I was cleaning my garage the other day, not one of my favorite tasks. I was reflecting on what represented a reasonable standard for cleaning the garage. I attacked the floor with my shop vacuum and cleaned up the dead bugs by the window as well as reorganized a number of things.  The result was more order and a cleaner space. From time to time I must undertake this effort.

When you make a decision to implement something in your business, it is possible to fail to grasp how it might affect other aspects of the business. An example comes from ministry when I worked with someone who sent out fundraising appeals on a regular basis.  The person responsible for writing and producing the layout for each piece would frequently change their mind after printing had been scheduled. I explained to the organization that these consistent changes impacted others. When the reserved time for printing had to be changed, that affected other projects in the printing queue. Also the staff scheduled to fold and mail the pieces had to be rescheduled.  When one part of the schedule changed, it also involved revising other people’s schedules as well. Sometimes when the printing was pushed back, the time conflicted with another job forcing management to determine which work came first. I counseled the organization to work through the copy writing process in a way that would maintain other parts of the time schedule. In my opinion most of these emergency revisions, which occurred regularly, could have been avoided.         

Unacceptable is a very clear word to me.  An unacceptable circumstance is intolerable for business or customers. I’ve used an auto repair shop that’s convenient, reasonable in cost, and has an owner I believe is ethical.  However for six weeks, their phone system hasn’t worked properly. When I call and no one picks up the call, it goes to voicemail except you cannot leave a message on any of the extensions. I brought this situation to the owner and manager on several occasions.  Clearly this is extremely frustrating because I can’t get through to make an appointment to bring my car in.  Or if my car is in the shop, I can’t find out if it’s ready.

I reached a point in my business career when a terrifying thought struck me:  I had become overhead. In the past my positions focused on direct work with customers or clients that brought in revenue. However, my administrative responsibilities were focused elsewhere. When I grasped the implications of what it meant that I no longer generated income for the company, I took two major steps to maximize my situation.

I enforce deadlines that I receive from others as well as those I make for  myself. Frequently, others are not as committed to meeting deadlines. At one point in my career “Rick” worked for me. The quality of his work was excellent, and he was very good with customer relationships. Unfortunately Rick was perpetually late with everything including client appointments.  Regrettably, Rick needed to be let go because his failure to consistently meet deadlines destroyed the effectiveness of his other excellent traits.