Fred is the vice president of sales in one of our companies. He regularly bursts into strategy sessions at the last minute and leaves to make his next appointment immediately. This is the way he works. His schedule helps him "maximize his time."
But, Fred's time is not being maximized. The story of his life is about being busy. He lives tired and without the energy we need from him. Fred doesn't understand that the creativity and innovation our company often requires comes in the conversations that take place before and after our meetings.
Fred has yet to grasp that the informal interactions before and after our meetings are sometimes more potent than the meeting itself. And it drains his energy from him.
Lesson: Innovative and creative ideas that will grow your business and give you energy will often come in the informal times before and after meetings.
We often think that calendaring our day with as many meetings as possible is maximizing our time. But I have found that keeping a calendar that allows for margin allows us to maximize relationships that spur innovation. The kind of innovation and creativity that fuels progress happens in the margins of life.
Lesson: Creativity that fuels energized progress often happens in the margins of life.
Knowing the power of this kind of margin in our daily and weekly schedule, we must intentionally plan it into our schedule.
Margin in our schedule allows us to maximize relationships that can propel us forward in our purpose. Relationships become more prosperous when you take the time before and after official meetings.
A large part of expanding your business vision comes through listening. Hearing from the right people at the right time is crucial to progress. When we don't have margin in our daily and weekly schedule, authentic listening is not possible. A busy schedule antithetical to my firm belief that greatness is never achieved alone.
Lesson: Greatness is never achieved alone. Margin in our schedule maximizes our team relationships.
My grandfather was fond of saying that customers who buy lemons by the dozen (instead of the traditional case) drain you dry! He meant that there are some people in life you might want to "unsubscribe" from!
Living with this kind of margin in your schedule means choosing ahead of time who NOT to waste your time with. Fred, our senior-level executive, spends too much time responding to complaints. He doesn't realize that his willingness to respond to complaints keeps him from gaining any margin in his schedule to maximize the right relationships.
Lesson: Having margin in your schedule will require you to establish boundaries on who gets your time.
I once "unsubscribed" from a "team lunch" that was a glorified gripe session. My time is too valuable to offer my ears as a trash can for someone else's garbage. Setting a boundary is crucial to reclaiming that time for productive relationships.
The insight today is to challenge you to be intentional about having margin in your life. It will fill you with energy and multiply your business pursuits.
Because I want to help you, I have created a free Energy Audit. It is free to you. The Energy Audit# will help you discover what gives you energy and what is draining it. I am anxious for you to take the audit and let me know what you learned! CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD
Harry T. Jones
P.S. Connect with me on LinkedIn. Let me know if I am connecting with you. CLICK HERE TO CONNECT
Comments