Monday Morning Thoughts - Four Letter Words ….

Lots of people tell me that they are working. As an engineer and an executive I respectfully … disagree. Work to many people is a four letter word.

Lets look at the definition.

"Work is the product of force and displacement."

In physics, a force is said to do work if, when acting, there is a movement of the point of application in the direction of the force. For example, when a ball is held above the ground and then dropped, the work done on the ball as it falls is equal to the weight of the ball (a force) multiplied by the distance to the ground (a displacement). When the force F is constant and the angle between the force and the displacement s is θ, then the work done is given by W = Fs cos θ.

 So here it is, Monday morning. People are groggy, tired, having tea, coffee, and getting their day underway and my day (being a number of hours ahead in time on the opposite side of the planet) has already mostly elapsed and I'm being told to get some rest, because I am asking for something achievable towards a common goal that we are "working" on.

Work ?

In business, the same principle applies as in Physics. Work is the measurable application of energy and direction. If you aren't actually achieving results then you aren't working. There might be great potential, there may be kinetic energy, there may be a great deal of time, effort and money expended but, work is only achieved by actually accomplishing the goal. Many people like to say they are working. Its true, they may be busy, expending copious amounts of energy, time, money, but unless it results in actual achievement of measurable results then they are simply speculating. I too, am guilty of this… I am always working, potentially so it seems....

Don't misunderstand, that is the first part of the formula for work but always remember that you ONLY achieve work through both FORCE and DIRECTION: but Inertia is static... Don't let people wander aimlessly. As a manager, director, or corporate officer we have a duty to provide not only the tools to release the energy, but the direction…

Remember, investors take an interest in a company because they can see great potential. They haven't seen the WORK at that point. They are connecting the dots to be able to reap the benefits of the energy, effort, time and money being put into a direction and achieving … work; because WORK pays the bills, work makes the profit, work builds the business, work is how you achieve the dream, the concept, the vision…

Those four letters are essential for success.

So if you find yourself spending a lot of time, energy, money and nothing seems like its changing ask yourself why you aren't achieving work - maybe your compass is pointed in the wrong direction, maybe you need help, maybe other people are not delivering and you need to push them harder because your goals rely on them, maybe your measurable goals have the wrong metrics, or maybe just, maybe…. you need to get to WORK.