Even when hiding feels better (from Machines are the Easy Part)

From Machines Are the Easy Part; People Are the Hard Part. 

Illustrations by Brady Johnson

4. Even when hiding feels better, don't do it.

The best way to be seen as valuable, especially in an administrative or supervisory position, is to go out and talk to the people your department serves, find out what’s bugging them about your area of responsibility, and then find ways to reduce the irritation.

As I walk through the buildings in my district, I like to think of myself as a giant “complaint magnet.” I write down every problem I hear about and then either solve it or find out why it can’t be solved. I always communicate back to the person who had the problem outlining what I’ve done.

Even if I haven’t been of much help, people like to know they have been heard.

 5. The race is not always to the swift, but to those who keep on learning.

The moral of Aesop’s tale about the tortoise and the hare is that the race is not always to the swift, but to those who keep on running. I agree.

But you can’t just keep running without ever changing course. To run in the right direction you always have to be on a fairly high learning curve. Read, listen, read, go to conferences, read, research, read, and read some more.

Now I am a very lazy professional reader. I’d much rather escape into a good mystery or work of historical fiction. The deal I made with myself is to alternate between professional books and recreational books. Now, if only the serious books would read as fast as a Harry Bosch mystery.

6. Never assume. 

Never assume the computer will work with the projector. Never assume your wife is picking up the milk. Never assume your job is secure. Never assume that other people will vote for the politician you want in office and never assume the politicians will vote for your cause. Never assume someone else will play a leadership role in your profession. Never assume the world will be just fine without you doing something about the problems in it.

It takes just seconds to double check things. I think I learned this one cold winter afternoon when I sat expecting my wife to meet me at the Hardee’s in New Hampton, Iowa while she was sitting all afternoon at the Hardee’s in Hampton, Iowa.

Never assume that it is OK to assume even once.