A finance manager on Friday
told me
she was still too ‘new’
to the job to fully understand it.
She has been in that position
for two years.
She’s not new.
She’s incompetent.
If she doesn’t understand the job
by now,
she never will.
Once you’ve repeated a process,
you’re no longer new.
You may not be an expert
but you are expected to know
enough about the process
to do your job.
Don’t overplay the newbie card.
It will come back
to bite you on the a$$.
I can only work full out
for 12 hours straight.
After that,
I need a break.
So when I plan my time,
I don’t plan for more than that
(no 24/7 for me).
When I’m working on a very complex problem,
I need silence
and no interruptions.
I tend to work on these problems
before other folks start work
or after they’ve gone home.
We all have preferred ways
of getting things done.
To maximize your effectiveness,
make a note
on how best you work.
Organize your projects
and your day
to match.
Researchers at the University of Toronto
and Stanford University
have discovered that people paid by the hour
are far more likely to be happy
than those earning a monthly salary.
What I found
when I switched from salary to hourly
was that
it changed my thinking about time.
My time became visibly valuable.
I track units of time.
I am conscious of my time.
I am careful about how I spend my time.
I ensure (and track) that
I have something to show for that time.
At the end of the week,
I know exactly what I’ve done
during those seven days.
I end each week
with a sense of accomplishment.
When I was on salary,
I would often reach the end of the week
and wonder where the time went.
That was a tad bit depressing.
I don’t know if my life is happier
but I do know
that my life is more purposeful.
Of course,
a salaried worker could mimic my results
by dividing her salary by average hours worked
and/or tracking her time.
She could be as conscious and protective
of her precious hours on earth.
Seth Godin is offering free copies
of yet another great eBook
he’s helped put together.
One of my favorite pages
is from Made To Stick’s
Chip and Dan Heath.
“You’re probably trying to change things
at home or at work.
Stop agonizing about what’s not working.
Instead, ask yourself,
“What’s working well, right now,
and how can I do more of it?””
This aligns with the
‘do more of what you’re good at
and delegate the rest’
thinking.
If you have a choice,
do more of what works
and less of what doesn’t.
I worked until 11:30pm last night.
Around 10pm,
the big boss came in.
She wanted to chat.
‘Course we all had to drop what we were doing
and chat with her,
even though that meant
we’d have to give up our Saturday
(today)
to finish the job.
Managers,
please don’t chit chat with your staff
outside of regular working hours.
We can tell co-workers
to come back later
when we’re less busy.
We can’t do that
with the folks we report to.
Respect our personal time.
If you want us to work it,
let us work it.
In any job,
there is unlimited work.
If you run out of work,
it is because
you aren’t improving processes
(and there is always room for process improvements).
If you have too many tasks,
not enough time,
have a sit down with your manager.
Part of a manager’s job
is to set priorities for their staff.
Use your manager for this.
Before you have that meeting,
list what you’re currently doing
and the time each task takes.
Make another list of what you or your manager
wants to add to your job.
Estimate the time required.
Have your manager rank
the tasks on your lists
and then draw a line under
a regular working day.
Anything under that line
doesn’t get done.
(Overtime is for emergencies
– it shouldn’t be part of your ‘regular’ day.)
This does a few things.
It shows your manager
how much you do every day
(she will probably take a copy
of that task list
and show other managers).
Your manager feels happy
because she’s ‘managing’.
Anything not getting done
is now not getting done
with her blessing.
Use your manager to help set priorities.
Currently I’m working a bridge position.
The last employee left.
The position was vacant for a month.
I was brought in for year end.
Eventually another employee will be hired.
There is always a temptation
to improve processes and procedures
while in a bridge position.
Resist that temptation.
There are usually other employees
who are familiar with
what the previous person did.
(My current contract is the exception)
If you change things,
no one except for yourself
can help the new person out
and
you’ll be gone.
If the new person doesn’t grasp everything
in that week (or day or hour or…)
of training,
she’ll be on her own.
Suggest improvements to the new hire.
Document current processes and procedures.
Put together a training manual.
Clean up old messes.
Those are some ways to add value.
I charge per hour
with my current business gig.
Last night,
around 9 pm,
I heard some managers discuss workload.
They decided to delegate something to me
because I get compensated
for every additional hour I work.
I should be ‘grateful.’
Ahhh…. NO.
Money is infinite.
Time is not.
My hourly rate is a number.
It doesn’t represent
the worth of that hour
because I can’t buy more time.
Please don’t waste other people’s time,
no matter how much they charge.
Last night, around 9pm,
after everyone on the team
had worked 12 hours plus
for the fifth day in a row,
the sh** started hitting the fan.
You see,
when you’re not well rested,
your brain usually shuts off
non-essential thinking.
One piece of thinking
is the ‘should I really say this?’ filter.
Exhausted co-workers are often
brutally honest co-workers.
Except that while this thinking
isn’t needed for physical survival,
it IS necessary for corporate survival.
Last night,
relationships were damaged.
These relationships may never be repaired.
If you’re tired,
it is best to
keep to yourself
and keep your mouth shut.
The manager I am currently reporting to
has 15 direct reports.
She can’t manage.
There is always a line up
outside her door
(wasting everyone’s time).
She spends her day firefighting
and has no time to plan or train.
Her department is treading water.
TimeBack blog states that traditionally
7 to 10 direct reports are optimal.
Flat organizations are a wonderful notion
but aren’t that practical.
Don’t overburden your managers.
If you manage too many employees currently,
consider building in a layer,
having your junior employees
be managed or mentored by more senior employees.