Some people are cut out to be managers. Others just are not, but often get forced into it one way or another. If you are wondering whether to make management your career, take time to read our light-hearted Top 10 Clues That You Are Management Material.

Part two of that article is more serious and offers specific traits and behaviors that are characteristic of better managers so be sure to continue on to page two and read How To Be A Better Manager.

I used to volunteer at a local elementary school (which I strongly recommend to everyone). One day, at the end of the school year, I was talking to the janitor as he and his team started a thorough cleaning of the school. I remarked on what a tough job it must be. He replied, "It would be a lot easier to keep the school clean if they didn't have all these kids here".

I guess he missed the point. Without the kids, it wouldn't be a school. Without those students getting the school dirty, he wouldn't have had a job. Amazingly, I see the same thing in the world of business much too often. People comment about how much easier their day would be if they didn't have to deal with the customers. Your customers are the reason you are in business. If you don't have any customers, you are not in business.

Here are two articles everyone in your organization needs to read, those in the customer service organization, but especially those others in the organization who don't realize that we are all in the customer service department.

• Good Customer Service Is No Longer Enough
• Guaranteed Sales Increase

In a meeting this morning we were talking about silos - data silos, organizational silos, informational silos - and how they get in the way. They reduce teamwork, increase costs, and curb innovation.

One of the single most important keys to getting the most out of any company is having seamless flow of information. If everyone knows what everyone else does you never have miscommunication, things never fall through the cracks, and procedural errors never happen. Unfortunately, for most companies that condition ended when they hired their second employee.

In Data Integration, The Key To Profits we explore why and how data silos exist and the specific steps you can take to remove them. Every data silo you allow to exist costs you money, decreases your flexibility, and reduces your profit.

Today was tough. So many things going on, so many problems clamoring for my attention it was hard to stay focused on one thing at a time. Many of you know that I believe in chunking not multi-tasking. Today really tested my resolve to do that.

In a situation like this I try to remember the Pareto Principle and focus on what's really important, not just urgent. I also try to delegate what I can but in the end it comes down to it's not how hard you work, it's what you get done so I focused on the task at hand, which was important, and let the others wait until I finished it.

What tricks do you use to stay focused in the face of conflicting demands on your time? Click the comments link below and share them with the rest of us.