Shapeth Up and Get Thine Act Together
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My friends and colleagues often ask me how I am able to
produce so much in so little time. Although I am flattered by such compliments,
it's really not much of a secret which I attribute to the following areas (in no
particular order):
* A strong sense of organization and prioritization which has been ingrained in
me over the years during my professional development. Basically, I had good
mentors who taught me what was right and what was wrong, what was important and
what was not, and how to best spend my time and how to avoid wasting it. This
includes being sensitive to schedules and commitments, particularly those of
customers. Call me old-fashioned, but I still believe that a person's word
should be his bond. My company has now been in business for 37 years and in all
of that time we have never failed to meet a customer commitment. This is
something I am particularly proud of.
* Training and experience. Although I have a college degree, I recognize I am
far from being perfect, and smart enough to learn from my mistakes as well as
others. I network, I listen, I learn. And I believe we're never too old to
learn a new trick. As such, I am a firm believer in continuous improvement and
set aside time to stay abreast of industry developments. I guess what I'm
saying is that you have to exert yourself and exercise some intellectual
curiosity as opposed to sitting like a vegetable and hoping someone will
spoonfeed you. They won't.
* Use of standard and reusable methodologies. I recognize the value of
uniformity and standardization in work effort and understand its impact on
productivity. I am also not a big believer in reinventing the wheel with each
project. If something has been tried and proven, I will use it unabashedly,
regardless if it is old or out of fashion. I am more interested in results.
This also means I am a student of history in my field and have noted successes
as well as failures.
* Competency in the use of technology. I am sure my early indoctrination in
computing has materially assisted me in my work effort over the years. One
thing technology taught me in particular was the concept of multitasking; not
just what I do on the computer, but also how I work in general. More
importantly, I do not fear technology and am always looking for new ways for it
to assist me. Make no mistake though, I have been burned on more than one
occasion by new technology, particularly in the use of beta-releases.
Consequently, I am less likely to migrate to something new until it has proven
itself as a viable alternative. In other words, I have to trust the technology
before I make it a normal part of my operations.
* Avoiding complicated solutions. I tend to believe the best solutions are
simple ones. Some people have the curious habit of making life more complicated
than what is really necessary. As for me, I have always sought pragmatic
solutions as opposed to wallowing in technical detail. True, there may be
situations where there are many elements to be addressed by a single problem.
In this event, controls have to be enacted to manage complexity. But in all my
years in this industry, I have never encountered a technical problem that
couldn't be conquered with a little imagination, some concentrated effort, and a
lot of good old-fashioned management.
* Caring about what you produce; which I consider to be of paramount
importance. If you do not have the determination or dedication to see something
through to its successful completion, no amount of technology will expedite the
assignment. To me, your work is a reflection of your character and how you will
be judged by others. Interestingly, some people do not make this connection and
put forth little effort. Caring about your work makes you more resourceful than
others as you are concerned with doing whatever is necessary to get the job
done. Ultimately, your work is a reflection of your value system which will
become obvious to your co-workers and your boss.
Bottom-line, my productivity is based on my sense of organization and discipline
I learned at home, in school and in the workplace. Fortunately, I believe I had
some very good teachers along the way. The one thing I have learned is that you
make money when you are organized and waste money when you aren't.
If you would like to discuss this further with me, please do not hesitate to
send me an
e-mail.
About the Author
Tim Bryce is a writer and management consultant located in Palm Harbor,
Florida.
http://www.phmainstreet.com/timbryce.htm
He can be contacted at:
timb001@phmainstreet.com
Copyright © 2008 Tim Bryce. All rights reserved.
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Article Published/Sorted/Amended on Scopulus 2008-02-14 20:20:39 in Personal Articles
