Truck along

Some tasks are important but mostly truck along, utterly thankless, part of the daily grind, getting no real attention, surviving outside of the limelight, unowned and way down anyone and everyone’s priority list. Fitting in between the gaps.

Like the dishwasher in the office, like support, like keeping on top of the documentation. Everyone’s responsibility and nobody’s.

When things are fresh or incredibly small, you can probably get along by assuming everyone will muck in. As you grow, the gaps form, and otherwise good people either don’t see the issues, assume they’re someone else’s responsibility, or simply don’t have time for them.

What then? At some point, when good intentions and collective responsibility run out, it has to become someone’s explicit responsibility. And what’s weird, when that happens, the utterly thankless tasks can be come differentiators.

Skippy strategy: Muck in until you can’t, then it’s time for clear responsibilities.

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Category:
Focus