Organize, Prioritize and Follow Through!
That was the advice I gave newly recruited mangers at a tiny startup company in 1997 (a little more grownup since then) when they complained to me that their duties overwhelmed them. The Bull Run was in full bloom, business was booming and all of us worked super-human hours to make sure we kept pace in the Rat Race.Look guys, this may seem like rocket science, but it's not. You'll always be ahead of the game (or at least keep pace with the pack) if you first organize, then prioritize, then follow through on your obligations. The ability to multi-task can't be under-emphasized, either.
Ironically, I now have a lot more sympathy for Glinnesa, Mark and Veronica and the challenges they faced trying to learn new jobs concurrently with recruiting, training and managing other new employees. As often as I gave them good advice, I gave them the curt brush off. I had not only a team but a whole damn department to recruit, train and manage. Not only that, but I was a director, so the stakes were a lot higher for me and the flames would burn hotter should it come my turn to roast.
But we were well paid and the Rat Race was what we did.
I'd like to think I've retired from that whole 'keeping up with the Jones' thing, but I still have my own dreams and goals. Toward their eventual attainment, I work just as hard - or harder! - than I ever did for the pinstriped suits and ugly ties on Wall Street. I just wish I could feel more organized, have a better idea of my priorities and followed through on my commitments with more consistency than appears to be the case right now.
Then again, the entertainment industry in the new millenium is a lot newer to me than technology was last century. So I'm green, not as confident as I'd like to be, wary of making costly mistakes that could impede hard-won momentum..
I'm sitting here looking at a "Daily Hustle" white dry erase board I set up above my monitor two days ago to help me track on-going tasks and projects. So far there are no changes to this list except three items that have been checked off. I have no problem celebrating 25% projects completed, but there's that part of me that wonders why isn't it 100% yet? Could I have worked smarter and gotten more done? Have I procrastinated too much? (I don't see when!) Most importantly - am I addressing key objectives with an intelligent degree of prioritization?
That's where not knowing the industry kicks me in the ass. What should I do first, update the Web Site or send out a bunch of emails to promote upcoming events? How about working on projects for my partners, or even my own publishing projects?
Yesterday, I spent most of the morning hammering together a sign that promotes our open mic spot (and Randy is a saint to have helped the way he did!) but I really wanted to spend that time sketching or writing poetry. It didn't happen then and it's not likely to happen today.
Not sure if this whole post is a rant or just an attempt to process with myself; to embrace the idea that my current rate of progress is okay, and yet acknowledge that I wish it was a lot faster. And it will be, once I get a little better at this new game I've joined.
Once I relearn to Organize, Prioritize and Follow Through!
posted by JahStorm @ 11:00 AM
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