For every action you take, ask yourself, “What is it worth, the amount of life it will cost?” Be aware of your choices. The law of cause and effect is absolute and undeviating. There are no accidental actions. Question everything and assume nothing. Everything we do is at sacrifice of everything else we could be doing. Work on what is important to you. Define your purpose, establish your goals, and plan to succeed. Success is absolutely worth the cost!
As a manager, it is essential to understand the different personalities you will be dealing with on a daily basis. Personalities can range from pragmatic to extroverted, and from analytical to amiable. Whether it be a negotiation, or simply staff relations, it is important to recognize the personality traits of the people you deal with. People are different. You have to understand your audience in order to communicate clearly. No matter what your own personality and character traits are, always be sincere. Say what you mean, mean what you say, but don’t be mean when you say it. A general rule of thumb is to be soft on the people but hard on the issues.
Stress is the number one cause of job related illness. Stress can leave you susceptible to sickness, and in extreme cases, even death. Stress related disorders are primarily the result of improper thinking. How you internalize external conditions is directly related to your stress level. Positive tensions, like a deadline being met, or an awareness that your work is going to be judged, or a healthy sense of completion, is productive. These types of pressures bring out the best in people, challenging them to peak performance. Good management involves building a reasonable amount of positive tension into your relationships. Self-management is the key to alleviating the unnecessary stress you place on yourself. This self-management alleviates the frustration that results from poor time management practices, failure to set priorities, failure to plan ahead, failure to delegate properly, or the failure to take some quiet time for yourself. The bottom line is, if you are not happy and relaxed, then you are not successful.
In any organization… People make the difference. Being properly staffed means having the right amount of people for the amount of work. Being overstaffed, or understaffed, negatively impacts the bottom line. Being overstaffed is an unnecessary burden on overhead and tends to breed mediocrity. Being understaffed can place an unreasonable burden on key personnel, causing them to make unnecessary mistakes and become burned out. Understanding your staffing needs is part of proper planning. Always be recruiting. Good people have always been, and will continue to be, hard to find. It’s too late to start looking for people when you need them. You must think ahead and plan your staffing requirements. This is especially important in the start up and wind down phases of a projects life cycle.
Circumstance is that element in our lives of which we have little control over. Our environment, unanticipated occurrences, and the actions of others will at times challenge our ability to accomplish our plans. We are not immune from circumstance, but it is important to understand that circumstance does not determine who we are, it only reveals our own character. Circumstance is merely the canvas upon which we will paint our life’s masterpiece. Never allow circumstance to thwart your plans or diminish your goals. Be realistic with the conditions you face and reevaluate your circumstance to identify how best to proceed.
Your ability to solve problems is going to be key to your success. When first faced with a problem, you should set out to fully understand the nature of that problem. Once you fully understand the problem, you will be well on your way to identifying the steps necessary to resolve it. Act quickly once a problem is identified. By waiting to address a situation, you are only allowing the problem to get worse. Respond appropriately once solutions to the problem are identified. Be professional. Maintain your composure during tough problem situations. People will look to you because of your ability to remain level headed. Deal with the problem directly. Avoid working on the symptom rather then the cause. Don’t just put out the fire, catch the arsonist.
Many people are fearful to make a decision because they don’t want to make a mistake. Indecision is the worst mistake you can make. Analyze each situation, identify possible solutions, and determine the best possible direction based on all circumstances. Once you do this, then you can move confidently forward. Make your decision and see it through. This doesn’t suggest to make hasty decisions but delaying over minor decisions can sometimes be worse than seeing the wrong decision through.
With responsibility comes paperwork. It is important to keep the paperwork process flowing efficiently. Whenever you find too much paperwork on your desk, take time out to reorganize. Review all the papers on your desk just once and divide it into the following classifications: [Do this, while standing over the waste paper basket]
– Do it now
– Action pending
– Reading material
– Round file [Garbage]
Try to put the highest priority item at the top of your Do it now pile, then act on it immediately. This way, you will not feel overwhelmed with disorganization by having a large volume of paperwork laying around. Clearing your desk completely, or at least organizing it before you leave the office each night, should be a standard practice. This helps to get you off to a good start the next morning.
One of the major causes of failure is the lack of clear, direct communication between people. Too many times we miscommunicate with our boss, subordinates, fellow workers or customers. We tend to communicate in terms of what we think we should say, or in terms of what we think the other person would like to hear, instead of expressing our real thoughts and feelings. Open, clear communication is better for everyone concerned. It avoids a lot of wasted time and problems that miscommunication creates.
This is not to say that one shouldn’t be diplomatic. For instance, telling an employee that they are not doing well is far less productive than coaching them in the areas that will help them to improve. Be clear with your expectations of everyone that you deal with. Know where you’re going. Act with purpose and try to avoid frivolous communication. That only steals your time and inhibits your ability to accomplish. Listen to others first. Understand their position. You don’t have to agree with it but you should at least understand it.
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Although there are times when taking work home with you will be necessary in order to get the job done, it is generally not a good practice. Do not make a habit of bringing work home with you. It is a sign of either poor time management at work or being a workaholic. This is inconsistent with leading a successful, well balanced life. If you find that you are consistently taking work home with you, something’s wrong. Try to delegate the work to someone else, or organize your time more efficiently so that you can get your work done during normal working hours. You need to get away from work at the end of the day, both physically and mentally. Doing office work at home tends to be counter-productive, draining you of energies and alienating your loved ones.
It is also a dangerous habit because if you can’t get something done during the day, you’ll start to believe that “there’s always tonight”… It isn’t worth it.
Boyer Consulting
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