The old business axiom that “What gets measured, gets done” is wrong. There are many activities we could measure and that alone does not ensure they get done. Only if we discuss those results with the people who can change them can we ensure what needs to get done, gets done.
As businesses advance in the current economic climate it is an understatement to say we all must do more with less. This fundamental truth has put the most basic business tasks under extreme scrutiny. The most basic work that we all do in our job is talk. It is not an exaggeration to say the most tangible thing we create in management is a conversation.
There has been brilliant work done by Laurie and
Jeffrey Ford on the classification of conversations in a workplace, and I highly recommend reading their research. The bottom line is that in the workplace today, what we talk about drives what we accomplish.
Think of the main initiatives you are currently working on in your job today. How much of your time is dedicated to talking about those projects or items? What about the conversations you have that are not related to your main initiatives? Are those conversations adding to your effectiveness or delaying the time it would take to complete the projects you are working on? One of the main frustrations in business today are the continued delays in accomplishing tasks. Often times these delays are based on distractions and those distractions are the result of conversations not related to the main initiatives.
There are main areas in every business that lack appropriate attention. Those aspects of our business sometimes jump up and bite us, catch us by surprise and make us question the grip we have on our business. Those terrible situations are a result of one of two things, either we were not talking about that area of our business and it suffered, or the person we assumed was handling that area was not because they were focused on something else. In either case what did not get done, was not being discussed.
Often times the “main initiatives” of our business, or our job, are not clearly defined. Again this is a result of conversations that either did not occur or that were too watered down. Clarity in our communications has become paramount to our effectiveness. We, as managers ourselves, sometimes lose track of what is most important to our success. We lose our way because of too many conversations on too many subjects. It is simply impossible to focus on everything.
Take time today to analyze the conversations you are having, or that are taking place in your workplace and track how many are driving your business forward. If your analysis is not to your liking, redirect those conversations to be in alignment with your goals. The results will be immediate.