Presenting Rule #13

Let me begin this week with an apology. I had promised that this would be a place to share stories, stories that would not only amaze, but inspire. These stories would be filled with many wonderful anecdotes written in such a way that would not only enlighten, but educate you, the reader, about the teachings of Bob. The stories will serve a dual purpose, to help you become a more productive member of your business environment and hopefully, eventually, take the skills learned here to venture out on your own.

Unfortunately for you the reader, Bob has been following his set of rules down to a T. What that means in practical terms, that you, the layman can understand, is that Bob has been away on other pursuits, which leaves us with a lack of stories. He understands that his time and his guidance are so valuable that something inevitable must happen. Before I let you in on what exactly that inevitable outcome is, lets turn quickly back to the prior stated fact that Bob's time is immeasurably valuable. It is so valuable in fact, that even though he is the leader, the decision maker, here at GenTechs, he must not waste his time by dealing with trite office tasks. He knows that he is just too valuable for GenTechs to actually spend his time managing the company and giving it direction. As you, the reader, should now be acutely aware, Bob should, no, must, spend his time elsewhere engaging in various other business pursuits. And as has already been stated, Bob is doing just that. So, I do apologize for the lack of fresh stories, but they will begin in earnest very soon.

In addition, that inevitable outcome of which I spoke earlier has to do directly with the other point I made, Bob's guidance is very valuable. Because of the statement made earlier, "... understands that his time and his guidance are... valuable...", Bob can rest assured knowing that even though he must spend his time following other pursuits, his company, our company of GenTechs, can run just fine without his management or direct guidance. He understands that even though his employees do not have the qualifications or the experience to run the business on a day to day basis, they will do just fine as long as they follow his immeasurably valuable rules and prior guidance.

With that out of the way, I regret to inform you that I do not have a story for you, instead I will be presenting to you rule number 13. Please pay special attention because this rule (As with all other rules) is especially important.

13. Starting times are for grumpy old men. Whose bright idea was it to come up with the idea that a "normal" business day should begin at 9 and end at 5? Just because the sun comes up in the morning and sets in the evening should not dictate that work begin sharp in the morning and end sharp in the evening. That kind of talk is conservative nonsense. If you want to succeed in the 21st century, you need be forward thinking. This means that business happens all the time, not just between two preset times of the day. As such, encourage your employees to just show up, instead of show up on time. Without rules as to starting times, your employees will feel important, they will feel they are the master of their own domain and will set their own schedules. Even if they show up late and leave early, you can rest assured knowing that they are happier with their schedule and will be infinitely more productive during the day (or even night!). Having set schedules or rules concerning schedules will only cost you important time and money trying to enforce and uphold those rules or schedules.

Bob should be returning to the office at some point... in the future. So stories of his teachings and methods should begin soon. In the mean time, keep a pen and some paper handy because the rules are constantly growing and evolving as Bob continues to grace us with his teachings.

Until Next Time.