By Chris Gandy

During a recent coaching session, a CEO recounted a conversation she had the month before with her Chairman. Apparently, the Chairman was micromanaging  and giving her a tough time asking “has this been done, has that been done“?

I asked her how she responded. “Told him.. I’ll get my clone to do this and my other clone to do that” she said with a smile.

I later reflected on her comment and about how difficult it is at times leading a cause-based organisation. It seems that  95% of our attention is taken-up by a half a dozen absolutely time and energy sapping things – client issues, keeping the funding body happy, dealing with board and employee issues, watching the finances and extinguishing the latest “bushfire” that has broken out somewhere in the organisation. As a result, a squadron of important but not “today critical” issues are allowed to fly under the radar and either are left till tomorrow or, as in the case of our CEO, when the clone is available.

Musing further about this clone idea, I thought “Hang-on, is this so farfetched”?

While we aren’t talking about a human version of Dolly the Sheep, surely some form of targeted assistance can be provided to leaders to assist with the work load. In thinking about this two areas sprang to mind:

Insurance – If your organisation is typical, it has had policies in place since the year dot. Few, if any claims. Premiums go up a little each year but hey we will wear it. We think we are adequately covered for all contingencies, but not sure. Would love to have a clone to research this area for us and see whether our policies are up-to-date? Are we paying over the odds with our premiums etc.?

Finance is another area in need of a clone. Your organisation may have negotiated a loan several years ago which, then, was very competitive. Today, it could be looking quite sick up against newer products on the market. In the meantime your organisation could be leaking precious dollars as it is unlikely your current financier is going to admit they are no longer competitive. Again, many just do not have the time or people to keep tabs on these issues, but a clone could make a real difference.

So, a couple of telephone calls to some really switched on Associates, Quadrant Financial Solutions and Insurance House and our new “Clone Service” was born. And what’s more these guys are offering their services for FREE!

We will progressively add more clones to our service offering and while some will be completely free and others very competitively priced – all will represent great value and help you and your organisation to be more effective.

Could you do with a clone? Let us know the details and we will see what we can do.

About the author – Chris Gandy is a Director of Cause and Effective , providers of Coaching, Consulting, Facilitation and Executive Transition Services to cause-based organisations.

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