THE DEALER

There are nine certainties about your dealer.

Your dealer is sales oriented.

Your dealer is not a numbers dummy.

Your dealer doesn’t understand the ins and outs of the numbers.

Your dealer doesn’t care how you arrived at the numbers.

Your dealer is not interested in what you did yesterday.

Your dealer wants to know what you did for him/her today.

Your dealer does not appreciate your worth to the store.

Your dealer views the office as a necessary evil.

Your dealer suffers from amnesia.

THE CONTROLLER

Just as there are nine certainties about the dealer, there are nine certainties about the controller.

Your job is to protect the dealers’ assets. Your #1 priority.

Your job is to establish procedures, guidelines and systems

Your job is to record and summarize financial transactions.

Your job is to verify, analyze and report accurate financial data.

Your job is to continually monitor expense.

Your job is to recommend expense reductions where appropriate.

Your job is to provide timely data.

Your job is to maximize your earnings.

Your job is to sit at the right hand of the dealer.

MARYLOU/JUSTINE

There aren’t enough fingers and toes to count how many times a controller or office managers has said, “I don’t have time” or “I only have two hands.”

Someone once said, “If you want to get something done, give it to the person that doesn’t have time. It will get done.” And that is a truism.

TALE OF TWO CONTROLLERS

Marylou starts work at 9:00 AM, leaves the building for lunch at 1:00PM returns between 2:00 and 2:30. Takes time during the day to get her nails done and do personal business. Quit time is 6:00PM or later. Marylou has assumed executive status, never has time and is always behind.

Justine starts work at 7:00AM brings a brown bag lunch to work, goes to lunch at 11:30 and is back at her desk at 12:00PM. She gets her nails done and does personal business after work. Quit time is 4:30PM. Justine has time and is never behind.

Why the Marylou’s of the world arrive at work at 9:00AM is a mystery. By the time she gets settled and fends off those who have been waiting for her to arrive at work, it is an hour or more before she becomes productive. An early arrival however allows the controller to hit the ground running when the staff arrives for work. The controller that arrives early has quiet time to plan the day and tackle jobs that require concentration without interruption. More productive work can be accomplished in the early hours of the day without phone calls or people interrupting the thought process.

Ben had it right, “The early bird gets the worm.”