To Vacation or Not to Vacation?

Remember the old saying that goes something like this: "While the cat's away, the mice will play." It's definitely catchy and cute, but it doesn't always have to be this way. I prefer to think of it this way: "While the boss is away, the sales staff will work even harder." Now, do you even give your staff the chance to prove it, that is, if you think it's true?

Jewelry stores can be best described as seasonal. Seasonal in the sense that we are heavily dependent on Christmas, yet the business is active all year containing several very significant spikes—Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Wedding Season (April, May, June).

Well, guess where my father is going to be at the end of June this year? He will be in Vegas at the JCK Show, then laying by the water in the Virgin Islands. He is confident enough in his managers and the clarity of his policies and instructions that he is able to be far from home base even when business is going strong. Oh yes, he definitely calls in to ask a few questions, the answers to which tell him to stay away longer or get on the first plane home.

It's your time away from the business that tells you whether you have good managers and employees–and, frankly, whether you're a good boss yourself. It’s very hard for your staff to think you're a very good boss if you can't or won't trust them to get the work done while you're away.

I am a huge fan of the ARMY and its leadership effectiveness (my husband being a leader in the military himself). I tend to think of my managers as officers in the Military. In a battlefield situation, an ARMY officer would never keep all the mission plans locked in a safe to which only he had the combination. That Military officer would make sure that others in her/his chain of command had every piece of information that would enable a Staff Sergeant (your manager) or junior officers (your remaining sales associates) to take command in the event of the senior officer's incapacity, death, or vacation in the Virgin Islands.

Time away from the store discloses your own leadership. Have you entrusted your managers with the information necessary to complete large custom orders in your absence? Have you trained them well enough to enforce policies and/or bend the rules if necessary? If you can answer these questions with an honest yes, you are a leg up on many other business owners. You are confident enough in your managers and employees when you’re away.