Message of the Day - So, Its Not Your Job

Good Morning,

 

Happy Valentines Day everyone!! 

 

Just the other day I was given a book by a friend, thanks Caryn!!! The book, “Flipping The Switch” by John Miller, is the follow up on the wonderful book ‘QBQ’ the Question Behind the Question, a book about personal accountability. John talks about how we can ask the right questions and take action ourselves to make a difference in our lives and in the lives of others. I love these books. You can find out more at www.qbq.com. In reading through Flipping the Switch while ‘stranded’ at the hotel on Monday, I remembered a time from my freelance writing days where I had to ask myself what I could do to fix a problem others were causing.

 

I was working on a writing project back in the 90’s and I had to deal with two editors. The first was the editor of the game line that I was writing a supplement for. The second editor was the creator of the line itself. Over time, I found that information I gave to one editor never made it to the other and it put my project in jeopardy, and frustrated me. I decided that I needed to make a change, so I asked myself what I could do. So I started by calling one editor and giving them an update of the project and get their feedback. Then I made another call to the other editor and do the same thing. As part of every call, I would fill the first editor in with what the second editor said, and sometimes visa versa. Not very efficient, but it got the job done.

 

You could imagine my horror when I finally visited their office and found these two editor’s desks literally five feet apart from each other!

 

If I did not go through the motions, the editors would not both be on the same page. While it was not my job, I decided to go the smarter route and rolled up my sleeves and took on the responsibility myself. The end result was a published book, a paycheck, and a great lesson learned!

 

Remember, just because it is not your job, or your responsibility does not mean that you should just turn your back or walk away. Practice the QBQ!

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Sanford Berenberg

Sanford@berenberg.net

http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/  ß Check out the new Blog site

502-533-9336

 

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