CLOCKWORK
OPERATION • VACATION
EIGHTEEN MONTHS OUT DATE __________________
DECLARE IT
m Put vacation dates on the calendar
m Tell everyone, for accountability
m Declare it to Mike. Email him at
Mike@OperationVacation.me with the
subject “I set my four-week vacation”
SIXTEEN MONTHS OUT DATE __________________
RUN A TIME ANALYSIS
m Run a Time Analysis of my work
m Complete all other Clockwork exercises
for myself
FOURTEEN MONTHS OUT DATE __________________
TELL MY TEAM
m Tell the team about my commitment to my
four-week vacation. Explain WHY I’m doing
this, the outcome I’m looking for, and how this
will benet both the business and them
m Invite them to ask questions and share
concerns, and empower them to help achieve
the outcome
m Give them all a copy of Clockwork so they can
better understand the process
m Establish better cross communication of
team members
m Dene clear responsibilities for each role,
and who are the primary and secondary
team members responsible for them
m Implement a Daily Huddle to review key
metrics, establish goals, and celebrate wins
(refer to pg 228 for detailed structure)
TWELVE MONTHS OUT DATE __________________
START TO CUT DOWN ON DOING
m Have a team meeting to establish what I need
to stop Doing
m Write an action plan to Trash, Transfer or Trim
my responsibilities
m Have each team member do all the
Clockwork exercises
m Commit to cutting down my Doing workload
to be under 80% (If already under 80%,
commit to cutting another 10%)
m Establish substitutes for the QBR so I am not
the only one serving it
m Start to visulaize the 4-week vacation, and write
down what I anticipate will go wrong/right
m Book that vacation!
m Do I want an organizational efciency trainer?
If so, check out runlikeclockwork.com
TEN MONTHS OUT DATE __________________
DEEPER CUTS TO DOING
m Run a fresh Time Analysis to conrm I am
under 80% Doing
m Have a team meeting to cut my Doing time to
less than 40%. Allocate all that time to Design
EIGHT MONTHS OUT DATE __________________
MEASURE PROGRESS & ESTABLISH
BACKUPS
m Run a Time Analysis on myself again
to make sure I am under 40% Doing
m Commit to achieving 0% Doing time
within the next 60 days
m Have a team meeting to plan and
measure progress
m Identify backups and redundancy for
each person
SIX MONTHS OUT DATE __________________
RUN A TEST
m Take a one-week vacation as a test.
Do not go to the ofce or connect remotely
m Have a team meeting the rst day back
to review what did and didn’t work.
Adjust accordingly
m Conrm all plans for four-week vacation
m Commit to reducing Deciding and
Delegating to 5% and Designing to
95% in the next four months
FOUR MONTHS OUT DATE __________________
RUN MORE TESTS
m WEEK 1 – Run another one-week vacation test.
No connection for seven days
m
WEEK 2 – Debrief with team and
make adjustments
m WEEK 3 – Run another one-week test
m WEEK 4 – Meet again to debrief and x
TWO MONTHS OUT DATE __________________
PLAN FULL DISCONNECT
m Run another Time Analysis to conrm I am at
0% Doing. If not, nd a way to get there ASAP
m
Plan full disconnect with the team.
Who is responsible for taking over all my
communication platforms (Email, FB etc).
Make sure they know to change the password
so I can’t log in while I’m away
m Who will take my cell phone? Let them know
how I can be contacted in case of a true
emergency (like a death)
m Commit to achieving 99% Design time
ONE MONTH OUT DATE __________________
ACT AS AN OBSERVER
m Just sit back and observe, don’t Do or
Decide anything
m Delegate the outcomes for any remaining work
m Source materials to use during any naturally
occuring Design time while on vacation
(ie notebook, voice recorder)
m
Look for loose ends and document them. Don’t
tie them, just pass them on to someone else
ONE WEEK OUT DATE __________________
TAKE A VACATION AT WORK
m Go to the ofce, but don’t Do anything
m If anything comes up that isn’t Design work,
delegate it to someone else (even that one last
thing that I’m convinced only I can do…)
THE DAY BEFORE
OPERATION VACATION
DATE __________________
TAKE A VACATION AT WORK
m Send Mike an email to
Mike@OperationVacation.me with the
subject line “I’m outta here!”
m
Have the team member responsible for it
change my passwords to everything.
WHILE I’M AWAY DATE _____________
m Get lost in all the magic moments
m Keep that notebook or voice recorder
handy for when inspiration strikes
m Make meaningful connections
m Take pictures — so they can inspire the
next vacation!
WHEN I RETURN DATE _____________
m Schedule a meeting to debrief for the day
after I return. Document the following:
m What worked and didn’t work
m All the surprises and challenges that
cropped up
m What was forgotten about before I left?
m
Schedule one meeting a week for the next
four weeks so we can debrief, improve,
review and improve more
m Schedule the next four-week vacation for
twelve months from now. I’ve just started
a new tradition!
CLOCKWORK
OPERATION • VACATION