There is a line in the movie Mary Poppins that says “a job well begun is a job half done”. It of course leads into the song “A spoon full of sugar helps the medicine go down.”
Obviously Mary was referring to the work of Deming (or maybe that is where Deming got it?) – that in summary says that up to 85% of value is created in the first 15% of most processes.
Of course there is a double edged word in Mary’s statement – the job is still only half done after all. However – the recognition and momentum developed is often sufficient to bring tasks to full completion providing we don’t stop.
The is another saying {yes I am full of it today], that in business the remuneration usually comes from completion of the LAST 15%. This last one may have come from me as I do not recall anyone else having said it?
So thus we arrive at todays journal title is to be “Mary Poppins, W. Edwards Deming and Me..”
In your business – can you list the processes that produce most of the value? Are your systems designed so that this value creation is the core driver for your planning, implementation and growth? What is the key value value produced by each role in your business (a simple mission statement for each role)? Do the people filling these roles KNOW what the main value that their role should produce is?
In your life – jobs left incomplete are the heaviest of anchors as we surf in the unemotional maelstrom that is our world. We can complete, decide not to complete, or do nothing and keep them as boulders tied to our ankle straps. There is no judgement on completion or not, it is neither “good” nor “bad”. The choice is to respect the process, or not.
In a nutshell, if there is something to be done then getting it done is the only thing that stops the stress of not having it done. Deferring the action weakly simply ties a boulder to your ankle. Each additional weakly deferred action is another lump of granite. It is hard to surf with rocks tied to you.
This means that instead of analysing the sea to look for great waves and being ready to paddle – we are thinking most about the bloody rocks tied to our ankles. Interestingly – we tend to get more of what we think about most. (And this includes thinking about “lack”).
There is the second option – which is using strategies to make the completion of the task unnecessary – and I will talk about them in a future post. The vast majority of the rocks on our ankles are tasks that are best dealt with by dealing with them. Each time we uncover one and deal with it – we rise higher in the water.
Until there are so few anchors on us that we have thrown up a kite – and are no longer surfing – we are flying.
Your action tip – make the list of boulders on your ankle then follow Mary Poppins Strategy and “get it begun” for the value, and then finish it for the reward.
The difference is that between the feeling of desperately fighting to keep near the surface, and that of grinning insanely as you ride the waves. The surf does not care which you do.