Getting a Do-Over - I Would Focus on the People—Not the Paper (Part Quatre)

Getting a Do-Over - I Would Focus on the People—Not the Paper (Part Quatre)

THE LAST PIECE of advice from DeAnn helped me as I shifted my focus from paper to people. It’s likely something you already have down pat. But for me, this last tip required extreme focus and discipline. DeAnn advised me to “share lunch or maybe just five minutes having a hallway chat with a fellow worker.” I thought, No, not that!

My problem: I’m not chatty.

Yes, I can carry on for hours with my girlfriends over dinner, but start up casual conversations with coworkers I barely know? This is not in my DNA. But I realized that is no excuse. Over time, I have learned to occasionally invest a few minutes for a bit of small talk, and I have seen the rewards. I was once viewed as disinterested or unapproachable; now my coworkers know that I am interested in what’s going on with them both professionally and personally.

When I finally pulled myself out from behind my desk and looked up from my computer, I realized that only people really matter.

Are you like me—too often focused on results and missing the most important part of our work: other people?

DeAnn decided to retire from her corporate position to take time to raise a young family and start a new business. She said that when her job was over and she moved on, she took only the relationships with people with her. She left the paper behind.

As iron sharpens iron,so a friend sharpens a friend. (Proverbs 27:17)

Choose people over paper. They’re way more interesting.