Too Efficient

It's a great feeling to get things done effectively and efficiently.  However, we must sometimes be reminded that life's joys care nothing about efficiency.  This weekend, I'd planned to leave the office in time to meet friends for an early movie.  However, a colleague who'd just started a new job needed some information which would only take me a few minutes to provide.  She got her information, but I missed my movie by 10 minutes.

Since Plan A went awry, I decided to go for a run.  Midway through my trek, I got a call inviting me to dinner.  My initial reaction was to decline because I'd already changed from presentable to sweaty.  Thankfully, I was convinced that there was time to shower, dress and join the festivities.

Though I'd already showered and dressed for work that morning, nothing more than an attitude was preventing me from starting over for a fun outing.   Sometimes starting over late in the day trumps the efficiency of dressed once and done.

Diplomatically Sharing What Else You Know

When hired for a particular role, it can discouraging to make additional skills, abilities and experiences, beyond a current role known. Social media can be a great equalizer.  Effective users of social media, regardless of age or experience, can become known as subject matter experts, to those at all levels of their current or asprirational organizations.

Mentoring, sponsoring, volunteering, speaking, blogging, continuous learning and sharing are incremental ways to demonstrate additional aptitudes.

And, creating an independent agenda for 1:1 meetings with a manager allows the subordinate to adequately prepare to positively portray not only accomplishments, but also skills and abilities.

Summarize It

We're all busy and inundated with information from many sources.  I know I'm not the only one who gets countless attachments for meetings.  It's far easier for the sender to pass along information received rather than taking the time to highlight key points.  But, it's intimidating for the recipient to tackle 6 or more attachments.  Often, when the material looks like it's going to take a lot of time to process, the recipient sets it aside for later.  Unfortunately, later doesn't always come, and the shared information remains unread.

When I want action or buy-in, it's worked well for me to summarize the contents of documents in 1-2 pages to share with others, rather than hoping they find time to sort through myriad documents.  Though I offer to share the source documents, my recipients are generally grateful to simply hit the highlights.  This allows us to streamline prep time and devote meeting time to key issues.

For one project that I'm leading, I've scheduled weekly 30 minute meetings using this method.  As an incentive to committee members, once they've achieved 100% for their commitments, they can opt out of the weekly meetings.  With time as a precious commodity, 30 found minutes per week motivates quick action.

The time spent summarizing information, at the beginning, provides great time effectiveness and efficiency through the life of the project.

Just summarize it!

Too Many Promotions

A friend who recently retired from a large corporation shared the funny, but sad observation that once an individual reaches a certain level, the only way he or she can be fired is to throw up on the chairman or make a $1 unauthorized company credit card expense. 

Regardless of present fit for the job, with so many supporters and promoting managers throughout the individual's career, a current manager is hesitant to risk being the one to announce that the emperor has no clothes.  He or she doesn't want to risk alienating colleagues who have previously promoted the under-performing individual.

It's savvy to be sensitive to our colleagues.  But it's costly for performance, productivity, profits and morale when we fail to replace ineffective managers.

Life Tips from Christmas Carols

I love Christmas music!  One of Houston's radio stations plays non-stop Christmas music during December, allowing easy access to a variety of tunes.  The lyrics convey a range of messages from the true meaning of Christmas to merely upbeat seasonal cheer.  Regardless of the messages contained in the songs, some of the titles provide reminders of things we can do throughout the year to improve our relationships, effectiveness and impact.

• Joy to the World - With an attitude of gratitude and willingness to help, we can each bring more joy to the world.
• Silent Night - We all need time to think, plan and reflect without human and technological interruptions.
• Deck the Halls - Celebrate everything! 
• Do You Hear What I Hear? - Listening is one of the most critical communications skills.  Both the message sender and receiver have a responsibility to determine that what was said was actually heard in the way intended.
• Go Tell It On a Mountain - Sharing our tips, knowledge, experiences and contacts expands opportunities and enhances relationships.
• Jingle Bells - Celebrate successes!  Ring the bell frequently for small and large accomplishments.

Waste

Waste is prevalent, but preventable.   Time, effort, money, food, equipment, talent, creativity and opportunity are commonly wasted. With forethought we can maximize use of each of these resources to eliminate unnecessary waste.  Efficient use of available resources positions us for increased success and effectiveness. When we creatively use available resources rather than starting each project with a clean slate we are challenged to think and innovate.  Excess and need are often viewed as opposites.  A different point is that they are simpatico.  Excess is seeking to fill a need and need is attempting find a resource.

Efficiency v. Effectiveness

I would love to be able to give credit to the very creative person who provided this image, but alas, it was sent to me anonymously. Kudos to you and all other creative souls who can't be acknowledged for your work that makes us laugh, think and act.

My "efficient self" loves the practicality of this image and sentiment. However, my "creative and effective" self realizes the folly of not taking time to appreciate and enjoy each chance to celebrate.

May we all remember that effectiveness is our goal!

Receptivity to New Ideas

One of the many great things about joining Sterling Bank has been the mutual receptivity to new ideas. Being a non-banker in a banker's world has given me the chance to learn a lot of new things. Each industry and company has unique requirements, expectations and processes. One common denominator across thriving companies and industries is the need to provide extraordinary customer and employee experiences.

It's been refreshing to have my ideas and those of my fellow bankers enthusiastically received. When I ask, "Have we considered...?", the answer has generally been, "No, but let's do it!" This organization's receptivity to new ideas is one of the reasons I believe Sterling Bank has been repeatedly recognized as a "Best Place to Work" by Fortune and Houston Business Journal.

Continuous improvement results as associates offer great new ideas that are enacted by the organization.

We also grow individually as we embrace more effective and efficient ways of operating.

I'd love to receive more ideas to make me more effective and efficient.