Get Yourself Moving Again

Get Yourself Moving Again
By Arthur Cooper
(c) Copyright 2003

Do you run a dynamic team?
Are you proactive in your management?

Or are you and your team are in a rut?
Do you just produce what is necessary and no more?
Are you missing that vital spark?

Here are some simple steps to take to get you out of that rut at get yourself and your team moving again. Check yourself. Are you doing these things?

Make a start.

If you never make that first step you will never finish anything. So whatever task or project you have ahead of you, get going on it. Even if you don’t have all the facts available to you, or all the resources you need to complete it. At the very least make a start by listing those missing elements. Once you know what is missing you can then set about finding it.

But you must take some action. Do something. Don’t just dream or think about it. The momentum for success will build on its own once you have set the ball rolling. Each little task completed takes you that little bit closer to the end result. Each little task completed makes the road ahead that much clearer. Each little task completed reduces what you still have to do. So get the show on the road.

Look ahead and anticipate.

Think about what may happen. Think about what could go wrong. Have a contingency plan. Be ready for the unexpected. If you do your forward thinking properly there will be very little that really is totally unexpected.

But don’t let it get you down. Don’t let the thought of what could go wrong stop you attempting the new and the unconventional. Try new methods. Learn from experience. Take risks in a controlled and thoughtful way, but don’t be afraid to take them. As has been said many times, the only way to be sure of never making a mistake is never to attempt anything.

Set priorities.

Decide which tasks are the most important and concentrate on them. Do first those things that really push the work forward. Unessential tasks should be left till later or eliminated altogether even though they might be attractive things to do.

Don’t put off unpleasant tasks. Do them as and when your plan dictates. Tackle them regularly. Do them first thing in the morning before moving on to something more enjoyable. That way your day will get better as it goes on instead of the reverse. Keep something good to look forward to.

Whatever you do, stick to your priorities. Only change them for good well thought out and justified reasons. Don’t let them slip just because you don’t fancy a particularly unpleasant task that is next on the list.

Pursue excellence but don’t seek perfection.

There is a version of the well known saying that ‘A job worth doing is worth doing well’ that says ‘A job worth doing is worth doing badly’ meaning that it is better to achieve something than nothing, even if the end result is not perfect.

There is some truth in that, but in reality anything other than your best effort is just not good enough. You owe it to yourself and to others to always give of your best . It would be better to say ‘A job worth doing is worth doing well, even if the result is less than perfect’. Some sort of flawed solution is often better than none at all. If we always insisted on perfection we would start very little and complete even less.

So, do your best always. Aim to produce the best you can, but don’t agonise over those areas where you fall short. Learn from them, improve in the future, but at the time just note them and move on.

Be objective.

This relates back to the previous point about seeking perfection. Be realistic about what can be done. Be realistic about your own and your team’s capabilities. Don’t promise to do what you know cannot be done. But be enthusiastic too. Approach the challenges with an infectious enthusiasm. Be prepared to learn new skills. Encourage your team to do the same. If you set about tackling the challenges with determination and enthusiasm you will achieve more than you ever knew you could.

Don’t dwell on the past.

Don’t spend your time reliving past successes or agonising over past failures. Live in the here and now and take things as they are in the present. You should learn from the past, but you cannot change it. Look to the present and to the future.

Work smarter, not longer.

Don’t kill yourself with excessively long hours. Don’t inflict them on your team either. Look for better ways to do things. Look for new methods, better equipment, more sensible aims. Both you and your team will work better if you are fresh instead of tired. Enlist the help of your team for suggestions. Harness their enthusiasm and resourcefulness. In the end you will all produce better work if you are rested and keen than if you are worn out and depressed.

So if you are in that rut, lift yourself out, decide on a new start, and inspire yourself and your team to new heights of achievement.