Every once in awhile something good happens to your daily plan. Things just seem to fall in order and everything happens all at once. There are days when a problem you have been working on just cannot seem to get off the ground and then all of the sudden, poof, it fixed itself. There are not many days like this, but when they come along it is nice to have them show up. I like them. I want more of them to happen. I like it when things are clicking. I like crossing things off my 'to do' list. It feels good. It makes me feel excited about doing a lot more. I get that "let's move it" attitude going. It is kind of like the old saying, "shoot when the ducks are flying."
Let's move it.
Cross 'em off!
Busy people like getting things done. They become very agitated when they are not doing some productive stuff. They like to do two things at once. They can water the lawn, trim the garden, chat with the kids on the cell phone clearing up some plans for an up-coming family event and be performing some computer upgrades online...all at the same time. Multi-tasking to get it all done! They are in the groove with the attitude, "Let's move it!"
Productivity is the key focus when someone is in that kind of mood. Let's move it! Check 'em off! Get 'er done!
Some days are just like that. Tons of things are in the way and tons of things are getting moved about. The energy level is high when someone gets into their day like this. People next to them who have a low energy day tend to avoid sticking around. The low energy people say things like, "obsessive-compulsive today, aren't you?" "Wow, I have got to get out of here, you are driving me crazy." Let's move it has an attitude. It sings a busy tune. It wants to get a lot of things done in a short period of time. It is not interested in wasting time on anything. It becomes a trail of destruction if you are on the list to be moved. You will be moved. You could be a messy desk, you will be cleaned. You could be a dirty warehouse, you will be re-arranged. You could be a slow computer, you will be upgraded. You can be a casual employee wasting time, you will receive a list of new duties to complete. "Let's move it" takes over.
I like to hire people who have the 'let's move it' attitude already built in. They get more things done in each day. They are more comfortable doing a lot of things in a short time period. They are usually very busy people. You will not usually get them to slow down and visit for a very long time. The may stop for a short while, but it is apparent that they need to move on. They have some things on their mind and they want to go get some things done. The more you delay them, the more they get nervous about not getting done what they want to go get done. I like to hire people like this. When I meet people like this I pay closer attention to what they are doing for a living. I try to watch what they do for work employment. I want to see if they are happy doing what they are doing in their work environment. I won't ask them, they will just lie to me. I prefer to watch how they work and see if they are truly happy doing the work they are doing.
I might be subconsciously watching two or three of these kind of people at any one given time. I do not usually go out of my way to check them out but I pay attention to the chance crossings that happen to reveal what they do with their employment. Someday I might need to replace an employee. I like to have a library of busy people in mind to make that replacement happen. I like the 'let's move it' people. I usually know who they are, where they work and how happy they are doing what they are doing. I keep my subconscious mind moving in this type of direction. I may need to hire someone soon so I want to make sure I have a list of busy people in mind to fill that position.
Do you know some people like this? Do you know where they work? Do you have a simple relationship established with them? Have you become acquainted enough with them to be able to call them by their first name, and it does not appear strange? "Hey, Kevin, what's happening?" "Not much, what about you?" Have you established a comfortable level of recognition with them? If not, start building a library of people in your mind that can fit this type of profile. Get to know who they are and where they work. They usually will be employed, by the way. That is a major tip. Work on developing a list of acquaintances that fit this type of profile. They become very productive workers. They like to get a lot of things done. They are the most happy when they have days that sound like, 'let's move it.'
Once I discover who the 'let's move it' people are I work on trying to figure out what their integrity factors look like. I usually do not hire talent. I like to hire people with a lot of integrity. If they have integrity, I am very much interested in having them come aboard. People with integrity will learn how to do the job correctly. It is the way they are wired. I do not want to spend my career looking over my shoulder to make sure someone is not cheating themselves, the system, or my business model. It does not take very long to discover who has integrity and who is missing it. Of course, if you do not have integrity you will not be able to tell the difference. Your standards are already too muddy to separate what is right from what is wrong. If you show up late once in awhile because you feel it is owed to you, your integrity is already at risk. You will have a tough time determining who has integrity and who does not. Trust is an invisible product that glows bright when it is absent. I like to hire people with integrity. They usually move about the world without glowing very bright. They are also operating in the 'let's move it' mode of thought.
Often times the 'let's move it' people are wired more closely to the integrity side of the world of things. It is amazing how often I see these two characteristics side by side in the people I meet. One process of personality seems to feed the other one. They usually come together in a package. My wife has a lot of integrity and boy can she get busy! I usually try to take a sneak peek at her 'to do' list once in awhile to see how she is planning to work it into my direction. I like to get a jump on the things she listed for me to do that will help her 'check off' some of the things I am supposed to do. Some of the things on her list usually have a tendency to include doing stuff that will be coming in my direction for attention. When those items on her list arrive, I want to know when I get demoted. When I hear the words, "let's move it" I am not so surprised.
I watched my neighbors come home from a short camping trip. They arrived late Monday afternoon. Their lawn needed mowed, trimmed and watered. I watched them scurry to empty out their fifth wheel RV and clean it up after their four day trip. Almost without a skip in stride, they immediately started working on the yard stuff to get caught up. The wife fired up the lawn mower and the husband carried the edge trimmer. Both walked in different directions. Both seriously focused to kill this job as quickly as they could. They had the serious "let's move it" attitude going on. My wife and I were outside eating some food in a couple of lawn chairs, taking it all in. My neighbors wife rarely helps him do the yard maintenance work. I mean rarely. In the past 10 years I do not ever recall seeing her push the lawn mower. My wife and I were surprised. She was doing a good job, too. They did not see us resting in our lawn chairs enjoying the show. They were too busy doing the 'let's move it' attitude stuff. They were buzzing about in a hurry to get it done.
As the husband came around to trim the grass next to where the wife was mowing the lawn, she stopped pushing the mower momentarily and pointed to a section she wanted him to make sure he included in his trim work. As he walked in her direction and saw her pointing to the area she was directing him to include, the look on his face was simply priceless. My wife and I almost choked on our lunch laughing at the exchange. It was a good thing both neighbors had their gasoline motors still running to drown out our noise. It was hilarious. He gave her a facial response that could become a whole chapter on "why-are-you-telling-me-how-to-do-what-I-have-always-been-doing-before-you-showed-up" look! We giggled off and on for a little while as we kept recalling the finger pointing directive she gave him and the responsive look he returned to her. It was priceless. The best part of the whole deal, they never knew we were there.
My wife finished eating her snack and said, "Boy, we all have to learn a lot in life, don't we?" I said, "Amen."
If you employ 'let's move it' people...get out of their way and allow them to do as much as they can squeeze in. Do not follow them around and begin pointing to the things they have not yet reached. Yet on the other hand, do not get upset when they point to areas they want you to help them complete. Give them a thumbs up and say, "thanks!" Immediately get fixed what they are pointing out to you to do. You will want their help tomorrow and this is the best way to encourage their future help. Reward them for helping you out when they are pushing the lawn mower for the first time in ten years. Thank them. You do not need to become an island of doing what nobody else can do. You need help. Learn how to delegate, how to become of great help to those who become part of your 'let's move it' body of workers. Quit worrying about who is 'in charge.' Worry more about how much is getting done. Productivity is king. Permit others to become part of the 'let's move it' process. Do not for goodness sake insult them when they point out what needs to be done. Help them out.
Personality wars are funny to watch. They can become a show. Outsiders consider those shows to be some of the best entertainment. We enjoyed that show because we saw ourselves in the pictures they provided. Look for the 'let's move it' people and when you find them, double check them to see if they have integrity, too. If they do, find a way to get them to jump ship and join your side. Surround yourself with this type of employees and get out of their way when they start doing what you trained them to do. Above all, do not snare at the work they are trying to complete. Help them knock it down. They will not always want to waste their time telling you what to do. They want recognition for doing what they are doing. Know the difference.
If you have some dead-weights you employ right now...what are you waiting for. Let's move it.
Until next time...
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