The seven habits of highly effective people

 
Delegation:    Increasing P and PC 
 
   We accomplish all that we do through delegation -- either to time or to other people.  If  we 
delegate to time, we think efficiency.    If we delegate to other people, we think effectiveness. 
      Many people refuse to delegate to other people because they feel it takes too much time and effort 
and they could do the job better themselves.    But effectively delegating to others is perhaps the single 
most powerful high-leverage activity there is. 
      Transferring responsibility to other skilled and trained people enables you to give your energies to 
other high-leverage activities.    Delegation means growth, both for individuals and for organizations.   
The late J. C. Penney was quoted as saying that the wisest decision he ever made was to "let go" after 
realizing that he couldn't do it all by himself any longer.    That decision, made long ago, enabled the 
development and growth of hundreds of stores and thousands of people. 
      Because delegation involves other people, it is a Public Victory and could well be included in Habit 
4.    But because we are focusing here on principles of personal management, and the ability to delegate 
to others is the main difference between the role of  manager and independent producer, I am 
approaching delegation from the standpoint of your personal managerial skills. 
   A producer does whatever is necessary to accomplish desired results, to get the golden eggs.  A 
parent who washes the dishes, an architect who draws up blueprints, or a secretary who types 
correspondence is a producer. 
      But when a person sets up and works with and through people and systems to produce golden eggs, 
that person becomes a manager in the interdependent sense.  A parent who delegates washing the 
dishes to a child is a manager.    An architect who heads a team of other architects is a manager.    A 
secretary who supervises other secretaries and office personnel is an office manager. 
   A producer can invest one hour of effort and produce one unit of results, assuming no loss of 
efficiency. 
   A manager, on the other hand, can invest one hour of effort and produce 10 or 50 or 100 units 
through effective delegation. 
   Management is essentially moving the fulcrum over, and the key to effective management is 
delegation.