Do you have the craziest job in the world?
Recently, I had a conversation with someone who rescheduled a phone call three times, misspelled my name as many times even though we’ve emailed quite often, and was late to the call when it finally did take place.
The excuse? “I have the craziest job in the world.”
Turns out this person doesn’t actually have “the craziest job in the world,” but a typical PR agency job. I listened and didn’t say anything, but thought to myself, “No, my dear. You don’t have the craziest job in the world. You have the craziest job in your world. And you forget that everyone doesn’t live in your world.”
“Oh, and your business etiquette sucks.”
I know we live in an extremely fast-paced world. And yes, the volume of work we’re expected to produce when we are connected 24/7 seems to have increased considerably since the days we weren’t (don’t worry, I won’t start singing Those Were the Days, My Friend). But to consistently blame one’s “crazy” job for constantly rescheduling meetings, inattention, and pretty much everything else seems to me to be:
1. Arrogant. You’re assuming that no one else has anything important to do, because, after all, yours is the craziest job in the world, isn’t it?
2. Rude. By constantly rescheduling, you’re sending the message that the other person’s time is not as valuable as your own.
3. Bad management. If your job’s that crazy, figure out how to make everything else work. Which means you need to put some “white space” in your calendar to fulfill your other commitments.
When I was thinking about this person, I started wondering whether I do the same. Truthfully, the answer is both “yes” and “no.”
I’m not going to pretend I’ve never rescheduled meetings/calls, or dropped the ball. I’ve done so far more often than I care to admit. You see, I used to pride myself on my time management skills, and, for the most part, I’m pretty good at it. But the last few months have been especially bad, and I’m trying to get better. Part of this, for me, is training myself to remember that “No” is not a dirty word.
But I try to pay attention (especially to the spelling of one’s name, I mean, how rude is it when someone can’t even get your name right?!) and the one thing I’ve never done is announce that mine is the craziest job in the world.
In fact, most of the people I’ve had to reschedule with have tried to make my excuse for me, by saying, “I know how busy you are,” giving me an opening to basically say just that. But that makes me feel even worse, because the fact is that everyone’s busy. And when they’d say that, I’d apologize again, making it clear that I didn’t think they were any less busy than I am.
Maybe I’m on a “no one’s less important or too small” kick. But seriously, if we’re going to let ourselves think ours is the only job that matters, or the craziest job in the world, we’re just fooling ourselves.
And sooner or later, someone will show us just how foolish we are.
Image: sean dreilinger via Flickr, CC 2.0
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@rachaelseda Aw, thanks, Rach! I think it’s so easy to get caught up in what one is doing, that it’s easy to forget everyone else has deadlines too. I know from experience you’re not one of those people.
Very true! I realized early in my career that it’s important to be honest and respect everyone’s time (not just the CEO or the big shots). At the bottom of the totem pole my time was consistently disregarded and I learned many lessons from this…
#1 To speak up for myself and to not allow people to treat me as such by being assertive
#2 To never treat anyone this way and to respect everyone’s time (sure we all have to reschedule etc but doing it constantly and only thinking about ourselves is a different matter)
#3 To have honest and realistic expectations for others, and myself. I am completely honest about timelines, I get something done when I say I can. But I don’t say I can get something done sooner only to disappoint. I think this is often hard to learn but very important. I’d rather someone be honest with me then string me along for weeks and disregard my time, I could have made something else a priority, ya know?
Wow so before I write my own blog post…thank you for sharing this, it truly is important for everyone to learn, especially people just starting out in their career.
@Nakeva It’s funny, this happened to me today. I had a call scheduled (which I had to reschedule once, and the person was very understanding) for this afternoon. I was engrossed in work, and when he called, he asked if it was still a good time to talk (which I appreciate, and I do that too). I said absolutely, and told him I’d recently gone on a rant about this kind of stuff (LOL!), so I was trying to walk my talk. He still offered me the chance to back out, but I didn’t, and I’m glad I didn’t do that.
But I think there is a difference between doing it once or twice, as I suspect you do, and making a habit of it. The latter is what drives me nuts.
Um, what is a GTD review? See, I’m not afraid of looking stupid!
@bdorman264 You’re crazy. But as long as you keep liking cricket, I don’t care.
@Shonali Work = money; money = food; and fat boy gotta eat, right?
Not only did I cut my grass, but went out and hit tennis balls against the wall at the high school courts down the road. My wife thought I was crazy to do it in the middle of the day and in the heat (and I probably am), but it really doesn’t bother me. As long as I can stay hydrated, I’m good to go……..
@shonali Guilty of the same thing. In fact, I wrote it down my tasks for the day and had to reschedule a call. I often hear, “I know you are super busy, so…” and it makes me wonder what others see me doing that constitutes missing a conversation. It is difficult at times to manage all the possible routes people may take to communicate, but once it happens I try to respond and set time I know I can provide. Phones and social media are distracting! However, it gets things done just the same as email or meetings.
Now I have to add this to my weekly GTD review to see areas for improvement, because, really, the challenge isn’t with clients, friends or family demanding our time, its how we make use of the time in our day and handle the little/frequent interruptions from the agenda in our heads.
@KenMueller Exactly!
@maryhruth I think it’s also the result of functioning in a very “small” world, where one is only affected by what one does. Kind of like the social media bubble, but in this case, it’s the “me” bubble!
@bdorman264 I don’t think you’re alone in being distracted by SM – that’s something we’re all trying to deal with. What I’m learning is that I just have to turn it off, literally. But I’m also learning to do the same with email. If there’s work to be done, I have to get it done first.
Did you cut your grass?
I think most of us are guilty of this on some level, but there are some people who seem to make a living that way. It comes down to being more “me” centric than others focused. Guess what? That’s bad for business in this current digital climate, and it will come back to haunt them. I won’t work with those people or give them my business.
None of us is any more important than another, and we need to learn that lesson fast.
YES! So glad to hear you say this. I believe this kind of rudeness is rampant. Maybe it lets people think they’re important, gives them some badly needed self confidence. But it’s actually only hurtful to all parties.
What’s impressive is when someone whom you know is very busy still returns your messages, and cares enough to spell your name right. That person is a worthy liaison. The ‘crazy job’ type is only to be pitied.
Yeah, that’s like the pot calling the kettle black……….you are the worst; you never call me when you say you will…………………
I would say unintentionally rude is a good description for people who don’t respect other people’s time. Do what you say you are going to do; do it on time; and say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’.
I have a confession; now that I have immersed myself in social media it has distracted me at times and caused me to be ‘that guy’ and having to make an excuse. Once that excuse comes out of your mouth, you are trying to place the blame elsewhere. To minimize excuses, I’m having to make notes of the top 5 things I need to do when I walk in the office. Some are appointment related or preparation thereof, but it keeps it in front of me to minimize the ‘oops’.
Thanks for sharing this and hope you are in the A/C and out of the heat. Me, I’m old school and still do my own yard and getting ready to go out and cut my grass. If it don’t kill ya, it will make ya stronger, right?
Have a good one today.
@hao_nguyen Thanks for sharing!