Letters to my 22 year old self - Part III "What's the ONE THING?"

“The most important thing is to keep the most important thing the most important thing.”?- Jim Kwik

Dear Shawn -

Congratulations on your new role! I have all the knowledge to know that you will do well. You will even surprise yourself at how much personal and professional growth you will experience when you push yourself just beyond your comfort zone and allow yourself you build genuine relationships with people around you.

As you merge into your new role here are few other things you should consider -

1- In your first few weeks and months take the time to learn everything you can about your own company by consuming internal and public content. Resist the temptation to jump right into "doing" and take the time to understand your new organization. Specifically

• Why they exist (purpose).
• What they stand for (values).
• Where they are headed and how they intend to get there (vision).
• The problems they solve (customer value)
• What their differentiation is in the market (differentiated proposition)
• How they make decisions (leadership ethos)

2 - Take the time to get to know your fellow employees with a special focus on building a foundational relationship by listening to what they are saying (and what they are not saying). Show humility in your interactions by asking simple but critical questions like;

• "What do you love about this place?"
• "What are some things I really need to know as a new employee here?"
• "What/Who are the resources that will be most useful to me in my day to day work?"
• "Who are the most important people for me to build a relationship with to be successful"?

3 - Get aligned with your new manager from day one. Spend your initial time together focused on gaining an extensive view of your new role including responsibilities, priorities, and expectations for the first 90 days, 6 months and your first year. Write them down. Invest the time to understand how your manager runs their business and how they believe your position adds value to it. Get on the same page with respect to how you will communicate with one another (email, text, phone) and the frequency. Lastly, ask for a dedicated 30 min 1:1 every week to talk about your development and treat this time as sacred; do not let it get wasted on tactical updates.

After this initial "soak time" in your new role you will likely have a long to-do list and your mind will be racing with all that lies ahead of you. It can be daunting, but I would encourage you to use one technique to help you maximize your productivity and avoid getting overwhelmed:

Take the first 10 mins of every day to ask yourself "What's the ONE THING that I can do today that will drive the greatest impact for my organization?"

Write it down and make that ONE THING that most important thing for you to get done that day (or week). Hold yourself accountable to deliver it even at the expense of deferring other things. Make sure your leaders understand your ONE THING and ask for their help wherever required.

Trust me, getting out of the fog of a to-do list and delivering against critical priorities will help you not only help you feel a greater sense of purpose it will also demonstrate strong conviction and maturity.

Congratulations again on the new role. There is so much runway ahead of you and you are just getting started. Slow down, look around, focus on the most important thing and don’t forget to smile, laugh and enjoy the ride!

**Special credit to one of my cherished leaders David K. who recognized how daunting the priority list was in my first national role and encouraged me to slow down and focus on the ONE thing…”

Past Posts in the series

Part I - "Keep an eye on the gas gauge"

Part II - "What's the worst that can happen?"