Think like a Janitor to Crush It at the Office: A 4-point Action Plan

Think like a Janitor to Crush It at the Office: A 4-point Action Plan

Getting his critical goal done = maximum satisfaction

 Today, I participated in an all-day workshop that helped attendees focus on how they can bring their best to the workplace – every single day. I really enjoy these types of workshops. While some may see workshops as fluff or unproductive activities, I choose to see them as an opportunity for growth. Great workshops reaffirm my approach to consistently performing at a high level. And this was a great one.

During the workshop, I reflected on how I make sure each day is a successful one at the office. I changed my approach over this year that has increased my productivity and effectiveness that I want to share with you in the form of a 4-point action plan:

Set your intention for day first thing in the morning

Setting my critical goal up to seize the day!

You wouldn’t construct a building without a solid foundation. The same goes for your workday. Setting an intention for your day first thing in the morning is critical to success. And you need to write it down. There is plenty of evidence to suggest that writing your goals down increase your success rate. It also just makes sense.

I think one drawback of writing goals down is that it can be taken to an extreme by having too many goals for the day. I’ve done this myself. I used to write down 6-10 medium sized goals I wanted to accomplish by day’s end. More often than not, I would end up feeling disappointed that I did not get all of them done.

Think like a Janitor

I remember during my MBA program, the former CEO of Oracle Canada came to speak to my cohort during the last few days of our spring term. He advised us MBAs to think like a janitor. What? Well, the logic is in the details. Janitors, he argues, have the best job in the world. They have to do one thing well day-in and day-out – keep their building clean. Unlike many in the business world who are inundated with emails, meetings and last minute projects, janitors can get their one goal done and clock out feeling accomplished.

Applying this principle to work has been a game changer for me. By writing down one critical goal for my day, I’ve found that this has been a much more sustainable approach. I’ve also found that I end up accomplishing more in a day compared to when I would have a mile (kilometer for those in the Commonwealth) high list of goals to tick off by end of day. Once I had completed that one critical task, it lifted a weight off my shoulders and I was more effective at tackling the other work that followed.

Ask yourself: How are you going to make an impact today?

Here I am at the workshop today, reaffirming the values that allow me to make my impact.

This is the flip side of the coin. In addition to setting your intention for the day, it’s equally important to write down how you will make an impact. For me, the impact I want to make comes from the following:

• Approach my work and colleagues with confidence
• Think outside the box when looking for solutions to complex problems
• Be open minded to different approaches and communication styles
• Be adventurous in what I choose to take on
• Act with integrity

When I keep these in mind, I find my intended impact comes naturally.

Check-in with yourself throughout the day

The great thing about lunch, apart from eating and networking, is that it gives you pause in your workday. You can take that time to review your intention for the day and how you plan to make an impact. If you find you are not on track with meeting that big, critical goal by end of day, it’s time to make some adjustments to your approach and deprioritize other tasks.

Reflect at the end of the day

At the end of the day, it’s time for a reflection. The one question you should ask yourself is:

Did you put points on the board?

This is a sports reference and is completely relevant in the business world.  If you can take an inventory of your day and see you made progress towards a big project you are working on or simply towards bigger and better things, then you are putting up points and you can be proud of that!

How do you define a successful day?

The MBA Dream Team: 4 must have team members you need to excel

Last December I finished my MBA through the Gustavson School of Business at the University of Victoria (also know as UVic by the cool kids). But really, I finished up my degree far away from Victoria – at INCAE Business School in Alajuela, Costa Rica. Like most exchange students, my focus was not hitting the books – it was about making lifelong connections with people from around the world and having unforgettable experiences.

My first two terms at UVic were much different. Aside from the noticeably cooler weather – I liken Victoria’s weather to a veggie cooler – my two core terms in Victoria came with a mountain of group projects. I ain’t kidding! Every weekend would typically involve eight hours of teamwork on both the Saturday and Sunday. During the week, there would always be additional teamwork before, between or after our classes.

What I really enjoyed about Gustavson’s program was its international focus. Seventy-five percent of our cohort originated from outside of Canada. This gave all of us a great opportunity to really learn how to work people from other cultures and with different communication styles. To make sure we had this experience, the staff created diverse, balanced teams for us. This was a real Forrest Gump moment for me – I had no idea what to expect.

I felt during my first term, my team focused on bridging cultural and communication gaps between each other. My team consisted of people from Romania, China, India and Canada (moi). We made good progress on bridging these gaps. It reflected in our strong performance on our project work. However, it felt like we were spending an excessive amount of time executing. Sure, any MBA program worth its salt shouldn’t be a cakewalk, but this seemed beyond the usual MBA grind.

The problem we faced as a team is that we never sat down and discussed our strengths and areas of expertise. You would think this would be conversation #1 in a team. I think because we were so focused on finishing our next pressing assignment, we didn’t take a step back to figure out how we could best leverage our team strengths. This was most telling when one member of the team revealed very late into the term that he was a PowerPoint whiz. Beforehand, we had some of the weakest visuals in our presentations among our cohort’s teams. After we matched task to strength, our last presentation was lauded for its innovative use of animation and sound effects that were both engaging and professional.

Forming an MBA team is similar to putting together a Stanley Cup championship team. You need different skillsets to build a winner. More and more, the business world requires employees to specialize to get ahead. In business school, it’s no different. After giving it some thought, I’ve boiled it down to four roles that will make your MBA team an all-star team.

I'm sure this team had the franchise goalie and #1 centre it needed to win

I will outline these roles and provide tips on how to identify which team member is best suited to fill these roles.

1. The Panzer Tank (aka the Project Manager)

Every team needs someone to coordinate and oversee a project to ensure it is on track.  In a smaller team this person is a grinder, someone that will fill in any gaps (and yes, there will always be gaps) to make sure the job gets done. Like a panzer tank, it will roll through the worst of elements to reach its destination. If this means pulling an all-nighter to ensure that 40-page business plan gets done – the Panzer Tank won’t think twice about doing it. This role is best suited for an organized, directive type of personality. Trust me, in an MBA team you will have at least one person that fits this mold – it won’t be an issue given the personality types that gravitate towards pursuing an MBA.

2. The Wordsmith Extraordinaire (aka the Writer)

Every team needs someone who can put ideas to paper. As the only native English speaker in my first term team, editing fell squarely on my shoulders. Not only that, the bulk of the writing (and rewriting) would often times find itself on my plate. I was completely fine with this. I knew by focusing on my strengths I could add value to the projects by expediting them and polishing them with my wordsmithing. While it’s always great to have a slick presenter, your written document will likely form the majority of your grade on your project so you better have a Wordsmith Extraordinaire on your team to tighten up your document. A native English speaker who has a sixth sense for the nuances of the English language would be a great choice. Someone with a background in copywriting or a Bachelor of Arts is also another great way of narrowing down who should take on this role.

3. The Quants Freak (aka the Statistician)

Over the course of a term, an MBA team will be faced with a project that relies heavily on math. This could be an accounting case where you need to demonstrate how transfer pricing works between a cost centre and profit centre. It could be projecting financial figures and calculating the NPV for an investment opportunity.  You might be tasked with a big data project that asks you to conduct statistical analysis (I particularly liked the probability equations).

If any of these examples were lost on you, then you are going to have to identify the Quants Freak in the group. A spreadsheet to a Quants Freak is like a kitchen knife to Gordon Ramsey – they seamlessly use their precision to cut through data and provide killer analysis for your project. Look to someone with a background in Engineering as a starting point – they tend to be the most well rounded with numbers to tackle any quantitatively heavy subject matter. I also consider engineers to have a creative streak. It comes in handy when providing on point analysis.

4. The Picasso (aka the PowerPoint Expert)

Once you have leveraged the MBA trifecta that I’ve discussed above to create your project, you need to wrap things up in a glossy package. In the MBA world, that means putting together an unbelievable PowerPoint presentation outlining your project findings. You might be surprised that I did not list a great presenter as one of the four essential MBA team members. This is because a strong PowerPoint backed by well developed work will trump a presentation lacking substance led by slick speakers any day of the week. I’ve seen both. The latter is not something pleasant to experience, either as a presenter or as a spectator. Once the post-presentation Q&A by professors or an industry panel starts, it can get ugly.

MBAs are not renowned as creative or “outside the box” types but there are always exceptions to the rule. If you lack a creative spark in your group, you can fall back on whomever has the most advanced PowerPoint experience to put a visually strong presentation together for your project.

…And remember: above all, you need the ability to put your egos aside and work as a team.

There will never be a perfect MBA team. There will always be a project where a team is lacking in a certain capability. As long as you have established a strong foundation for your approach to working together and come in with a Team First mindset – gaps can be filled and project goals can be attained. There have been many supposed all-star teams that have fallen short. So while you should keep these roles in mind when initiating a project, your team can shine even if it missing a Picasso or a Quants Freak.

What does your MBA dream team look like?