The Concept of Time Leveraging

I've learned a new concept a few days ago, listening to a great audio CD about building assets and making use of great teamwork. The speaker spoke so eloquently and so powerfully on that audio CD, it resonated deep in my mind. Literally. Such a powerful lesson, something I didn't get to realize everyday - but something so simple, it's doable. Such is a power of using a SYSTEM in a certain model (maybe it can even be applicable in your career now, especially if you work within a team or is managing a team).

Fortunately, I was personally introduced to this lady speaker on the CD - and I got that one-in-a-million chance to learn from her and her husband, DIRECT. In an instant, I got the chance to learn from real millionaire-minded millionaires, FIRSTHAND!

Going back to that lesson in the Audio CD: the concept of time leveraging was a bit new to me, but it feels familiar. I don't think, OR I THOUGHT, I've not done it yet -- but realizing it now, I'm actually doing it (or can practically do it, if I wanted to) everyday in the current project that I am in now.

You see, I currently do contractual work as a virtual assistant. I work home-based, managing a virtual callcenter for a client of mine in the US. I am in a TEAM. I have a management team under me, and they help me in the daily operations from administering the leads to the agents (who are all working home-based like me), Supervising and handling them, to taking care or making sure our sales campaigns are well kept in order, and that all the agents under our team are producing enough sales (for a certain publisher in the US).

So what is Time Leveraging, or how can I use it at work?




Let's take a look at some definitions for "Leveraging".

Leveraging simply means:

From Merriam-Webster:
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leverage

¹le·ver·age

noun \ˈle-və-rij, ˈlē-; ˈlev-rij, ˈlēv-\

: influence or power used to achieve a desired result

: the increase in force gained by using a lever

From Investopedia: 
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/leverage.asp

DEFINITION of 'Leverage'

1. The use of various financial instruments or borrowed capital, such as margin, to increase the potential return of an investment.
2. The amount of debt used to finance a firm's assets. A firm with significantly more debt than equity is considered to be highly leveraged.

Leverage is most commonly used in real estate transactions through the use of mortgages to purchase a home.


Simply put, Leveraging means making use of a certain resource to multiply the outcome.

How do I leverage time? By working in a team concept. At work. In business. Or even at play (you can see this on team games like Basketball etc. in which players do certain tasks and are assigned specific moves so that they could make things like shoot a 3-pointer much easier and more effectively - see San Antonio Spurs; or create great spacing to get to the basket and make a 2-pointer more surely and quickly, see Miami Heat).


We have 24 hours in a day. If you make that into a week - that's 24 x 7 = 168 hours. If each one of you in a team works 1 hour at a time in a day, and say for example you have 3 in a team -- each doing 1 hour productive workload: that means you were all being productive for 3 hrs (although you only worked for only 1 hour). If you are only required to do work for a few hours from those 168 hours, and you were able to complete them in just a few hours with your team -- then that means you have more available free time (assuming you only have 1 assignment or goal at a time, per week).

Putting it another way: what if those 3 under you (say you have 3 assistants or 3 team leaders), have 3 agents working under them, and giving 1 productive hour each? You have 3 x 3 = 9 good hours. What if each of those agents, they were effectively producing 3 sales (or, for example they are giving technical support assistance that got fully resolved, 100% FCR or First Time Resolution) each hour for your project. What does that mean in a team setup?

That means, as a leader - if you were effective in managing the team and the tasks assigned to each one, making sure they follow instructions and 100% quality results - then you have multiplied yourself (your only ONE self) into 27 effective hours (3 x 3 x 3), despite you putting in just 1 hour work. That is because you had 3 Team leaders under you, who each worked one hour, and each team leader handles 3 agents each who productively gives 1 productive hour - and each of those 3 agents gave 3 sales or 3 FCRs or quality calls, meaning your customers doesn't have to call back again to seek help. Then you are no longer going to get any more hours from those callers and inadvertently waste any more time. If each of those agents booked a "sale" so that we no longer have to do a callback on those same numbers - then that means, you're no longer going back to them in the future. It shortens the time. You get to complete your required assignments or sales goals quicker and faster, for example: end a certain sales campaign for your callcenter, so that you didn't have to waste enough time, while getting to the results sooner than before.

The result, long-term / mid-term?

You had produced 27 hrs of quality work. You only had 24 hrs in a day, you have to eat, sleep, work, commute, and so you ask: how can that be possible??!!

In my setup, for example, assuming you are only required 1 sale each hour. If you need only 27 sales, and that is the only target now, then that means you got to complete your task for only 1 hour, or you effectively worked for only 1 hour). What if I got slower agents and got only to sell 1 in 2 or 3 hours? Then that means you required more hours than usual or is needed, which means you have not been able to maximize the potential, and time (or a few more hours) was wasted.

What is the result if you were able to leverage well, short-term?
You have one very happy client.

The answer or the definition isn't too obvious at first. But there a lot of practical applications, in business or even at your line of work, whether it be in manufacturing, production, or so.


That's it for now. I hope you learned something great today that is as profound as the learning I got from this new mentor of mine. More learnings to come and more to share!
But of course, I wouldn't give out the trade secrets that my mentor / mentors are teaching me! :P

Hey!! I think I'm giving away too much important information already, and for FREE!!! You got to go through me first, of course! LOL

Anyone can be a student, like me - and learning such profound concepts from my business school and sharing it to others: you can be a student like me too, so we can learn more from each other or work as a team, and apply it in your business, career, work or play! ;)
 
I got a team of great mentors! They can be your mentor too, if you choose! ;)
Life is a blessing. =)

See you again soon!