Don’t you wish your week had 5 more hours?
What could you accomplish with an extra five hours per week? Just five more hours?
Think about it. Five extra hours would give you time to make progress on your “Round Tuit” list. You know, that list of all the stuff you’ve promised yourself you’ll do when you “get around to it.”
What’s on your Round Tuit list?
Devote time to make progress on that idea you had to create additional earned income?
Provide the coaching and support the star performers on your team are secretly craving from you?
Inviting your donors or board members (hopefully both!) to visit over coffee?
Would five extra hours finally give you the time to invest in your own professional development, giving you the chance to strengthen your skills and the leverage to grow your organization?
What could you accomplish?
There’s an easy way to get five more hours per week, you know.
Hire an Executive Assistant.
“I can’t do that!” I can hear you saying it right now.
In fact, I bet I can name several objections that are going through your mind right now (you know, the nonprofit wizards are capable of reading minds).
You’re thinking:
“I can’t afford it.”
“I can’t possibly find someone who only wants to work five hours per week. At least, not anybody who’s any good.”
“I don’t have time to hire someone. You know, look at applications, do interviews, negotiate an offer, train them, monitor if they’re fitting in culture-wise. It’s a lot of work, and I’m buried as it is.”
“We don’t have anywhere to put them.”
“It’s not just the amount I pay them. They also need a phone and a computer. Plus payroll taxes, retirement plan match…the list goes on and on.”
These are all valid points. Here’s an even deeper, more introspective one:
“I’ve tried delegating stuff to part-time assistants–or volunteers–before and it hasn’t worked. Truth is, I have to ‘feed’ them the work that helps me be more organized…which takes organization that I obviously don’t have yet. It’s a vicious cycle. I’ve found it’s just easier to plug away.”
Or worse. See if you can identify with this story, relayed to me by a new client (name changed):
“I had a part-time assistant, Kim, a while back, and it was–to say the least–a nightmare. Oh, things started fine; she was eager to please at first. Unfortunately, we burned through the ‘low-hanging fruit’ pretty quickly.
It wasn’t very long before Kim was at my desk asking me for things to do. The problem was that the things that really needed to be done required me to explain them in tedious detail, taking time that I didn’t have. Then, when she completed the task, it wasn’t done correctly. This lead to me fixing the problems and re-teaching the process. More wasted time.”
The story continues:
“As if that wasn’t bad enough, Kim was a drain in other ways as well. She was involved in a relationship characterized by a roller-coaster of emotions. She’d be talking on her cell phone with her boyfriend, they’d get in an argument, and then she would hang up the phone and sit at her desk and cry. It was awkward, you know? How do I be a compassionate person, but remind her that we’ve got work to do?
As time went on, she became combative with the other members of the team. She made a habit of providing unrealistic deadlines to people and then blame them when work was delayed because they ‘didn’t come through’. Then I would find myself mediating arguments between Kim and my long-term staff. I finally just had to let her go.
Even then, though, the problem didn’t go away entirely: she drew unemployment for another year. Plus, it was embarrassing to explain to my board.”
As a former nonprofit CEO, I can relate to the story of “Kim.” I’ve felt those feelings of overwhelm and helplessness from too many items on the task list and too few hours in the week. That knot in your stomach as you walk away from a desk full of unfinished work. The promises that you’ll go through your unprocessed e-mails later tonight, only to be too exhausted to do so when “later” rolls around.
That’s why we’ve created a life-line for you. But first, a little bit about us, the nonprofit wizards.
We’re passionate about giving nonprofit CEOs tools to do their jobs better. Tools to help you become a more effective CEO, and provide massive impact to your organization. Tools to help you maximize the productivity of your team, so you can go out and shine a light in the dark corners of the world.
The tool we want to tell you about today is Executive Assistant Wizard. Obviously we’re biased, but we think EA Wizard could be EXACTLY WHAT YOU NEED!
Having an EA Wizard, is like having a magic wand. Your EA Wizard will make tedious tasks disappear, and you’ll be free to put your focus squarely where it belongs: on those high-payoff activities that move your organization forward in meaningful ways.
What could you accomplish?
EA Wizards help nonprofit CEOs in ways too numerous to list, but here’s a few of the more common examples:
Helping you manage the board
Schedule advance meeting between CEO and board chair to discuss upcoming agenda.
Set the annual meeting calendar, including placing all board meetings on your calendar AND sending calendar invites to each board member.
Send out notices a week in advance of the board meeting.
Place courtesy calls to remind members who fail to RSVP.
Capture and record meeting RSVPs.
Make any necessary lunch arrangements.
Transcribe meeting minutes.
Collaborate with board secretary to approve meeting drafts.
Disseminate meeting minutes to the board.
Helping you manage staff functions
Solicit agenda items for regularly scheduled staff meetings.
Capture and record meeting RSVPs.
Transcribe meeting minutes.
Track what follow-up tasks are assigned, to whom, by when.
Do the conference registration and make travel arrangements.
Helping you manage your own life
Weekly meeting to identify your high priority items and update progress from last week.
Calendar “triage,” separating “must-dos” from “can-dos” (and round tuits!).
Block time on your calendar for specific projects, and collect resources needed to complete the task.
And much, much more!!!!!!!
“Well sure, that sounds great…but there’s only so much you can do “virtually.” I’d rather have someone I can step out my office door and talk to.”
Hey, I hear you! When I first read The Four Hour Workweekby Tim Ferriss*, I had the same reaction. I mean, really, if my executive assistant is a thousand miles away, he can’t go out and pick up my dry cleaning, right?
Let’s go back to that visual of you stepping out of your office to talk with “Kim.” And let’s say she’s in the restroom (not necessarily crying, and not necessarily because of a fight with her boyfriend). What are you going to do then?
You might walk down the hall to look for her, and subject yourself to wonderful distractions. Like your staff member who just needs to “bounce an idea off you real quick” (has it ever actually been “really quick”?). Or, like the plate of cookies on the counter by the copier (go ahead, you can start your diet “tomorrow”).
Or, you might forget altogether.
None of these are optimal, by the way.
Conversely, you might turn around, go back to your desk, and assign the task via e-mail. Or, being vigilant as you are about avoiding distractions, you likely don’t leave your desk at all…electing to pick up the phone and discuss the task via phone.
See what I’m getting at? Thanks to the miracle of modern technology, phone calls and e-mails travel instantaneously, whether they traverse 1,500 miles or 15 feet.
And, really, are you ever going to go Miranda Priestly on your poor assistant? I didn’t think so (but your EA Wizard could arrange for pick-up and drop-off of your dry cleaning, from your office!).
Now that we’ve convinced you that distance is no problem, here are some more reasons EA Wizard is for you:
It’s affordable: plans start at $150 per week.
No long-term commitments: plans run month-to-month, cancel anytime.
No onboarding or training: our people are trained and ready to go from day one.
No concerns about “culture fit”: we only hire professional, courteous staff.
No awkward dismissals: if the need to downsize arrives, you simply stop paying and your EA Wizard “disappears.” Terminations for cause, though EXTREMELY unlikely, are our problem, not yours.
No job postings, job descriptions, or interviews: enough said.
No annual performance reviews: if you miss those, even magic won’t help you.
“Do you have any examples of people who have done this successfully? You know, see how it’s working for them?”
You bet.
As I already mentioned, Tim Ferriss wrote a book about it.
Michael Hyatt also wrote a book about it. He’s also blogged about it on several occasions.
These respected thought leaders don’t recommend EA Wizard specifically. We felt the need to create a custom solution for nonprofit CEOs because your needs have unique nuances.
Fannie Fiction, CEO of MadeUp Children’s Museum in Nowhere, NE has an EA Wizard. Here’s what she thinks:
“I always wondered what else I could be accomplishing for our organization if I wasn’t bogged down by routine tasks. We keep a lean staff, though, and I knew there wasn’t any ‘slack capacity’ in any of our team members’ workdays. Besides, the best use of our scarce resources is to invest in programs, right?
What I finally realized is the opportunity cost of me failing to focus on those things only I could do, and delegating the rest. My organization, and the families we serve, need me to be focus on high payoff activities.
With the added emphasis I can now place on donor stewardship, we’ve increased our annual fund more than double the investment in EA Wizard. I’ll take a 100% return on investment any day.”
What could you accomplish?
“Okay, you’ve convinced me it’s a good deal. It’s just that I need to get things ‘organized’ before we start so I can be sure and use the EA Wizard effectively.”
Oh, I forgot to tell you? Shame on me, this is the VERY BEST PART!
Your EA Wizard actually trains you to maximize his or her assistance to you. Your initial 60 minute consultation (not deducted from your plan hours…in other words, bonus time) follows a standard intake process, geared to identify those areas where your EA Wizard can help most.
You get the final say on assignments, based on your needs and how many hours per week you’re buying. And, of course, you can assign new tasks through your weekly preview meeting, a 30 minute Skype call.
“Do you offer a guarantee?”
We offer a 30 day, 100% money-back guarantee. If after the first month you are not completely satisfied for any reason, we will refund your investment. No questions, no surprises, no hoops to jump through, no games.
That’s how sure we are that you’ll love your EA Wizard.
What could you accomplish?
Now that you have more time, what big project will you tackle? How will it feel to review your P&L statement a year from now and see a brand-new revenue generating program? How will it feel to report to your development director that you made every call assigned to you? How will it feel to no longer have to admit, “I’m sorry, I didn’t get to it.”?
Let’s get started!
Now that you’re ready to start your 30 day, no-risk trial, call or text Darren at (402) 937-9907. Or e-mail him. Or tweet him @DarrenMacfee.
We can’t wait to help you create the results you and your organization deserve!