TOOL #2: Work in Projects.
Google does not really have job descriptions or an organizational chart… which puts you in a box or labels you. It does not set you up for GOOD work. Google runs on projects and empowers people to do it to their best. i.e. cutting the lawn or sculpting bushes into great shapes. You can’t do everything at an excellent level, but a project has a start, finish and has some good and some great work, it has standards for what is good vs. great, it allows space for team players….
TOOL #3: Deceptively Powerful. Saying NO!
It is hard for most people to say no. We can do better with no’s to our kids and family or people we have no relationship with. However, with people who we have relationships somewhere in the middle, it is more difficult to say no (clients, neighbors, friends, colleagues, partners, etc.). The challenge is saying yes quickly and thoughtlessly. The solution is to learn how to say yes slowly. You might ask some things like: Why are you asking me? Who else could you ask to do this? How does this fit with xxx plan I am currently working on? If there is one part that only I can do, what is that part I could do? If there is only one part I could do excellently vs. the rest OK, what part needs to be excellent? What is most important about this? Make sure you are being asked because you are the right person vs. you have a pulse and happened to show up in front of the need at the right (or wrong) time.
How do you need to be more focused? What takes you out of the game and which of these tips can you try to shift your focus? What good work do you want to shift to great work? Try a tool today!
Christy Geiger, Executive Business Coach & Trainer, Minneapolis, MN
