30x Rule of Delegation

We have all said the following to ourselves in some capacity:

• “No one can do it as well as I can.”
• “I’ll just do it myself, it’s quicker that way.”
• “It’s faster and better if I just do it myself.”
• “I would delegate this, but no one can do it as well as I can.”

What if the above perspective was wrong? What if you are not thinking it through clearly and deeply enough? Asked another way…

How could we as leaders create situations where everything could be delegated with the understanding that the task would be done even better than we are currently doing, while simultaneously creating time for us in the future?

Over the last few weeks, I was exposed to the wisdom of Rory Vaden and his time management principles. One of the principles is to delegate everything possible to people around you. Before you jump to conclusions on how that’s simply impossible because the tasks you do are too important, too complicated, or no one can do them to your level, hear me out.

Perhaps you have that mindset because you have tried to train someone to take over your tasks, but I would argue you did not spend enough time training the delegate for that task.

The 30x Rule

The 30x rule from Rory Vaden dictates that you, as the leader of a team, should spend 30x the time training someone to do a specific task—exactly as though you were doing it yourself. So, for example, if a particular process takes you 10 minutes to complete, then you should be able to comfortably train someone for 300 minutes (five hours) to complete that process, as the 30x rule suggests.

Five hours? Are you F*&%!ng kidding me? I don’t have five hours to train someone on something I can do in ten minutes myself. Let’s see if that’s in fact true. 

It would help if you did not get stuck focusing on what this time will cost you in one, two, or three days of training. Rather, think about what this will mean for you in the long run. By taking this time to train someone to do this task, you save yourself way more than five hours in the future. In addition, you are delegating this task, ensuring it will be done well, and giving yourself MORE TIME to focus on other aspects of your business that only YOU can do.

How does the time-saving math actually work? Let’s say you need to spend 10 minutes per day on this specific task. Since there are 250 working days in a year, that’s 2,500 minutes in the year (10 minutes x 250 days = 2,500 minutes) that you spend working on that task! That’s over 45 hours a year! YOU ARE SPENDING 45 HOURS A YEAR ON THIS 10-MINUTE DAILY TASK…IN PERPETUITY! 

So, can you spend 300 minutes (five hours) training someone to become excellent at this 10-minute task? I would argue that if you cannot train the right person to perform a 10-minute task with excellence in five hours, we have other issues to figure out. 

Does the extra 2,200 minutes per year (36 hours) of “free” time sound attractive to you?

That’s a 700% return on your investment of time. 

I hope this is making you think. What could you get off your daily, weekly, and monthly task list and create time for yourself in the future?