Time & Tide
“Time and tide wait for no man” - a saying
that dates back to around 1225.
We’re all expected to do more in less time
thanks to all the so-called “productivity tools” that are available. We can read more office emails in the day,
thanks to mobile technology - remember the days when you could only read them in
the office? We can be online literally
24/7. But all this comes at a cost.
I first noticed it when I worked in Hong
Kong in the 1990s. Hong Kong had a real
“work ethic” then, and I would imagine it still does. The place was a pressure-cooker and I often
felt stressed-out.
People never said “no” to a request, with
the result that they usually worked late into the night and over weekends to
get that vital “whatever" done. As a result, everybody started leaving things
until the last moment, secure in the knowledge that they would never be turned
down (as it often meant the loss of their business to the product/service
provider if this happened). There was competition for most things, so people couldn’t really be choosy.
Many might think that this is the way that
things should be, but sorry, that’s not the case. Not every culture (or everyone, if the truth
be known) wants to or even can respond to every single request no matter when. We’ve already seen this in the way that some
suppliers segment their buyers and will simply not deal with those from whom
they receive below a certain level of revenue or return. Others are more subtle and simply prioritise those who pay more - the others have to wait...
What I’m getting at is that people need to
start planning again. Don’t just assume
that there will be someone there when you need them because everyone else is
doing the same and may have got there before you. When relying on anyone else, allow for
fallibility. Yes, I know they said
they’d get it to you by Tuesday, but they didn’t count on the one person who
could do it being taken ill two days before with [insert name of condition
here]. They counted on that person, you
counted on them, whose problem is it?
Show respect for other peoples’ time; build
in allowances. You can’t cater for every
eventuality, but you can cover most disasters.
Shouting at, or sacking a supplier who got caught by the key member of
staff who went sick may make you feel good, but won’t get the results you want
any faster. You may be the customer, but
if another comes along who pays more, and is either as demanding (or, worse,
less), don’t be surprised if the supplier ditches you.
Similarly with colleagues, don’t assume
that, just because you’re the boss, you can interrupt or demand their attention
when you want. Yes, that’s your right,
but abuse it too often, and suddenly morale falls, stress and absenteeism rise,
work isn’t done, and your team start sending out their CVs. I’ve seen one “leader” who says that meetings
will take place at such and such a time and then either shows up much later or
not at all - without telling anyone. This
irritates their team, but no one dares say anything. However, what credibility do you think that
boss now has when he states that something will happen at a particular time? Exactly - very little, and this can happen to businesses as well if they forget to respect Father Time.
I have spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in the world financial services industry running different service, operations and lending businesses, I started my own Performance Management Consultancy to offer solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management. I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email . My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services. For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.
Labels: Crisis Management, Leadership, Productivity, Risk, Strategy
posted by William Martin @ 21:50
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home