In my last post, I noted how we need to identify the bottlenecks in our system to enable us to be more productive. Often the biggest, and most frustrating, impediment to getting things done, is other people. It may be that you can’t tick something off your list until you get the draft back from someone else. Or you are waiting for a call from a client with the information you need to complete what they have asked you to do. With apologies to John-Paul Sartre, “Other people are hell”.
I have often considered mailing some people a copy of ‘Get Things Done’, but it has never seemed a good idea on balance. I don’t mean this in the sense that a horse’s head would have been more effective (now there’s a thought…), but more that suggesting to other people that you would like to make them more productive could be portrayed as a little patronising. If you are lucky. “Can I help you become more efficient” is what comes out of your mouth, but what they hear is:
- “I’m better than you”;
- “You are not very good at your job”; or
- “I think you’re a bit thick”.
Okay, so some people would take it constructively, but often you can’t take that risk. If it is your boss you are talking about then you don’t want him/her thinking you are saying any of the above.
So what can you do? Other than wallow in self pity that is. Well there are a few ways you can improve their productivity without having to risk removal of privileges:
Only a Yes or No
Chances are that if all someone has to do is to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ then you will get a quicker response than if they actually have to come to some decision. You will be amazed how many decisions can be boiled down to this. For example you are deciding which of four potential suppliers to use, but before you can start using them you need the Head of Purchasing’s blessing. You could ask him which of the four he would like you to use, or you could say that the consensus is that Supplier A is the best, shall we use them yes-or-no.
Nil Return as a Yes
Even better than waiting for a yes-or-no is waiting for a something or a nothing by a particular deadline. This is not possible in all circumstances, and a read-receipt e-mail is recommended so you can see if they have actually read your request! The question is now “The general consensus is that Supplier A is the best option, if you can let me know if you have any objections by 1 May, from which point I shall start using them unless I hear otherwise”.
Spell-out What You Want
We all do it. You look at your tasks list and anything it is not immediately obvious what you need to do gets deferred, or at least knocked down the order a little. You really do stack the odds in you favour if you take the time to explain fully what you are asking of them, and what specifically you need back from them. Think “Can you let me know which supplier you like the look of?” versus “Please can you have a look at the 4 potential suppliers – I have sent you basic company information on each along with my meeting notes from when I met them. Specifically I would be grateful if you could decide which is likely to give us the best service and why you feel this to be the case”
Use Forms
Once you have made it abundantly clear what you want from someone, you can then make it just as clear how they need to get it back to you. In the above example this may be an Excel spreadsheet with a column for each supplier and rows for ‘name’, ‘location’, ‘turnover’, etc… When people see all they need to fill in is a table, it is a lot more appealing.
Present a Fait Accompli
This is probably best kept for people you either want to impress or those you have no faith whatsoever in. Why? Because it involves a lot more work for you. Continuing our example, rather than just needing the Head of Purchasing’s blessing on which supplier you go with, you need them to compete a purchasing report – in which case you would draft the report for them, ask them to check it and let you know if they want any changes making. Be careful – if you do this once, it can become the norm very quickly!
Hold Their Hand
Giving someone something to do then coming back for it in two weeks time is never going to be the best way of getting the output they way you need it. Rather than just ping them an e-mail asking them to do something, follow it up a couple of days later with a phone call, or even better, a face-to-face to talk through what you have asked them for. Not only does this mean that they are likely to do what you want better, but you are likely to create an affinity with them about this bit of work versus the other items that have just been e-mailed to them – promoting your task up their list.
Don’t Wait Until the Deadline
Time and time again I see this happen. And to be honest I am guilty of it occasionally. You tell someone you need the work back by next Wednesday as you need to conclude on it to meet another deadline on the Friday. So Wednesday comes, you chase them, and they haven’t done it – putting your own deadline in jeopardy. Why wait until the due date? Pick up the phone on the Monday and remind them that its needs doing by Wednesday.
