Showing up late and unprepared

This is not about shaming, but many of us aren't ready for prime time, most of the time.

It's all about punctuality and preparation, and we all fall short with plenty of excuses. "Busy, busy, busy!" "No, crazy busy!" "I'm soooo sorry I'm late!"

And the list goes on.

Late-breaking news: you're not going to make it!

It happens all the time. You're running late and not ready for what's next.

It's a typical day, and you've got meetings and calls scheduled. Many of them are back to back. You're dialed into Microsoft Teams or Zoom, and you're ready but waiting on someone. Maybe that someone is you.

Why does this happen so constantly and predictably? In a noisy business environment, it seems to be the norm that we run from long meeting to long meeting, over-consuming information, and trying to out-work the demands of an always-on work day that starts too early and never seems to end.

What always seems to suffer is proper preparation and punctuality.

Creating a domino effect of chaos

Nobody likes to be late, but everyone does it and thinks it's somehow ok.

What's really happening is that the quality of collaboration suffers (few people are set) and the quantity of collaboration exceeds the time. Takeaway: there's never enough time when you start late and aren't ready.

Late meetings create more late meetings; long conversations spill into other appointments; deadlines get missed as the chaos continues; and people waste time waiting and waiting.

It's a typical business day that doesn't really work. We all end up lowering the bar.

Be early, be quiet, be ready

I heard long ago, "when you're early, you're on time, and when you're on time, you're late." That seemed a bit drastic to me at first, but after years in business that is great advice. I'm guilty of being late too, so this is what inspired me to write this edition of my newsletter.

Showing up two minutes early may be all you need. Here's what I'm proposing we all start doing more consistently (me too!):

1. Show up early. If you have an appointment, get there a few minutes early. Maybe five minutes might be ideal, although two might suffice.
2. Be quiet. Be alone if you can, and try to be free from distractions. Don't squander those precious minutes to check your smartphone or turn on the audio/video of Zoom. If someone else is present too, maybe consider stepping away for those few minutes.
3. Get ready. Start thinking about what is going to happen, who will be there and what you might need to say. Take out a notebook and write down a few key goals or points you want to cover. Have a plan.
4. End early. While the conversation is gaining speed, determine how you can have it end a little early. Though this isn't easy, try to manage the clock better so your hard stop is maybe a few minutes before everyone else's. Imagine what you'd do if you had to catch a train.

Paradox: Slow down to speed up

We're all busy. That's the world we live in.

One of the reasons why I wrote "NOISE" was to get professionals thinking about how much of that world is about consuming noise, not clarity. We end up doing the least important thing versus what matters most. And many of us give in, thinking there's not much we can do to stop it.

Keep trying, don't give up. Taking a few minutes deliberately to plan and prepare alone will give you an exponential advantage. Ironically, you'll have to let yourself pause momentarily.

Keeping up the pace and doing it well demands a different way of working.

The Quiet Workplace The BRIEF Lab #quietworks #bebrief