Ellington

If you are considering starting your own business, or have already started one, get yourself a copy of the classic "The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It" by Michael Gerber (HarperCollins, 1995, $18.99) to learn how to sustain it. This book does not soft-pedal the world of owning your business and what you're doing right or wrong. Perhaps the most needed advice in the book is not to start a business because you want to be your own boss. It's the worst reason to do it, as you'll learn in the book.

In addition, Gerber teaches the franchise model of running your business, even if you're not a franchise. That is, you need systems and checklists, even in creative businesses. Many businesses spend way too much time reinventing the same wheel, and this leads to almost-certain failure. You'll also love this book because it helps you figure out exactly what positions you need on your staff so that you can work on your business, not in it. Successful entrepreneurs need to find good people to do what they're not good at and don't have time to do. This book can help. Don't start a business without it.

READING NOW: Gerber's classic "E-Myth" was so good that I'm working my way through his other books. I'm currently reading Gerber's " Awakening the Entrepreneur Within: How Ordinary People Can Create Extraordinary Companies" (Harper, 2009, $15.99). I'll report back.

Time Tip
This one is easier, and harder, than it sounds. When you get to your desk in the morning, don't check your email. Seriously. Get something else done first, something really important that will give you that burst of energy to deal with the rest of your task list for the day. This is a magical tip from organizing guru Julie Morgenstern in " Never Check E-Mail In the Morning: And Other Unexpected Strategies for Making Your Work Life Work" (Touchstone, 2005, $15). Try it.

Once you've mastered this one, turn off your email alerts. You don't want to be distracted every time an email arrives in your box. Set up two to four times to check your email each day. Or, if you really, really need to see email more often, spend the first five or 10 minutes of each hour processing email. Try to process it so you don't have to touch it again, and be sure to delete it if you don't need it cluttering up your inbox. The ideal is a clear inbox every day, but we'll deal with that task in another issue.

Managing Magic: Work to praise at least four times more than you criticize. And hire and promote employees who make you want to praise much more than that!