The Do's and Don'ts of Delegating 125 Chapter 8 Do's Don' T he s and ' ts of Delegating ason let out a heavy sigh. "There is so much to do," he thought to himself. "I wish I could assign someone else to this project, but it is too important. I need to make sure this gets done right." "You can't do everything yourself," he heard someone say. Jason looked up from his desk to see his friend Mark standing in the doorway of his office. Mark was a confident man in his late 20s. His department of 25 people seemed to run like clock- work. Just last month they had been recognized for being the most profitable department in the company, achieving a 23 per- cent margin. Every other department was struggling to meet the minimum goal of 7 percent. "How's it going, Jason?" Mark asked, as he flashed a sym- pathetic, but concerned smile. Jason leaned back in his chair. "Well, I'm working 10, some- times 12-hour days, and I'm here six days a week," he replied. "I'm missing deadlines and my employees don't seem to care. They take off as soon as it hits five o'clock." Hopefully Jason's situation doesn't sound familiar. How- ever, if you're relating to him, it's probably time to become a student of the do's and don'ts of delegation. J 125