Stating something might seem easy. You can just pick up a pen and start writing a report, or call a meeting to brainstorm ideas as such as the project proposal comes in. However, due to the scale and complexity of most work nowadays, there are usually so many obstacles in the way that can stop us in our tracks, and its not just limited to business (what’s stopping you breaking that bad habit?). How we deal with these obstacles has a huge bearing on how smoothly we complete our projects. Do you attempt to plough through or do you temporarily turn your attention towards the obstacles to really get them out of the way?
It’s critical that you be proactive in dealing with these obstacles. You could try and ignore them, work around them or just half-heartedly brush them aside, but that very rarely works. It means you have to put more effort in, the problems will linger on your mind and they will have other knock-on effects. A nice analogy to explain it would be a train struck because of a landslide on the tracks. You could move the odd rock here and there to try and let the train through but it’s likely to be a massive chore where the train goes nowhere fast because the track wasn’t clear enough. Alternatively, you can get your team to focus hard on clearing the track properly for a few hours. It might take a little longer, but once it’s done, it’s really done, and the rest of your journey will be smooth and easy.
Apply that analogy to a project that has been stalled by some obstacle (maybe new software hasn’t installed properly, your team doesn’t have the necessary knowledge or you are having financial difficulties). Would you rather try and push through, or put some time aside to really deal with it? Sure, it might feel wrong dropping what your doing to deal with a problem that probably won’t move your project forward, but think about the long term benefits. It’s easier to be productive when the path before you is clear.
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June 8, 2008 at 08:50PM
I always try to take the problem apart until the pieces are small enough for me to solve, then write the list down and start solving the problems one by one. This way even the tallest mountain is divided into steps which you can manage to do.
June 9, 2008 at 12:47AM
It depends on how cooperative your team is. Back when I worked as a lawyer there were always obstacles from my own secretaries, colleagues, supervisors, and clients to opposing attorneys, their secretaries, and so on. Then there were the courts, the court clerks, etc. It seemed there was no end to such frequent yet unpredictable (both when and for how long) roadblocks to my work.
So, what I found that worked best for me is to do as much as I could on a project, then let everybody who needs to know that I’m stalled on it for what reason, exactly who or what I’m waiting on to move forward on that project and when I’ll follow up with everyone. Then, after documenting all that I could focus on another project that was in the pipeline. At one time I had thirty five cases with dozens of projects in each one going at the same time without any real help from staff or supervisors. That went on for about a year before the frustration of too many balls in the air and too many roadblocks finally caused me to look for another job. At least I learned to juggle really, really well. Thanks for a great topic!
June 11, 2008 at 07:43AM
Love that train analogy. I can think of one too many projects that I have started but that have been delegated till later. The only thing that is accomplished with these half finished projects is accumulation of wasted time.
June 11, 2008 at 04:04PM
Thanks for the comments. Luke, you make a good point about breaking the problem down. We break our work down into manageable chunks, why not do the same when we come up against a problem?
Shanel, would you consider colleague and company attitudes an obstacle in itself? At my last job I’d work my ass off trying to get things done, yet my manager always seemed to be putting extra stuff in my way. It was ridiculous.
June 11, 2008 at 04:20PM
James, thank you. For me it works in such a way that if I don’t have a list of things to do (and it has to be written down too) I always get lost in the maze of possibilities – there is just so much one can do. I’ve heard it’s called the dip but since I have not read Seth Godin’s book I wouldn’t want to bet on it. Anyways, I agree it’s a very good way of getting things done (and for me it’s the only way).
June 11, 2008 at 05:35PM
Absolutely! But, in big corporations nowadays (there used to be some big nice corporations in the old days but the bottom-line-at-all-costs kind pretty much ran all of those out of business) coworker and company attitude that always tries to put more work on your plate is part of the machine that grinds out more product. In other words, they want it that way.
It’s up to us to fight it out amongst ourselves who is clever enough to keep our inboxes literally and figuratively clean. It’s an art that takes years to master. Doing as little as possible while still looking busy as hell is what every lifer at any big corporation is really good at. I hope that doesn’t sound too cynical. It’s not the coworkers fault. They’re part of the machine. The board of directors demand higher and higher profits with less expenses. And who do the BOD answer to? The shareholders… that’s us! I probably hold shares to some of those big corporations in my mutual fund.
The thing is not to blame the coworkers but to learn the skills to survive in that environment so you don’t get overwhelmed (if you choose not to leave that environment altogether like I did).