Hey everybody. Welcome back to Fast Tip Friday. Charlie Hauck here, giving you some of that Growth Dynamics voodoo before you check out for the week.
I want to burst a bubble for some people. I don't know how many of you this is going to impact, but I think more people will be affected by it—if you listen to me—than you'll be really willing to admit. But I'll take my best shot with this, and I will tell you, this is one I've learned from personal experience. And so I don't think I'm the only one in the world that was affected by this belief: that I do my best work under pressure.
So when it comes down to the last minute, I think I'm really at the top of my game and knocking it out. See how much I can be committed? I think that's a pile of crap, actually. If I want to be blunt about it, I'd use a different phrase that begins with the words "BS." But hey, look, let's talk about it for a minute.
A lot of people that I've met—particularly high-drive entrepreneurs, decision-makers, people that are highly successful—have somehow or another convinced themselves that when the lights are brightest and the clock is ticking down, that's when they really do their best work. And that ain't true. What really has happened is they've mastered the art of fooling themselves that they can get away with it.
I don't think you can actually tell me it's your best work. It may be passable, and you may be good, but it's not your best work. And if somebody wants you to help with something, or service their account, or take care of them, I think if we do it with time, planning, preparation, commitment, attention to detail, and enough time to be fully engaged and present with that person—that is really when our best work gets done.
It is not when we're finishing it up at the very last minute, and the alarms are going off, and our hair is on fire, and we're impatient with people that could help us. It's really not your best work. It's the work that you can push across the table and say, "See, I got it done," but I don't think you're really giving what the people expect of you and really want to see from you.
So here's my advice: set yourself some schedules to get bits and pieces of that work done before the last minute. Start to learn and trust that getting it all done when you have enough time to sit down and review your work, edit it, make some changes, possibly find another better idea, or find a more appropriate deliverable—that’s when your work starts to shine. What you have may have been good, but I don't think it's really top-notch. It's not what you really want to be known for.
So my guess is that if you learn how to plan and schedule and discipline yourselves, and really set a deadline that gives you a chance to breathe and reflect and make the last-minute changes that are really the appropriate last-minute changes—not the fire drill last-minute changes—your reputation for quality and commitment will be even better than it is when you're wearing the fireman's hat and running around like your hair is on fire and the whole world is just in your way.
Get committed to doing the work right—not doing the work rushed. And I think you'll turn out a better product that both you and your customers, or the people that care and count on you the most, are looking for.
So break that habit. Break that belief. Commit to the right work done the right way in the right amount of time. Not, "Can you put five pounds of crap in a three-pound bag and think everybody's cool with the result?" You're better than that. You know it. I know it. Prove it.
Take care, have a great weekend, and a better, more calm week next week. Be your best.
