Getting the Job Done

To our Staff:

Centratel’s success is built around two premises: We employ great people and then we provide these people with excellent tools and systems. And, within this success formula is a manager’s “ticket” to advancement within company. The trait we look for is "can you get the job DONE?" Can you decipher what needs to be accomplished and then complete it without a lot of hand-holding?

So, this is what I want to know: Can you get the job done?

What are the visible signs of someone who gets the job done?

• A task is fully understood and described on paper prior to commencement.
• Task deadlines are met without excuse. Once the task and deadline are agreed upon, the staff member delivers as promised. Missing a deadline can be a silent, seemingly non-important issue. But when it happens frequently, it betrays personal lethargy (and lethargy isn't conducive to advancement!)
• If a deadline can’t be met because unforeseen problems crop up, the manager is informed prior to the deadline. The reason the deadline cannot be met must be valid and documented. An alternative completion date is submitted at the time of the notification. In any case, missed deadlines should be a rare occurrence.
• Projects are conceived, developed, and completed on a regular basis on one's own. The staff member doesn’t leave it up to the supervisor to initiate all tasks and projects. "The radar is constantly scanning." A valuable staff member is aware of tasks that need to be handled and does something. Here’s the crux: It is better to do something and make a mistake than to do nothing at all, waiting for someone else to give direction.

For organization leaders, it is not easy to find people who have instilled, in their bellies, the kind of self-discipline required to “get the job done.” But, many times the hesitation to take action is simply the fear of making a mistake -- a fear that can be mastered by the simple act of acknowledging it. So, a penchant for “getting the job done” can be a learned characteristic in someone who has not had a history of innovation and creativity. I'll say it again: For long-term advancement, taking action and making mistakes is better than not taking action. A self-starter has courage.

The people who have a powerful internal understanding of this concept will always be the ones advancing to the top of the organization, earning the highest incomes and enjoying the greatest freedoms. Notwithstanding integrity and loyalty, there simply is no other trait that comes close to the importance of this one.

-Sam Carpenter, President
January 17, 2009