9/11/2012–A rising tide lifts all boats.
Work ethic is contagious. The clearest example of this is a kitchen staff; because it is such a race vs the clock, the least productive staff is almost always the slowest. What’s strange is that the difference maker between a slow worker and fast worker, in my experience, is the relative speed of coworkers. Even within the same work “culture” I’ve seen the same person work quickly and slowly depending on who they work with. Pace is not determined by seniority or habit alone, either. I’ve been told that after our 2 new “fast-paced” servers started we all started moving faster. Pace is contagious…
I’ve been reading a book on accountability. It describes the problem solving process as see it–>Own it–>solve it–>do it. I don’t like the way the book is written–very thin sentences and mostly anecdotes–but this core concept is on point. Following that process keeps you “above the line” of accountability, and “below the line” is where the statements “it’s not MY job” and “it will work itself out” come from. I saw and fell victim to a below the line outcome last week, so I’ll be practicing see it… this week.
O3s (a few) this week went as well as the other weeks. Two new people–both great–were successful in allowing me to glean some kind of short term goal for each one. Even as I write this sentence I find more and more bonus benefits of O3s. I’ll one day write a list of them. After 3 weeks, I’ve done 10. None have gone less than 20 minutes–which is longer than I’d like to work toward but that’s a great problem to have considering the purpose is to build relationships. I haven’t done any with anyone I expect to dislike one on ones–maybe that will be different…
Also, last week I found out I could probably never or almost never become flustered to the point where I’m uncomfortable. If possible it would’ve happened Friday when I ran the shift alone. I recognized the point at which I would’ve or could’ve allowed it, and thought my way through it. I also learned a weakness; my over analysis of certain situations hinders my efficiency. I tend to make “perfect” the enemy of the “good”.
QOTW: “Everything we do stems from either love or hate.” –Julianne
?FNW: How will I run my 1st meeting?
11/14/2017 review–I now have experience outside the restaurant environment and speed is also contagious here. One clarification here is that a work group’s speed may not be driven by the work being done. It truly is at least in-part determined by the pace of the leader (hierarchical or de facto), so an other wise “slow” group may work quickly even when the work doesn’t call for it.
That O3s routinely went longer than expected was a lesson I’d keep learning over time. One on ones were, as-advertised, the most popular and effective tool i used to manage people. It pains me daily to know how much human potential is lost due to managers neglecting this Archimedes’s lever.
The last insight I gained from this journal entry was spot-on! I am uniquely equipped to remain calm in hectic situations. I now am left to figure out how to fully leverage this trait. Similarly, I learned a weakness of mine that still plagues me today–I still overthink things past the point when I know enough to act.