Holiday Time

It's that time of the year again - the time to rush out of the office two hours late, into an over-packed estate car with various family members, and to endure a long car journey to your holiday destination. Having arrived, much later than planned, tired and stressed, your first action will be to take your Blackberry out of your pocket as see if you get signal - thereby upsetting your partner to the point of being able to get the first row of the holiday out of the way there and then.

There is an alternative. It does, however, require a little planning. That's why I suggest it now. So - sit back, read carefully and find a way to actually enjoy your holiday - from the first day.

1. Plan your last day. Think about all the appointments you have that day and establish a realistic time to finish. If you have a 5pm conference, arranging to meet your family outside the office at 6pm is a recipe for stress. Much better to meet later, but without having to rush.
2. Arrange a single point of contact. If you have a secretary, then she is a good person to control contact with you during your holiday. There should (where possible - many bosses are less keen on the idea...) be only one person who is delegated with contacting you if necessary and who has the full details of your trip, including hotel numbers, airline details etc. Check in advance if there is a mobile signal - if not, then you may choose to have a land-line chat every couple of days with your contact-person instead.
3. Have the "emergency" conversation. Sit down with your contact-person and talk about what sort of incidents and events might constitute the sort of emergency that would require your input. You don't want to be contacted two or three times a day because it has been difficult to find a client - but, equally, you don't want to return to the office to find a smoking ruin and an assistant saying "...well, we didn't want to bother you..."
4. Talk with your team. Speak to the people who work for and with you. Make sure that they know that you are going on holiday - and that they know that they will not be able to contact you other than through your contact-person (se above). Make sure that they understand your deadline on your last day (and I'd recommend that you tell everyone you are leaving some hours before you actually hope to.
5. Update. If you are going away from the office for a while - two or three weeks, say - then arrange to have a written update emailed to you at the end of each week. This should be a short-ish document (2 or 3 pages) bringing you up to date with the important issues. Obviously this needs to be written by someone you trust to tell you the truth, to understand the important issues and to tell you that your input is required only if it really is.
6. Tell your clients. I know that this is contentious, but it really is better than they can think of you as human. Say who will be heading their case/matter/issues and tell them about your primary contact-person.
7. Have the email conversation. Let's be honest - you're probably going to read your emails. Set a time at the beginning or end of the day - but make sure that someone else has been though your emails and flagged the important ones that you might be able to look at briefly in that 5-10 minute period. Note that you are not guaranteeing to read email every day - you are guaranteeing that you will not read emails other than during a narrow window. After all, you've already arranged what will happen if there really is an emergency...
8. Have some time alone in between finishing work on your last day and coming home as a "holiday person". You need to change your perspective and you need to positively think about being away from the office, about being on holiday rather than at work, and you need to prepare to be available to your partner / children / dogs from now on.

So now you can relax. You know that the work is being done, everyone knows what to do and that both you and your office understand when contact is necessary.

It is important to have a proper holiday. You and your family deserve it and your team deserves to have you at your best (and, to be honest, they may enjoy you being out of the office).

Relax, chill out, play silly games, walk in the sea, count clouds, pick flowers, talk at length with the people you love, chat with furry animals, sleep. It's what holidays are for.

Planning for Holidays II - smaller firms

In response to my earlier posting about heading off on holidays (see here), I was asked how this would apply to much smaller firms - to the 1 to 5 partner firm in particular.

In general, much of the advice is the same. What changes is that, in this size of firm, there will be fewer people to do the work for the partners and so they will need to get more involved in the actual "do-ing".

Task 1 in my first email was to do with planning. That still needs to be done. It should go without saying that the partners will have discussed holiday cover amongst themselves and will be aware of each others' ongoing matters. Everyone still needs to agree what an emergency is. One quick route to partner fallout would be one partner deciding to try to deal with an angry client who is usually dealt with by someone on holiday. Having the discussion before you go away about what constitutes an emergency.

Task 2 is valid for any size of organisation. Tell your colleagues and co-workers when you will be checking your emails and try to have someone back at the office deal with the simple ones for you.

Task 3 applies to every size of firm. Tell your clients - admit to being human and needing a holiday.

Task 4 possibly applies even more to partners in a smaller firm. These people tend to be the more entrepreneurial type who will have difficulty in being away from work for an extended time. Try to remember that there are other people in your life - partner, spouse, children and friends - and that they should have some of your time too. Remember, too, that you deserve time just for you, doing the things you probably used to do before you decided to start or join a small law firm. Now is the time for all those things. Switch off your phone/iPhone/Blackberry other than at the designated times. Dare to disconnect from the internet. You may find you like it.

I updated my first post with a reminder to talk with your team about enjoying their holiday in the same way. In small partnerships it is vital that all the partners - and everyone involved in the firm - gets the best from their holidays. If your fellow partners haven't planned their tome away from the office yet, then help them to have it now. Everyone will benefit in the end.

Planning for Holidays

Holiday time is coming. It's nearly the end of July, the schools are breaking up and many people are about to go on holiday. Even partners in law firms, and other senior executives...

Now is the time to start planning your time on holiday. By that I mean that, with a little bit of planning, it will be possible both for you to have a relaxed holiday and for you firm to continue with "work as usual". I know that planning your time on holiday sounds both rather depressing and a bit nerdy. I am sure, however, that I can offer some advice that will help to keep you as calm as possible during your time away from the office. You will benefit, your family will benefit and your firm will benefit.

Task 1: Define an emergency

How many of us have waited until the day before our holidays to make any arrangements before rushing out of the office saying "call me if there is an emergency" to our assistant or PA or secretary? So what's an emergency? There is a danger that your office feels there is an emergency three or four times a day - or that they don't call you at all, and you return after a fortnight away to a smouldering burnt-out wreck of an office and someone saying "well, we didn't like to disturb you..."

So - have the discussion. I will assume that your assistant or PA will be in the office while you are away. I certainly hope this will be the case but if not (and why not), then make sure that there is one person who is covering for you and who will be taking messages. Discuss different scenario with them to make sure that you have broadly the same view of when they should get in touch.

I am reminded of an incident when I was interviewing prospective MBA students at London Business School. I was sharing interviewing duties with a guy and, in between interviews, his phone rang. He listened briefly before saying "Let me stop you there. When I said you could ring if it was important - I meant you could ring if it was important to me" and hung up. There was a man who was not afraid to have the discussion - but should, perhaps, have had it before leaving the office.

Task 2: Have a timetable for checking emails

I'd love to be able to say that you will be on holiday and so shouldn't check your email at all. We all know, however, that this is not an option. So - take control. Say that you will check your emails once a day in the evening (or morning or whenever) and that you will only respond to urgent problems (see above). Make sure your team know that you might deal with emails by forwarding them to your team. Above all make sure that your assistant or PA is dealing with as many emails as possible - perhaps flagging those emails that you should be looking at in the short time available. Make sure, too, that your assistant knows how to get hold of you in an emergency (see task 1 again).

Task 3: Tell your clients

I have a colleague who regularly would moan about clients calling him at all hours of the day and during his holiday. He had not, however, mentioned that he would be on holiday (and would reply to calls and emails at midnight - thereby giving the impression that it was, therefore, working time).

It's ok to have a holiday - really. So tell your clients and give them the contact details for your assistant or PA (see task 1) and tell them your timetable for checking emails. Make some time to speak with clients before you go away - and timetable some time to catch up with them when you get back. Your clients will appreciate this effort, and you will not be disturbed.

Task 4: Relax

You will be on holiday - stop thinking about work. If you find this a problem (and I often do) research some techniques to help. There are many many sites out there, but the BBC's is one of the most straight forward.

Assuming that this is a family holiday - negotiate (before you go away!) some time just for you to do the things that you love to do. Whether it is a round of golf, sea kayaking or working on your own in the garden - negotiate with your partner (and children) so that you get the time to do this. Obviously you will ensure that your partner gets the same opportunity, as do your children.

Enjoy your holiday. Pamper your partner, play with your children - and relax. You deserve it.

Update

As a partner in the law firm, or any other kind of executive, please make sure that you have a conversation along these lines with your team. They deserve a holiday too, after all. Speak with them about contact during their holidays - and remember not to contact them unless it's an emergency (see task 1!).