What’s Really Going On?

The way you do anything is the way you do everything.  My mentor has been saying it forever and I always think “Yup, that’s true,” but what does it really mean?

I have a colleague that I know well and trust implicitly.  I know she gets everything done; however, she tends to do it all at the last minute.  Emails go out late, meetings are confirmed late and plans get changed or pushed back.  Whenever we make plans I know not to expect quick responses to emails I send, suggestions I make or questions I ask.

I had a conversation with a client earlier today.  We had an appointment scheduled for 12:30.  She called at 12:30 on the dot.  The first thing she said was that she was nervous about calling me on time and had been checking her clock every few seconds to make sure that she called exactly on time.  She told me that she was wondering what I would think if she called a minute or two late, or a minute or two early.  Actually, what I’m wondering is why is she so concerned about what I think?

I am writing this article Tuesday afternoon for my ezine.  I always get the article done and it gets out on time but why is this late?  To be brutally honest here…I’m “usually” pretty good about getting my ezines prepared on time but I know that this is going to impact my assistant and frankly, the quality of this article.

The truth is that these little examples are really snapshots of how you do everything.  Where else is my colleague running late?  Where else is she squeezing more in than she realistically can get done?  Where else is my client spending energy worrying about what other people are thinking about instead of just acting? Where else am I not meeting my own deadlines?

As you go through your day, your week, your month I encourage you to look at what you’re doing.  What “little things” do you do that aren’t quite right, even if, actually especially if you’re getting away with it?  Where else do you see examples of those “little things”?

You know as I just wrote that sentence I’m reminded of something I share with clients when we are working on creating systems. I suggest that they look at the systems that work for them and mimic those systems for other uses.  The things that work in one area work of your business or life tend to work in other areas.  I guess this is the same thing in reverse.  The things that aren’t working in one area tend to be broken in other areas.

What can you do to get those little pieces in place?  As you figure that out you’ll find yourself taking huge steps.  I’d love to know your thoughts on this.  Please share them with me.