Excerpts from the book...

11 practice Tips

from the book "Internal Control Strategies"
by Julie Harrer

The advice below includes quick ideas to help manage any project successfully.

Avoid Analysis Paralysis
Gathering and analyzing information before making decisions is a good practice. But there comes a time for action when a decision has to be made and an action plan developed. Over analyzing issues and putting off decisions will cause you to lose momentum. There is more time to analyze in the planning and documentation phases, but as the project nears its completion, decisions have to be made more quickly. While snap decisions are not optimal, analysis paralysis will have you missing deadlines and scrambling at year-end.

Keep it Simple
There often is no need for complex controls and solutions. Simplify when possible...

Delegate
Any task that is repetitive can most likely be delegated. For example, it is not necessary for top level managers to hold meetings. Hosting meetings is a repetitive task that could be delegated to a middle manager. The planning, scheduling and preparing agendas for meetings can take several hours. Depending on the size of your department, the second, third or fourth person in command could be responsible for holding meetings. This person would still be “high” enough to know the issues that require discussion and could consult with you on the agenda to ensure all relevant topics are addressed. In addition, it might be a type of reward for an up-and-coming manager to display his or her leadership skills in front of an entire department...

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