Most of us hit the ground running the moment we step into the workplace... or even before we step into it! During my 20+ year career, my daily lineup has certainly consisted of a load heavier than what my 8-10 hour work day could bear, so by 8 am I often already feel behind, and begin moving at light-speed, like Dash in The Incredibles. *For those of you that don't have small kids, that's akin to Flash Gordon!
I'm a hard worker. I'm a fast worker.
But am I doing what's best for my business?
That's the question I have to force myself to consider. And if I'm only working IN my business (ensuring that my everyday tasks are accomplished) and not working ON my businesses (developing the vision, mission, my skills, etc.) then the only reasonable conclusion is NO... I'm not doing what's best for my business. *sigh*
Last week I attended training and was reminded that I need to work ON my business more. I need more training so that I become BETTER at what I do, not just faster. I need to learn new techniques and ideas that challenge my thinking. I need to surround myself with colleagues that I can learn from. I need to take the time to plan the direction in which my business is heading, to better develop the quality of the product/service that I'm offering, and to contemplate my company's vision & mission and how I'm fulfilling them.
In addition to soft skills training, I teach Microsoft Office classes. Recently I was refreshing my more advanced skills with Excel, and I thought, "WHY didn't I do this while I was managing all of those spreadsheets and reports at my last job? I would have been so much more productive!"
Ouch.
I can't go back and change that, but I CAN be smarter moving ahead. So, now it's time for me to run (see what I did there... back to Dash again!) and work ON my business. Time to book some training, read some books, and gain some clarity so that I'm moving ahead in the right direction. After all, at my speed I'll end up somewhere quickly, so I want to be sure it's in the right place!
"In all things that you do, consider the end." Solon
Superhero Image: Pixabay, CC0, https://pixabay.com/en/superhero-super-hero-hero-figure-304713/