#MiPDV – Some Things Take Time

I walked into the sauna at the gym. It was nowhere near as warm as it usually is.?

Looking at the thermometer on the wall, it was clear that something was wrong. Instead of the showing the usual 170 to 180 degrees Fahrenheit (roughly 77 to 82 degrees Celsius), it was below 110.?

By sauna standards, it was downright chilly!?

We looked at the switch – it was on.?

We checked the heating element – it was working, but the temperature of the air near the heat source was not as hot as it usually is (we’ve measured the temperature at the heat source at almost 230 degrees F).?

Worse, others would come into the sauna, feel that it was not warm enough, then leave. Every time someone opens the door, heat escapes, and the heating element has to work harder to warm the room.?

While everyone else left, I stayed to see what happened. The heating element was obviously trying to warm the sauna, but it was quite slow.?

You could say it was barely moving the (thermometer) needle!?

After 30 minutes, the temperature had gone up by about 10 degrees F, barely enough to make a difference.?

When I returned to the gym the next day, the sauna was operating at its normal temperature.?

At the rate it increased the temperature when I was there the first day, it probably took 8 hours or more to reach its normal operating temperature, thanks to others who probably opened the door a few too many times.?

The sauna reminded me of a principle we often forget: like the sand in an hourglass, some things take time.?

No matter how much of a hurry we may be in, or how much pressure our management team may apply, some things just take time.?

The sauna took 8 hours to warm up. Short of building a fire in the sauna (not advisable for a room lined with wood!), we could not make the sauna heat up faster.?

It takes 24 hours for a full revolution of the earth. We cannot make the earth spin faster.?

It takes a year for the earth to go around the sun. Much to the chagrin of a child waiting for Christmas, nothing we can do will make it go faster.?

The same may be true for some of your projects.?

Customer approval cycles operate on their timeline, not yours. Rarely can you speed them up – not even end of quarter discounts are enough to accelerate some customer approval cycles.?

Tasks on a project may need to be done sequentially in order to have a successful outcome. Trying to do the tasks in parallel or adding people may not speed up the project … and could lead to worse outcomes.?

Think about the projects you and each member of your team are working on – which ones have elements that your management chain would like to accelerate? Which elements just need to be allowed to take the appropriate amount of time, and which can be completed faster??

More important, for those projects and project elements that need the appropriate amount of time, how are you providing support for the project team members to alleviate the pressure from the management chain?

?

I’d appreciate learning what you’ve found works best for you.?

?

That’s mi punto de vista #MiPDV.