To write in concrete terms about what I’m actually doing in real life.
I fear that I’m launching in a dumb direction. dumb meaning it takes me away from where I want to go.
The usual shower thought arose this morning, unbidden. I am actively doing strategic planning for my business.
The planning is designed to build and grow the business with a definite aim: open up time for me to do one of the essential business functions that (a) I have a special talent for, and (b) I actually love doing.
I will, if I proceed down this path, be doing many things I don’t want to do. And in fact a foreshadowing occurred yesterday at the end of the business day. I got a question from an employee: “I know this process is in place for a damned good reason, but please let me ignore the process.”
(General, handwaving explanation here: I want nothing less than absolute excellence. This process achieves absolute excellence in a customer-facing transaction but requires us to absorb a bit of complexity in order to deliver bulletproof confidence to the customer. The request corrodes our confidence—and the customer’s confidence—in the completion of the task.)
Here is the shower thought: why do all of the work to create time in my life to do what I want to do? Why not just do it?
I am going to put myself in the firing line of 10,000 whiny requests for “Can I be lazy, boss?” No. 10,000 times no.
Answer. I have people relying on me. Employees. Including this employee who wants to undercut the process. Customers. I’m building the strategic plan to serve them, not me.
Why? Two reasons. One good, one bad. The good reason is the extreme self-satisfaction of doing Deeply Competent Work. The bad reason is money. I want money.
That’s about as specific as I will get here. Anything more will reveal my business, location, etc. And will identify people (employees and customers) too. They didn’t sign up for that.
I need an alt where I can rant. And a person IRL I can talk to.