The Holiday Season

I am sure, like us, you are running your business on fewer staff than normal at present, as the peak of the holiday season, August, is upon us.  At what can be one of our busiest times of year, this isn’t always easy to manage.  And the temptation as business owners is not to go away ourselves.  But this isn’t the way forward, as it can actually hinder our growth and development as SMEs.

I have never held back on going away on holiday, despite the pressures not to!  I remember in the early days of the business, there was always some travesty or other as soon as I left the country, whether this was a van involved in an accident or a member of staff resigning.  It almost became a joke; what was going to happen this time?  Fortunately now there are enough capable members of staff to deal with most crises.  And this year we seem to be getting through them before I go away next week.  Only two days ago an agency driver filled up one of our new 3.2 litre diesel vans with petrol!

There are three very good reasons as company owners to ensure that you take enough holiday.  And I mean going away on holiday, not staying at home and checking your e-mails every 30 minutes.

1)  As human beings we need rest and recovery in order to be effective when we are working.  The judeo-christian society is based on a culture that had around 10 weeks holiday per year - and a year off in every seven.  We will struggle to reach these levels, but it is something to aspire to!

2)  Often it is by getting away from our businesses that enables us to get perspective, vision and ideas that are more difficult to get when we are in the middle of things.  Also being in other cultures and seeing businesses and products there sometimes gives us great ideas for when we come home.

3)  Finally, and possibly most importantly, our going away on holiday often ensures other managers and members of staff need to take responsibility for parts of the business that they don’t normally.  I have seen tremendous growth in individuals when they are forced to have to challenge themselves and push into new ground when I or other managers have been out of the business.  This enables room for possible promotion for these people in the future.

So, if you are going away on holiday this summer, enjoy your time away.  And if not, why not?!