Construction - Where do You Start?

No matter how you look at it, construction makes a mess!  Pass any site under construction and take a look at the apparent chaos.  Pass by again once construction is complete and landscaping has been completed and you'll see a totally different picture.  What is it about construction that causes such anxiety?

• the mess - yes, there will be a mess
• the time - will things be completed on time?
• the chaos - does everyone know what they're doing?
• the delays - and there will be some - count on it!
• the cost - need I say more?
• the commitment - once you're started, there's no going back!

Now, take a look at your business, whether it's a full fledged product manufacture or a service business with little or no infrastructure.  What would construction mean to you?

Inertia

Inertia is insidious, in lives and in business.   Inertia is derived from the Latin iners - idle or lazy.  It can really apply to us during the summer months can't it?  But, we call that R&R and we really do need that too! When it becomes really destructive is when it is brought into your work-a-day life.

In our lives we can experience inertia at work whether we're responsible for it or not.  You know, the job you're in just isn't doing it for you anymore, or the direction of the company is not compatible with your inner code of values, but, you're too dependent on the pay cheque, benefit package and the pension plan to make any changes.  So, you continue on day after day, plodding through the mire and hoping against hope that it will get better.  The fact is, you don't even see how bad it is until, if you’re lucky, you have left the job behind.  Let's hope it's not at retirement! 

With recession upon recession coming in waves, people can be apprehensive about leaving a bad job for no job.  And, leaving your job is definitely not what I’m advocating here.  You may suspect there could be something better for you out there, but, I don't suggest you walk out the door of your current employer without a plan as to where you're going and how you're going to get there. 

There are, however, things that can be done to alleviate some of this without taking drastic measures.  Any of these can bring purpose, direction and even inspiration, but, most important, they should bring focus to a mind stagnating in a pool of indecision.

1.     Join a philanthropic club, non profit or service organization ­– take your mind off of your current status and focus on others.

2.     Join a health club, curling club, to get your body moving.  Sports/exercise will get the blood flowing and brain cells calculating.  After all, if you’re in a state of inertia, you likely are experiencing end-of-day exhaustion!  You need to turn that around!

3.     Start writing- journaling to be precise.  This will help focus the mind and as you write you’ll find you’re really getting to know you and how you feel and why.

4.     Get- and this may seem ridiculous- a part time job, paid or not, it doesn’t matter.  Choose any field aside from your own.  This is not for the money, but, self-awareness.  Many a person has found their true calling, just by putting someone other than themselves first.  Delivering meals to shut-ins for Meals on Wheels, Driving for the Red Cross, Cancer Centre or any of a  host of other volunteer work available in our and many other communities.

The choice of what you do is up to you – just do something!   Volunteering for Habitat for Humanity for instance can re-focus a person’s appreciation for what they already have as they see how a small house can mean so much to a family with no house.  Driving patients to cancer appointments can give you a new perspective on your own health and well being.  Serving meals at a community kitchen, delivering gifts and food baskets to families in need at Christmas, refocus your mind and your objectives in life.

Will inertia overtake you?  It doesn’t have to, but, only you can make a difference in your own life.  

Policies and Procedures Purpose

There is much to-do about Policies and Procedures now, but, aside from current wave of employers developing P&P manuals, why should you create one?  You should not undertake something, anything, without a clear purpose.  Within today's very short blog, you'll find the precis version of Policies and Procedures.
First
Q. - What is a policy? 
A. - Policies define their purpose and a definite course of action to direct the methods used by users to get to where you want to go? 
Q. - What is a procedure?
A - Procedures provide the workhorse for the developed policies.  They actually guide the work to get you to your destination from your desired policy statement.

Getting to work with a P&P manual
So, within the corporate culture, you've decided you need to provide services that mirror your philosophy and policies and procedures are developed around this thinking.
Understanding good policies and procedures and utilizing same is the difference between a smoothly running, well communicated corporate culture and one that is fractured, reactionary and defensive.   Policies and procedures will not be followed if employees are not familiar with them or if they are not being followed at management level.  Familiarize yourself with your P&P manual and your people will follow suit.