.
One useful strategy is to understand early on when something is not worth doing. Seemingly good ideas can gain priority status because they "sound good". However, they can become futile exercises that divert energy and resources from more important priorities. Even worse, sometimes ineffectual efforts can beget additional time-wasting projects. On the other hand, some projects do not demonstrate their usefulness immediately and managers need to keep the long-term goal in view. It is the job of a good leader to know the difference and keep the team focused on productive goals.
The book was easy to read and contained many strategies that were new and useful. Unfortunately, it was written before PDAs and widespread use of laptop/notebook computers. In my estimation, these two devices are major time-savers and help to employ the timesaving strategies covered in this book. In this respect, this book is sadly out of date. Even so, I still recommend this book to others, like me, that could more effectively manage their time.