Working IN It, Not Just ON It – A Perspective From the Trenches
Missed me? Ha! I know I’ve missed me. I’ve had a couple of whirlwind weeks working IN my business instead of ON my business – breaking the number one rule for CEOs everywhere. I agree it shouldn’t be a daily occurrence to get in and get dirty, but every now and then I find it important to do.
It helps me remember what it takes to run a project, manage a client or staff member…manage your manager (key to success) because things change. And as technology changes, personnel changes, the competitive environment changes, systems have to change as well. And the CEO probably has the best vantage point.
But I find I can’t see as clearly from a distance. And let’s be honest. It’s kind of fun to go back a bit in time and experience the thrill of the day-to-day. Every now and then.
I find it actually helps me direct and guide the company better if I know the daily challenges my team faces. I can use my connections, vision, instinct to build in safeguards for them, develop inter-departmental communications systems and better coordinate my large initiatives if I know the daily ops are streamlined.
My insights from this “ethnography”?
- Clients want robust profiles that take more time to fill out than they did even a year ago, which lead to an innovation to minimize the time spent “profiling”.
- Because of the way we communicate with our database participants, the Resources Department was more integral than ever and needed a bit of restructuring.
- Our recruiters (the best in the business) were capable of doing more to help their department and warmed quickly to the idea of functioning at a higher level.
- Communication is key (duh). Always has been, always will be.
Long days and tired nights aside, I enjoyed my time in the trenches. But now…it’s back to the perch for me. Spyglass in hand, it’s time again to scan the distance and guide us to the future, stronger than ever at our core.
