Tips for Running a Business When You Travel Often
Business travel is an important part of many industries. After all, the business world is becoming more and more global, and often times that means traveling will be an intricate part of growing or perfecting a business. With that being said, some CEOs find managing business travel for their company and themselves to be a difficult task. Research has shown that the most successful and effective CEOs are those that are able to delegate responsibilities. The next time you consider sitting down and booking a trip, or dealing with an issue that isn't the job of a CEO, consider these tips.
Stop Spreading Yourself So Thin
Business school teaches people to "peanut butter" themselves across the company. The teaching, which suggests successful CEOs have a hand in everything, is actually incorrect. The most successful CEOs are those who can focus on the problem areas until they are running smoothly. To do this, however, the CEO has to give up control of things that are running smoothly. For example, if business travel has gone well in regards to hotel bookings, but transportation problems persist, you'll want to focus on the transportation aspect, and leave the hotel bookings to someone else.
Give Up Control
Training the sales team is not a CEO’s job, neither is booking travel accommodations for traveling salespersons. In order for a CEO to successfully manage business travel he or she must give up control, believe it or not. If you are busy focusing on things that are, technically, not your job, you've inadvertently left your job vacant. A CEOs goal is to perfect the business and to troubleshoot problems, so do that and the business travel will be taken care of by people who are tasked with the duty.
Hire the Right People
A CEO should be involved in hiring new talent. If you are having trouble with business travel, it might be time to take a look at the people you have working on it. If there isn't someone in the office who is specifically tasked with business travel bookings and management, you've located your problem. Spend your energy finding a person who can fill the position, either from in-house or through applications. Once you find someone who can do the job, and do it well, you won't have to worry about a business trip going up in smoke because the limo wasn't there to pick up clients, or the hotel was booked for the wrong dates.
Build Relationships With Ground Transportation Experts
Successful CEOs know that they can not do it all. When a CEO tries to do everything themselves, something always gets lost in translation. The reason is fairly simple; there simply are not enough hours in a day to do everything perfectly right. Instead of focusing on ground transportation yourself, outsource the process to a trusted company. When you are bringing clients in for business, or sending executives out for business meetings, certain expectations must be met. One of those expectations will be that the process goes seamlessly. It can be difficult to manage this from inside the office, so your best bet is to outsource the job to someone else. To ensure the job is done right build a good working relationship with a company or companies that specialize in this type of work.
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