{"id":4067,"date":"2018-03-29T14:58:47","date_gmt":"2018-03-29T19:58:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/etereman.com\/remanu\/?p=4067"},"modified":"2018-03-29T14:58:47","modified_gmt":"2018-03-29T19:58:47","slug":"make-it-work-then-make-it-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/etereman.com\/remanu\/2018\/03\/29\/make-it-work-then-make-it-better\/","title":{"rendered":"Make It Work Then Make It Better"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\nMy to-do list has overflown from its digital home onto random post-its and legal pads around me. I\u2019m down a staff member\u2014or three. There\u2019s an emergent project\u2013or three\u2013on my plate, and the cafeteria is out of coffee. The hyenas are circling. The hour grows late.
\nSound familiar? The weeds are familiar territory for anyone who works\u2026 or likely just anyone present in today\u2019s complex world. And when things are at their worst, it can be the hardest time to see the light \u2013 when there will be enough staff, when projects will flow as they should\u2026 a magical, mystical future when advanced planning and strategy prevent your work from being the predator and you the prey.
\nNo amount of waiting around or letting things fall apart or hiding from your to-do list by completing small, low-impact tasks will make things better. The poster on our wall from Startup Vitamins<\/a> says it all. First, you \u201cMake it work then make it better.\u201d<\/p>\n

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  1. Triage:<\/strong> While time-consuming to take a look at your mile-long to-do lists in all their mediums, you must. You must look, recompile in one, and determine who you can save, who can wait, and who, sadly, will not make it. A grim metaphor? Certainly. But while a small thing, your office needs coffee, particularly if they\u2019re even a percentage as frazzled as you.<\/li>\n
  2. Make moves:<\/strong> That big project with the looming deadline? Once the coffee\u2019s brewing, bid adieu to the ambiguity of too many tasks and get to work. You know what you need<\/em> to do. Do it. Done is the new perfect. Along the way, mistakes are going to happen. Processes are going to be flawed. You\u2019re going to pay too much for shipping. You\u2019re going to make that dreaded typo, or worse (I suppose\u2026 unless you\u2019re me), be curt in an email when you shouldn\u2019t (or if you have a stellar attitude, you won\u2019t, but I\u2019ll understand if you slip just this once). Know the mistakes. Understand what you\u2019d change in a better, kinder world. Own up to your typos and attitude slips and most importantly, dropped balls.<\/li>\n
  3. Improve:<\/strong> Phew, this is the good part. There truly will come a day, a week, two weeks, a month from now when the dust has settled. You\u2019ve saved the lives of many projects and done some pretty okay work. Set aside the to-do list for a day or week\u2014heck, your to-do list is used to being perpetually behind anyways\u2014and confront everything that went wrong. And make it better.\n