I was invited recently by MOORE Ro-Md to speak in their CEO talks podcast (you can watch the full podcast here).

The topic I choose to talk about is time and how COVID-19 allowed some of us to have more time (much more). You can get more money through various avenues but once time is gone, it’s gone forever. You can’t buy more or borrow more, so time is a limited resource that expires more with each day.

So from that perspective, last year I personally had more time since: 

• We’ve all worked remotely (so the one or two hours I’d spend each day going to work are saved now)
• All our events have since been online (it took us a lot more time to prepare for them back when they were in-person) and it has been going great for both sides, with the number of participants on the rise
• Almost all my meetings with clients are now online and that too has proved to be practical for everyone

So, at the moment, my work time goes in 3 directions: team, client care and development and professional growth. 

The first one – team. It is very important to have highly competent people in your team. I have read this in books and heard it from many people but now I understand it from my personal experience. It is an absolute must in order to gain time, time that I can then invest in something new.

For example, I work with my teammates remotely (since last year we haven’t met physically or talked on the phone, we’ve only texted each other) and we’ve been collaborating very well in this manner. They do not need more time from me because they can understand their tasks a lot faster, while also making it easier for me to communicate my exact demands. That’s why we always look for agile people who can adapt effortlessly and can work at a very high speed with less, more efficient communication. Of course, we have the advantage of being an online business and this method is not applicable to all businesses.  

In terms of my personal professional growth, it is important to have time to prepare my activities, to plan and, most importantly, to think and observe. To understand our reality as a business, what we need to grow, to have the best people in the team, to do the best for our clients. And to understand more about me as a team member and as a manager, more about what I need to improve in myself so that the company can thrive

In terms of client care and development, colleagues communicate with our clients and respond to their requests very promptly. Because, above all, we are a news platform, so it is crucial that articles, news, press releases are posted instantly (otherwise people will find out about legal news from other sources). That’s why processing emails works differently for us than it does for other businesses. You simply cannot check your emails solely in the evening or in the morning, because it will sometimes be too late (especially when there are some very important legislative changes, when people come to our website to find out more, with the expectation that they’ll always get the latest and most accurate information).

Lastly, client development also takes time. Although people normally come to us, gaining new clients never hurt anyone. ?

So, time and time management are a vital part of success in the modern business world. Being aware of their effectiveness as tools can help you achieve all your goals faster. Still, people remain the most important assets.

If you have great people in your team, then you can better manage your time and you’ll be able to take on new opportunities and grow your business, keeping your clients happy. 

Daria Niculcea, Executive Director of JURIDICE.ro