Too busy to ever be effective

Paul O’Loughlin

Have you ever met those people who are always so busy at their jobs that they don’t even have time to fix the problem? “I am so busy I don’t have time to meet you”. “I am too busy to consider your proposition”. “I am going on leave so there is no point having the conversation”. All standard objections and sometimes reasonable I guess… But the real problem in all of this is that the individual more often than not is suffocating in their own ineptitude. Reluctant to change and be innovative they are awaiting for their demise, but they don’t realise it!

You see it all the time in the corporate world. The difference between these people and their counterparts in the public sector is the later has often protections and mechanisms to disguise. I was once told that there was no such thing as a safe job, only safe people! Its a truism… incompetent people hide behind their lack of perceived time and have therefore an inability to perform their role. They become dispensable.

You see effective time managers often are seen as having lots of time to perform their task, and other tasks as well. They embrace change, new and innovative ways to do things, are alert to changes in technology, conduct themselves along the lines of “just do it!”. They don’t procrastinate, they are motivated, have clear sight and vision and are results oriented. Sounds like the perfect employee, and they do exist. High performance without fuss and often resulting in advancement to an executive appointment.

So, to the people out there that have no time… make time. We live in a time of “disruption” where the pace of change will only continue to accelerate, embrace it for all it is worth!