The "Job" Parts Of The Job
Editor’s Note: This newsletter was originally published on August 23rd, 20221.
There are those parts of every job that make it “the job”.
We all experience them. They are the uncomfortable conversations; they might be the unpopular task. They are those things that you would not choose to do were they not a part of the job description.
The advice we hear is to “Find something you enjoy so much that you’d do it for free & you’ll never have to work a day in your life.”
Even when we find that perfect spot, there are usually pieces of it that don’t excite us or make us feel “complete”.
As a word of warning, be careful trying to delegate them! Unless you find someone who is good at it and excited by doing it, the person to whom you delegate it will often not meet your expectations. This creates a second-level problem that will only frustrate you more! In addition to the activity you dislike, you’ll be trying to manage & coach someone else performing it.
I had one of these this week.
In this case, I just blocked the schedule and put forth the effort to get it done.
Conveniently, it ended up resolving itself, but handling it actively meant I wasn’t worried about it or dreading it.
It was just part of the job & handling it allowed me to quickly refocus on the other parts that I enjoy more.
What is that “job” part of your Job? Is there some part that you’ve been putting off that you need to get done?
Follow-up Sports Note:
My Falcons lost another preseason game against Scot Chartrand’s Miami Dolphins on Saturday night. On a positive note, they scored their first two TDs of the season & if there is solace to be taken, Atlanta’s 2nd string did fairly well against the Dolphins’ starters in the first half. For a downer, an injury to their backup QB McCarron means that their backup situation is even more precarious. This week’s upcoming preseason game against the Cleveland Browns will likely be the first glimpse at our starters this year. #WeShallSee
I’ll admit it. I have always been a fan of The Postman! It is one among a set of dystopian movies starring Kevin Costner, but unlike some of the others, this one has a really unique message that resonated with me.
For those who haven’t seen the movie (or expunged it from memory), Costner plays an unnamed drifter who wanders town-to-town entertaining audiences by acting scenes from movies (like Star Wars) with his mule as the supporting actor.
Early in the movie, he finds an old postal truck with a dead driver containing a couple of bags of undelivered mail. After conning a town to feed & shelter him by pretending to be the new regional postal carrier for the “Restored United States”, he encounters a youth (Ford) who wants to “be a Postman” too.
Costner deputized the youth and moves onto another town where he is injured and spends the next few months with his love interest Abby in a secluded cabin.
When they return from the mountain, they encounter another newly deputized postal carrier who takes them to meet “Postmaster General Ford Lincoln-Mercury”.
Much to the Postman’s surprise, Ford has built and organized an entirely new postal service gathering and delivering mail from throughout the region.
Ford’s new “Postal Service” has drawn the attention of the movie’s villain (General Bethlehem) and this initiates a war that works throughout the rest of the movie.
The above quote occurs at a critical point where the Postman is doubting himself and confesses to Abby that it was all a ruse.
This was Abby’s response and it really struck me in that it highlights that we can never know how our actions will motivate, embolden, or serve as a foundation for others. While the uniform and bags of mail only represented a meal and a bed for one person, they meant infinitely more to someone else who was just searching for a mission.
Ultimately, they represented much more to the Postman himself (even if he didn’t realize it until much later).
What are you doing & how might you be unknowingly influencing others around you? Even in your day-to-day, are you bringing something to those around you that wouldn’t have come along without you? Are they better off for encountering you?
If so, how can you do it more? If not, what do you need to do differently to be a hope-bringer?
Regardless of the excuses you hear (or give), it usually comes down to Will-Wont more so than Can-Cant!
— David Adams (@SwamiDaveSays) August 2, 2021
We find ways to do the things we *really* want to do & plenty of reasons for those we don't.
For those checking out the book reviews, I reviewed E-Myth Revisited by Michael Gerber. You can check out my notes at this link.
Keep a lookout as I just finished One Million Followers by Brendan Kane and will be posting my notes for that one soon.
Other Links
Managers – Compassion & Accountability aren’t exclusive ideas!
As a manager, I’ve never felt that compassion & accountability were mutually exclusive. If this is a positive outcome of our last two years that more leaders see their employees as people, then let’s celebrate that and work to continue it.
In the same vein, employees need to step up and take on accountability as well. Realistically, it is less about these being “different” and more about everyone being focused on delivering value to customers!
Landlords & the impact of Eviction Moratoriums
A lot has been said about the moratoriums on evictions. Neither political party is innocent in this debacle and both are to blame for the impact that it is having on the rental real estate market (with greater impact to still come).
The reality is over half of the back rent owed is owed to small property owners and investors. Regardless of the spin that you hear, the greatest impacts are being felt by retirees and small owners. Those impacts ultimately drive those smaller operators to sell their rental properties (often at a loss) to larger investors & investment groups less likely to work & negotiate with struggling tenants.
Moratoriums were a bad idea when they were started and they’ve gotten progressively worse as they’ve been continued. Allowing renters to stay without pay only drives up the balances of rents they owe & makes it more unlikely that they will be able to catch up.
Increasing Website Speed
One of the biggest ranking factors for your website is speed. If you are having traffic issues or a problem of session abandonment, increasing your site’s performance is one of the best actions to try. Nothing wastes your effort to attract an audience more than poor performance when they are responding.
SEO Audit Tools
If you’re looking to do SEO for your website, the folks at SEOSly.com share several good tools (paid & free) to help you increase your rankings and performance.
