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The 4 Ds

2/20/2023

As a portfolio Finance Director for startups and early-stage companies, the ‘Four Ds of email’ changed my life. 

As a portfolio Finance Director for startups and early-stage companies, the ‘Four Ds of email’ changed my life. 

Do, delete, defer and delegate. 

I run my inbox on this basis. Inbox-Zero-Hero and all that. It just helps to thin out my head space and decide what balls are in my court. 

The CEOs I work with have a lot going on as well. I'm sure you do too.      

Recently, whilst talking to a CEO, I had a simple realisation that the Four Ds of email apply just as beautifully to finances. 

If finances isn't your comfort zone, you might feel very easily overwhelmed by stuff landing in your inbox, on your Slack feed, raised by your team or someone at a Board Meeting. 

“What do I do with this?!”

You can actually apply the Four Ds to keep things moving and stay on top of things. 

Let’s take them one by one.

Do. If you know what to do, whether it's an email or quick request and it will take you literally 60 seconds just do it and get it off your plate.      

Delete. I live in a world of deleting unnecessary emails or anything where I know I can go and source it myself if I need to. Some emails are in my inbox for a split second. Those things no longer fill my headspace. Equally, if I don’t want to delete it, I file emails and old Excel files in Archive subfolders where I can easily access them. 

Defer. Finance is full of stuff that needs to be done now, but it's also full of stuff that can be deferred. For example, if your year end is December, in early January you'll get notices from HMRC to file a tax return for your company in 9 to 12 months time. A lot of these things can be deferred. However, that just gets them off your plate today. You need to remember to put something in your diary when you are going to pick these up again. So you don’t forget about it. 

Delegate. All leaders have to do this. We become better and better at doing it through practice. If someone on your team can easily handle whatever the issue is, just delegate it to them. If they can do it 70% as good as what you would like, well, at least just start with that and you can improve it. Your bookkeeper should be more than able and willing to help you with many financial admin issues. 

This is all about avoiding getting stuck and keeping you at the front end of your business. As an FD, I have clients who create an email folder called 'Ciaran' or 'Important Stuff' and schedule a 30 minute run through that folder to empty it using the above. You can even create four subfolders within the FD folder called Do, Delete, Defer and Delegate. Again, just take steps to thin out your headspace, feel in control and get you back onto the other important stuff that needs your attention and leadership. 

If you are stuck or feel overwhelmed, why not give ‘The 4Ds of Finances’ a go?

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