Doing what it takes
Learning on the Job #3
Quality vs. quantity: in a job where there is a lot to get done yet exceptional execution is required, which one do you choose? In a past life, I would have chosen both and just extended my working hours to get everything done as best as I possibly could.
Case in point: a pass/fail class I took in university. When it came time for the final exam, all I needed was 20% to get the credit. But I didn’t know what it took to only get 20%. So I studied as I did for all my exams and ended up with much more than just the required passing grade.
While I likely learned more because I studied harder (I say “likely” because I can’t recall the course so it clearly wasn’t that memorable), I missed one important lesson.
I missed the lesson of effectively gauging what it takes to reach my goal, nothing less and nothing more.
Fast forward 15 years and I think I’m finally clueing into this lesson. I’m learning that 110% is not always needed to succeed.
In the last few years at SoapBox I’ve cut corners or gone into meetings not fully prepared. Not because I wanted to, but because that is all the time I had. What happened as a result? Well, I still accomplished what I set out to achieve.
Faced with an audacious 2016 plan and limited resources, my team and I have to figure out how we will accomplish our goals. Instead belting out a rallying cry for hard work and perseverance, I’m going to drum a different beat:
- Determine what is required. Know what grade is required and only work for that. As an example, for an internal meeting, put the necessary information in a word doc, not a polished deck. Why get an A+ when a B will do?
- Have the confidence to do just that and nothing more. It takes courage to put something out there when it isn’t as good as you know it can be. You risk not achieving your goal or poor judgement from others. Belief in one’s own abilities is just as necessary as the abilities themselves.
Now, an important call out is that it’s not that I want us to be lazy. It’s that I know we’ll either run out of time or burn out if we go full force on everything thing we work on.
Startup life has forced me to work fast AND with good quality. I’ve learned to do what it takes. Nothing less and nothing more.
How are you managing to do what it takes?
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This is what I’m learning on the job at SoapBox. I believe learning = fun = success. Share your thoughts and this post to multiply our learning.
