Advice

Done Right Or Done On Time?

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I encounter an interesting issue when coaching and speaking on self-organization:  which is more important, finishing something on time or doing it right?  I think it's a question important enough to address on the blog.

The answer, as you may guess, is "it depends."  However for your career, indeed your life, it's very important to know when "on time" is important and when "done right" is important.  Some tasks (perhaps many tasks) force you to confront these choices – including ones affecting your career.

My rules of thumb are this:

DONE ON TIME: Things that need to be done on time are those things where time is of the essence and whatever is dependent on said task won't happen unless it's done – even if it's not done perfectly.  An example myself is preparing presentation materials – I know I can take far, far longer to get them perfectly, but since I'm there at the presentation, I can make up for any issues – and I CANT take forever to get them right and miss my deadline.

DONE RIGHT: Are things that have to have a certain level of quality or there will be failure, and where quality is more important than a deadline.  This would be things that are vital to proper functioning and where you can't easily correct failure – a lot of software deployments fall into this area.

Learning to make the call between "do it right" or "do it on time" is a challenging part of life and career – but worth doing.  It also requires you to accept sometimes you miss a deadline – and sometimes you don't do things perfectly.  Then again, that's part of life.

Of course the WORST things are those that must be done perfectly right and done on time.  In that case . . . good luck.

– Steven Savage

Used to a level of panic?

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I deal with a lot of people working on getting their lives and careers in order – or back on track in this economy.  A lot of people I notice can't calm down even when they have nothing to worry about, or when it's of no use.

So ask yourself, are you actually used to a certain level of panic in your life and job search?

It may seem a simple – or ridiculous – question – but I witness a lot of people unable to slow down and deal with things calmly in the job search, almost as if they feel a certain level of panic is needed.  When people don't have reasons to panic, they can still remained "primed" to fly off the handle.

Mostly panic is crippling, as we all know (and rarely deal with).  But it can become an automated habit like anything else.  In fact if you're used to panic, you may panic over having nothing to panic over.

Take a look at yourself – are you used to panic?

– Steven Savage

Throw a Networking Event

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The convention ideas roundup is here.

When conventions focus on career events, its usually panels, workshops and demos.  This is and should be the norm, since these are the things people want and need.  I'd suggest conventions consider one addition to all of this.

A professional networking event.

Take an hour for people interested in going pro and give them a place to talk, exchange cards, and find out more about careers from each other.  INvite people from the professional panels you do run.  Have handouts and documents from recruiters, local businesses, etc.  For that matter, see if a local – or national – job board or service would want to sponsor it (oh, I'd love to see LinkedIN.com sponsor a geek networking event).

I confess it would be challenging – you'd probably need some icebreakers, and it may take a year or two to really reach a good self-perpetuating pace – but I think it's a worthy experiment.  People network at conventions anyway, adding professional networking to the mix would be a good goal to have.

The benefits I see:

  • It's another social event.  In general, I'm all for those.
  • It would let fans connect on a different level than the usually do – one that benefits them professionally.
  • Gathering your "pro panel" speakers would let them network with each other and further talk to and inform attendees.
  • It's a way to involve recruiters and colleges if you invite them as I mentioned previously.
  • Done right, it could be an event that grows and helps promote the convention.
  • It acts as a foundation for future professional events.

Again, this is more a theory of mine – but if anyone wants to try it out I'd be happy to lend some suggestions . . .

– Steven Savage