Organization Archives - Page 3 of 4

Islands in Your Company: How to Identify Them

Pamela Ayuso March 25, 2019

At Celaque, we are organized by function. We have six different departments that are structured according to the work that needs to be executed. As we strengthen the organization, we continue to place each role and responsibility within the different departments. We make sure that every operation within the company is within the purview of one of the departments and is part of that group’s systems and processes. Because each department has its own processes and uses the same company-wide systems, it makes adding one more item more efficient.

As we move forward, I have been finding islands of roles/responsibilities that have been operating independently of the departments. Inevitably, in these islands parallel processes have also been developed that don’t fall within each of the department’s main processes. The extra procedures entail an additional effort because they fall outside of the system.

The Structure of Your Business Can Define Your Success: This Is How

Pamela Ayuso February 11, 2019

There are several ways to organize a company; you may choose to organize by function, by business unit, which is common in larger organizations, or by using a flatter structure. Whatever model works best for your company, it’s important that the structure be intentionally designed and not just a haphazard arrangement of functions that have been organized just to get the work distributed. Every role and function in a company should be included, and nothing should be left out.

That an organization should be meticulously crafted might seem obvious to a professional who works in a well-ordered corporate structure. However, for a growing company, the complexity is immense as workloads increase. What should go where? Who should do what? These are the types of questions that a newer company is constantly confronting to make sure all the work is done well and efficiently. Often, these questions are asked when it’s too late, and a problem has arisen, such as an activity that should have been completed and wasn’t or something that wasn’t finished on time.

How to Build a Growing Company’s Structure and Organization

Pamela Ayuso December 10, 2018

Building an organizational structure is one of the hardest things I’ve worked on as an entrepreneur. It requires many hours of work and design, and the efforts must be constantly adjusted as the context and the way the company operates changes. The organizational structure is the skeleton over which all company responsibilities are built. When it is clear what team is responsible for what and how each role fits into the grand scheme of the company, work is more efficient, and the probability that an important task will get lost is greatly diminished.

How a company is organized depends on its industry, but I’ve found some overarching concepts that I’ve applied to Celaque. These ideas have held ever since I implemented them and have only become more relevant with time.

How to Stay on Top of Organization on a Monthly Basis

Pamela Ayuso October 1, 2018

Being organized is a critical component of professional productivity. When everything is in its place and easy to find, work gets done more quickly and with the least amount of friction. As an added benefit, I find it more pleasant to work in an organized environment.

Therefore, I try always to maintain control of my inbox and my computer desktop, and to ensure that the top of my work desk is clean. My goal is to have all emails responded to, archived, deleted, or set as tasks within 24 hours. My computer desktop should have no files (everything should be uploaded to the cloud), and my desk should be neat at any given moment.

Your To-Do List: How to Manage Future Tasks

Pamela Ayuso August 6, 2018

Promising ideas and future tasks constantly arise as a product of daily interactions. These future actions must be cared for so that they can have a chance to yield their best results. One of these could mean the birth of the next big product idea or could simply be a task that must not be forgotten because the consequences will otherwise be detrimental.

Because most of what demands our attention is related to present tasks at hand, developing a technique for planning into the future is important. The more skill that is developed in handling these types of actions, the more that can be accomplished.

Your Company Manual and How to Ensure Its Accessibility

Pamela Ayuso June 18, 2018

A few years ago, I was looking at our firm’s operating manual. It was a 15-page Word document stored on our local server. Despite the amount of work we dedicated to assembling it, nobody ever opened or accessed it. It was the electronic equivalent of an archived file that was ignored by everybody. The manual had pages and pages of useful information, but it was of no practical use because no one referred to it.

How to Empty Your Mind for Better Problem Solving & Performance

Pamela Ayuso May 14, 2018

I am convinced that one of the biggest threats to the adult mind is the amount of everyday information we store in it. All day, our brains are sifting through thousands of to-dos and incomplete items:

You forgot to return your client’s call.
The proposal has not gone out yet.
Taxes are going to be due soon, and you have not prepared the documentation.
The printer is acting up and will have to be repaired.
You need to start hiring for a new marketing position.

It is relentless. The reminders do not stop until we complete the tasks. The brain’s goal is to make sure we survive, and this is one of the ways it helps us. And your brain is right: the information is useful and important.

Invest in the Future to Avoid Potential Roadblocks

Pamela Ayuso April 10, 2018

Have you ever developed a brilliant way of doing something and then forgotten the path you took to arrive there in the first place?

Whenever we do something for the first time, we are making mistakes and learning as we go. We may invest time doing one task but then realize that the process did not work. So, we try a different way again, and this time, it might lead in the right direction. Eventually, the puzzle comes together, and the goal is achieved.

How to Effectively Keep Track of Everything You Have to Do

Pamela Ayuso March 13, 2018

Days are full of activity and go by in the blink of an eye. Between one thing and the next, it will show if ideas and work are not managed properly. We will miss a deadline, forget to call a big client back or drop the ball on an important assignment. Executing is key but so is following-up to ensure that everything that was needed to be done was done on time.

Fear not: there are ways to combat this. All that is necessary is developing a system to keep track of all your to-do list items and ensuring the system works to follow through on all these tasks.

It’s Easy to Fill Your Scarce Time: Make It Count

Pamela Ayuso January 30, 2018

Time is our most precious commodity; it cannot be purchased or recovered. We all get the same 24 hours in a day.

Since making more time is not an option, the next best choice is to control the way we use it. However, this is easier said than done. Everything seems to require time. Meetings, clients, employees, new projects, problems, and day-to-day business are incessant. The never-ending demands can easily take up all available time.

Category: Organization