Do you have a mantra? Something you say over and over in various situations. I know many of us turn to faith-based mantras. If this is you, those are absolutely “the rock” upon which you should rely. I am asking more about a mantra you say, out loud, during professional situations. Those who have worked and volunteered with me know that mine is:
What does done look like?
It is commonly followed by “how will we know we get a chocolate malt or pizza party when we are done?”. We know that having firm targets helps us achieve results.
What done looks like for meetings
Look at your schedule for the first week of January. How many hours of meetings do you have? Do you have 8, like most people? More? Now look again. What about your church volunteer committee, your son’s choir counsel, the parent-teacher conference? Now how many hours of meetings do you have? 16? With this many hours a week in meetings, we need to ensure the time is well spent.
If you are leading the meetings, the number one tip from Forbes is to be clear about what you want to talk about. Regardless if it is a one-time or recurring meeting, make sure you know what you want to achieve by the end. If there is not a clear goal and agenda, there is no need to meet.
If you are attending the meeting, ask politely and in private for the agenda. If it is not clear from the agenda why you have been asked to attend, just visit with the meeting leader. Ask what they would like you to contribute so you can prepare. I am often asked to a 60min meeting to participate in a 7min section of the agenda. I politely ask if my agenda item can be moved to the beginning or end so I can just attend as needed. Be clear on what you want to get from each meeting you attend.
What done looks like for operational activities
Many of us have been doing the same tasks and producing the same reports for years. We have not reviewed with anyone in quite a while the business value of the activity or what done looks like. Things change so we need to check in regularly.
For example, if we lead the service desk and have a speed to answer target of 60sec with a first call resolution rate of 30%, do we know where these targets came from? What these things indicate is the topic of another article but the key is that the customers whom we are serving or the company situation may have changed such that these targets are no longer meeting the need. We need to check in regularly.
The same is for our patching schedule, refresh program and more. Nothing in IT should be written in stone. We need to review and update to stay in alignment with the business.
My challenge for you
Develop your 2021 mantra to help you stay fresh and focused on getting results. Many of us define clear targets for projects. Our struggle is with meetings and daily work. My challenge for you in January 2021 is to:
Post the numbers 43,800 and 10,479 on your desk. 43,800 is the total number of minutes in a month. 10,479 is the total number of work min in a month. We should use this time intentionally.
Preview your January calendar. One 60-min meeting which you do not need to attend is 0.57% of the January work time gone. See which meetings perhaps can be canceled or delegated.
If you are leading meetings, set time aside each week to get clear on what done looks like and communicate this to all participants. You will influence the culture faster than you know.
Finally, review your single, most time consuming, ongoing task. How does it add business value? What does done look like for the organization? Brainstorm and discuss with others to ensure the item cannot be improved, adjusted or streamlined in some way.
Connect with me on LinkedIn and let me know how your challenge goes. I am happy to visit if you would like to dive deeper on this topic. Remember, #ClarityDeliversResults!
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