I think of great blog content at the least opportune times.
- I stand in the shower considering a client challenge and think: that would make a great blog post.
- I’m driving in the car thinking about a new communication tool when I think: that would make a great blog post.
- I’m engaged in an activity with my child wishing the client could be this focused thinking: that would make a great blog post.
Do they make it here? No, of course not.
I preach to clients that a blog should see three new posts a week. I don’t eat my own dog food on that one. I preach to clients about capturing intellectual capital when you have access to it: before the employee leaves your employ. Most of my own intellectual capital is still up in my head where no one else can see it.
What I have done is to prioritize. When we clean the house (yes, I still clean my own home, with the help of my husband and two sturdy youngsters), I always prioritize my own office last. Should I run out of time, the office doesn’t get straightened, dusted, or even vacuumed.
I also prioritize my personal fun last. There are client demands to attend to, the keeping of a home, volunteer work in my communities, children’s errands and lessons. But am I prioritizing in the right way?
How do you know? How do you know your priorities are on target? How do you know the changes you’re making or the successes you realize are the right ones? This is a question I put to the senior leaders in a client organization recently. When you see change happen or success happen, how do you know it’s the right type of success or change?
Responses intrigued me. Some said, they just don’t know. Some went so far as to say they aren’t sure these things are even connected to organizational goals. Others said they looked for data to prove the point of the change or the ROI of the success. Still others said they assume their colleagues working on the changes and successes know what they are doing – they trust these folks to be doing the right things.
My theory on this is in two parts. First we miss the “why.†We don’t tell the why so none of it seems connected. Second we are easily distracted by things unrelated to organizational goals. A great example of this is when an organizational leader enthusiastically gets embroiled in a political issue that doesn’t connect to the goals. If it was his own personal pursuit, fine. But, what if he pursues as the corporate leader? Does this distract employees from the goals? Does it clarify changes they are making – oh sure, now I get why we have to do this process differently.
If it doesn’t support employee focus, priorities, goals – support all the changes and declared successes – why do it?
This is the question I am working on for myself. At least I can eat my own dog food on this particular issue.
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