Tightrope: Here's how to make that needed getaway

— -- Hi, Gladys, I haven't taken a vacation from my bar and restaurant business in 12 years. I would love to take my family on vacation. But I need to know how I can comfortably leave my employees unsupervised while I'm gone. How can I be assured that they will get the job done right? What do I do to prevent them from leaving early or coming in late, or worst yet stealing while I'm not there to supervise? I hope your answer allows me to take a much needed rest soon. — R. H.

Do you not have a manager or supervisor in your company? No business owner should walk out the door without leaving someone — and a responsible someone — in charge. Your manager should be capable of managing both staff and business with and without your constant presence.

I will assume that you do have such a person workign for you.

So, if your staff is doing all of the right things under your watchful eye while you are there, what makes you think they will operate any differently when you are away?

Let's think in terms of capability.

If you feel that your employees are getting the job done right only because you are there to constantly guide them, then perhaps you have hired the wrong folks.

If you find that your staff is completely capable of running things and you still feel apprehensive about leaving them, then perhaps you should take a closer look at yourself.

I have often told the story about my father who always mowed the grass because he felt that not one of my five brothers were capable of mowing with the kind of perfection that he required.

There are many entrepreneurs who also feel this way. When I was in the travel business I knew a couple who operated a tour company. They would close up the operation for two weeks in the winter and two weeks in the summer so that they could take a vacation.

I thought that they shut down in order to give their workers a break. One day while visiting their office I mentioned how nice it was that they could afford to let everyone vacation at the same time. They quickly set me straight. The husband said that they did it to protect their business from their employees. The wife told me a complex story about how a friend of theirs who also owned a tour company went on vacation for 10 days and when they returned one of the employees had started her own company and had taken most of their business. At the end of her story she quickly added, "Anyway, we need to be here to make absolutely certain that things get done the way we want them done."