I love this whole article but I'm currently kicking myself for not knowing the text formatting hack in emails before this. The amount of time I've spent manually formatting over the years ..... so painful
The one about sloppiness and formatting is a huge one for me.
When you correct people on these things, it can seem like you're being nit-picky or majoring in the minor, but -
• It reflects the level of care behind all aspects of the work. If they couldn't be bothered to make it look clean, how rigorous was the analysis behind it?
• It affects how people receive the work. Whether they are detail oriented or not, we all feel the difference between sloppy and polished work.
I learned this in my first job working at a law firm. I saw a couple of paralegals who were lax on details because “they knew the lawyers would catch mistakes.” But finally, the lawyers had to put their foot down.
Seeing what a burden it created for them made me realize the importance of “imagine this was going straight to the client” type effort.
As part of preparing for their 2024 goals, I've asked all my direct reports to review this, comes with at least two key takeaways and one example of a time they acted like an owner and one example of when they did not.
I really enjoyed this article! I find that the best operators are those who have built their own self-management systems. I live and die by my Notion, it's my second brain and I don't know what I'd do without it!
Life this, Wes! I recently re-joined a very large management consulting firm (like two weeks ago) and felt some whiplash owning all of the deliverables and projects I needed to own -- days into my onboarding. Due to a heavy influx of work, coupled with mass layoffs, there’s less resources to help tell me how to get things done -- so I’m on my own to fend for myself. That’s okay, I suppose, but not when my actions could put a $150m contract at risk. Do I spend time improving my weaknesses? Or do I admit that I have them, and ask for permission to fail so that I can learn along the way? (Hypothecated question haha, not turning this into an advice column😝)
WTF does it mean to “act like an owner”?
I love this whole article but I'm currently kicking myself for not knowing the text formatting hack in emails before this. The amount of time I've spent manually formatting over the years ..... so painful
Many excellent tips in this article.
The one about sloppiness and formatting is a huge one for me.
When you correct people on these things, it can seem like you're being nit-picky or majoring in the minor, but -
• It reflects the level of care behind all aspects of the work. If they couldn't be bothered to make it look clean, how rigorous was the analysis behind it?
• It affects how people receive the work. Whether they are detail oriented or not, we all feel the difference between sloppy and polished work.
“Your manager can’t always be your safety net.”
I learned this in my first job working at a law firm. I saw a couple of paralegals who were lax on details because “they knew the lawyers would catch mistakes.” But finally, the lawyers had to put their foot down.
Seeing what a burden it created for them made me realize the importance of “imagine this was going straight to the client” type effort.
As part of preparing for their 2024 goals, I've asked all my direct reports to review this, comes with at least two key takeaways and one example of a time they acted like an owner and one example of when they did not.
This is EXCELLENT.
This is great advice!!!
"Be as self-directed and independent as possible."
My favorite point.
When I heard it at first, I thought it was about never asking for help.
But it's about being able to take yourself from point A to B. This includes reaching out to the necessary people to help overcome obstacles.
I'd love to hear your thoughts on when "to disagree and commit"? when should you stand your ground and keep pushing?
I really enjoyed this article! I find that the best operators are those who have built their own self-management systems. I live and die by my Notion, it's my second brain and I don't know what I'd do without it!
This is one of the most insightful articles I have ever read. Young people could learn so much from this before they start their career.
Life this, Wes! I recently re-joined a very large management consulting firm (like two weeks ago) and felt some whiplash owning all of the deliverables and projects I needed to own -- days into my onboarding. Due to a heavy influx of work, coupled with mass layoffs, there’s less resources to help tell me how to get things done -- so I’m on my own to fend for myself. That’s okay, I suppose, but not when my actions could put a $150m contract at risk. Do I spend time improving my weaknesses? Or do I admit that I have them, and ask for permission to fail so that I can learn along the way? (Hypothecated question haha, not turning this into an advice column😝)
Once again, I'm here commenting without reading. Already got the like before anything else. rsrs