Do right things first

22/08/07 12:06 Filed in: Self-management | Do right things
Imagine:
  • You have arrived safely and on time—which is important because your wife, who is in the car, is in labor. You both wore seatbelts. You drove the speed limit and obeyed the traffic lights. You feel good—until you realize you are at the wrong hospital.
  • You are prepared. You studied for the science test, have a pencil and eraser, and are seated before the bell rings. You feel good—until you receive the math test.
  • You catch the basketball, square your shoulders to the basket, jump, shoot, and score—at the wrong basket.
  • You complete 29 of 30 tasks quickly. You stand up, spin around 5 times, shout your name out loud, sing “Happy Birthday” to Mickey Mouse, recite the alphabet backwards—lots of crazy things. Great fun! You are puzzled as to why some of the others aren’t doing anything. Then you read Task 30: “You were instructed to read all the tasks before starting. Do only this task—sit in your seat.”
  • You are done before the deadline. You have reviewed the recruitment process, edited and published existing recruitment materials, and sent the materials to colleges before the deadline. You feel good—until you realize that you have not gotten a single new staff member from a college in the past 4 years.
  • You provide staff training. Staff complete the training. You feel good—until you realize that you targeted staff completing the training, not staff using the training to achieve the mission.
Do right things, then do things right. Make sure you are working on the truly important before you spend time fine-tuning what you are working on. This is a challenge. Why? Because, for example, it is easier to edit than it is to develop high quality content. Discipline yourself to do right things, then do things right.

Work smart. Today.