Getting A Do-over - I Would Focus On The People—not The Paper

Getting a Do-Over - I Would Focus on the People—Not the Paper

The first thing in all progress is to leave something behind. —George MacDonald

MY GIRLFRIEND DeAnn* is quite a package. Beautiful (model beautiful), intelligent (street smart and book smart), and warm (you know she loves you—she loves everybody). She’s a successful entrepreneur, mother of two, adoring wife, and loyal friend to the end (how many of those do you know?). She is so charismatic that the room literally comes to life when she walks in. Trust me, we all want to be DeAnn when we grow up.

When I asked DeAnn what she would do over professionally, she said she would like to go back and focus less on the tactics of doing a job and more on the relationships that are required to get the job done. I was simultaneously intrigued and convicted.

DeAnn explained that prior to opening her own business, she worked in a corporate environment that was highly charged and deadline driven. (Sound familiar to anyone?) Now that she’s left behind the excitement and demands of that career, she realizes she had been investing her energy in the wrong things. DeAnn noted that she would never have gotten through all the piles of paperwork, endless meetings, to-do lists, and daily e-mails in her corporate job. The more she focused on the paper, the phone calls, and the e-mails, the more they seemed to multiply.

Well, DeAnn had me hooked. As I mentioned, I was convicted by this conversation with her because I know that investing in the development of relationships at work is not my strong suit. I’m a results-oriented person, so I typically put my head down and get to work and don’t look up until it’s time to go home. So I needed pointers.

What was DeAnn’s first piece of advice?

Spend less time working on stuff and more time talking with people. Spend a minimum of 20 percent of each day dialoguing with individuals within your company, as well as with individuals outside your four walls.

Twenty percent? Are you kidding me? I know for a fact that I don’t spend 10 percent of my day in dialogue unless I’m putting out fires or answering direct questions.

To focus on the people, not the paper, I knew I would need divine intervention.

I replied by sending this message to them: “I am engaged in a great work, so I can’t come. Why should I stop working to come and meet with you?” Four times they sent the same message, and each time I gave the same reply. (Nehemiah 6:3-4)

Are you doing a great work with people? Don’t get distracted.

*DeAnn is not her real name, but she is one of my most favorite people in all the world.