07 Feb E&O Is a Marathon, Not a Sprint
In going through two shoulder surgeries and the subsequent physical therapy over the last three years, it was sometimes easy to wonder, “am I ever going to get better / will I ever be able to swing a golf club again?” When I found these thoughts sticking in my head, I needed to come up with a better mindset to tackle what lay ahead. My solution:
“Am I better today than I was yesterday?”
Without a doubt, there were days when it was hard to answer that question when comparing today vs. yesterday. So, I then transitioned to a comparison involving today versus a week ago, etc. That was key for me to realize that making progress/improvement every day would enable me to swing a golf club (although I still can’t get under 90).
What’s the correlation of this to the E&O world? Agencies consist of people, and one of my basic approaches is for agencies to build their E&O culture “one person at a time.” In all honesty, this was the main part of the development of this blog – a tool for each agency staff member to build and enhance E&O culture.
I recently received a very nice email from a senior person at one of the E&O Plus agencies I am honored to work with that resonated with this ongoing “E&O education one person at a time” approach. The message was, “Your blogs are an important part of our learning tools in our ongoing education to prevent E&Os. We find this to be the best resource for our people. I wanted you to know how much we value this tool.” To that agency and all of the E&O Plus agencies, it is my pleasure.
If one were to evaluate all of the staff in an agency from an E&O perspective, not everyone might be at the same level. Without question, many staff “clearly get it” while others are still learning and understanding the “why” of each of the E&O key components. After all, developing a solid E&O culture does not happen overnight and is truly more of a marathon than a sprint. For those still learning and actually for their respective managers, look at whether the staff are “better today than they were yesterday.” If they are, commend that progress with possible suggestions on what can be done to continue it. If it is determined that some staff are not any better today than yesterday, look to determine why and what tools can be provided to get those staff on an upwards trend.
The agency quote referenced above advised me they frequently find staff talking among themselves about the blog postings and the value they provide. I have heard many agencies use the blog for their staff meetings.
So, the bottom-line goal is for each agency staff to be “better today than they were yesterday.” As each person grows in their E&O awareness, the agency as a whole grows.