What is the loudest thing for you today?
Is it traffic or your dog? Is it your child? Is it the fact a close friend is going through a tough time? Is it that new standard your supervisor or owner is trying to work in after that manager training session? Isn’t the day big enough and now you have to fix…”x”.
OK, cryptic enough for you? I believe we have those kinds of days, every day. We are called to make decisions. We have the proverbial team of five and “stuff happens”. And what happens loudest is the most important, right? I really do wish there was some magic pill and we would all be a better manager and leader. It would all just work better or faster. It doesn’t happen that way. We, each and every one of us, move to the loudest part of the day…regardless of its place on any “to do” list. We have to again, fix, “x”.
I was recently having a discussion with my brother-in-law about training. That is not his field, it’s mine. His makes a lot of sense, so I like to chat with him. I am trying to work this whole ”manager gets training and costs not so much and they still get something meaningful and then act on it and the business has an impact and it was all about three and half minutes in length.” Clear, right? I am trying my best to help managers figure stuff out. I want them to win. I am also trying to get owners to understand management development does in fact cost, at least a couple of dollars and cents. So how can I get it done with effect and at a cost? And then there is the loud part of the day. Regardless of however cool I may ever be, there is still the day. And it is loud.
What is your day like today? Do you have to hit that target? That certain metric? That conversion rate? What about that you are understaffed or that you have someone who can’t figure out a washer and dryer (yes, the uniform thingy)? What about when you have to do that report and a customer comes in angry? Whatever is the loudest gets the most attention. I get it. I have to go to Walgreen’s right now for pictures for the grandmothers. That is very loud at this very second. OK, not that loud actually, just the next thing to get done on the way home.
Still too cryptic? OK, back to being the manager of the hypothetical team of five. You wake up, shower, dress, have some cereal and compile in your mind what your day needs to look like. You drive to “your” coffee place and get a small (not tall) latte. The minute you get to the store, you find out someone quit and didn’t open the store on time and you have to call another sales rep to fill in and your regional will be doing a store visit unexpectedly today and three customers exit their cars the minute you open the door. What or rather which is the loudest? If it were me, the customers. They buy my widgets and pay my salary. OK, so let’s go deeper in the weeds. Customer One wants an upgrade, Customer Two is getting his daughter a device and Customer Three is a bit perturbed about their first bill (proration can shock the best of us). Now which is the loudest? Remember that moment with your Cheerios, was any of this on your list?
Any final thoughts? Yes, it depends. You decide the levels or degrees of loud in your day and they probably won’t be the same in any given day. Sorry, that may be incorrect. The loudest decides and you get to deal with it. Maybe the best way to deal is trust your gut, your instinct. Be authentic, be real and do the right thing.
My daughter wants pancakes in the morning and I have planned conference call about an app, which is the loudest?
Cheers