Don’t get hang up on the tool, on the setting, on the company, on the system. Those are all important things to define at some point, but if you realise that’s what is keeping you from doing, don’t get hang up on them.
In the early stages, the most important thing is doing.
Companies have plenty of sacks of responsibility avoidance. They exist and grow in the space between two poorly designed processes, or between well designed processes that are way past their best before date.
In a way, it’s impossible to avoid. Companies will get to a point where, to a given issue, different people will answer systematically with: it’s not my responsibility.
But if you don’t leave enough space for those who care enough to actually do something about the issue, that’s where the real failure is.
When a person comes to you with a problem, pointing at the fact that they are the reason behind the problem is not going to set them at ease or help them get past it.
When a customer comes to you with a problem, telling them that their behaviour is why the problem exist is not going to set them at ease or help them get past it.
Reality and facts are really of little help when emotions are involved.
A 3-step way to establish a new, healthy professional relationship.
Start with “here’s what we are dealing with”. Be thorough and fully honest. Unearth everything and establish authority by showing that you are not afraid to face facts.
Continue with “here’s what we are going to do about it”. Think in incremental steps rather than big reveals. Be detailed, put everything on a calendar, and use some system to assign responsibility.
Finish with “here’s what can go wrong”. No idea, plan, or project is flawless. And you know that many things can and will go wrong. Just put them out there, be on top of it.
July is a fantastic time to take a break, right after the first half is done.
And to be honest, it’s always a fantastic time to take a break. When you have done good work, when you have done a lot of work, when you are about to start working on something new.
This is still good advice to follow, right before the break.
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