Leadership

How to use information to become indispensable

This thing will change your life.
Feb. 8, 2013
2 min read

This thing will change your life.

 
It may appear to be another timemarking commodity. 
It’s not.
 
This clock not only gathers relevant and timely information (weather, temperature), but it projects this information also. It shares the information with as little friction as possible.  
 
 
 
In my case, this clock projects its info onto my bedroom ceiling.
 
 
 
Like Mr. Belvedere and Bo Jackson, the astounding brilliance of this timepiece only becomes apparent in its absence. You don’t know how good it is until it’s gone.  
 
 
 
This past week, my wife and I went three days without our beloved projection clock.
Life was tough. 
 
 
Case in point:
 
Our baby cries in the night. 
My eyes open to get bearings. 
3:34 am - 22° - Cloudy.
 
 
Good info.
Thank you clock.
 
 
Let’s let him cry for 6 minutes. 
I doze off.
I come back.
3:40 am - 22° - Cloudy.
He’s asleep again.
Awesome. 
 
 
Thank you clock.
 
 
(Ok. Maybe this isn’t the best example, but at that moment… it’s useful information to obtain without so much as lifting your head off the pillow.)  
 
 
You can be like this clock. 
You can be indispensable. 
You can be the thing everyone misses when it’s gone. 
 
 
Yesterday we talked about corporate buzzwords and their negative impact on clarity, trust, and productivity. 
 
 
Today it’s the opposite.
How to be an agent of positive communication. 
 
 
You can gather relevant and timely info and project it to your team, contractors, and customers. You can actively look for opportunities to share information with as little friction as possible. 
 
 
Speak at every toolbox talk.
Leave more post-it notes. 
Hang a bulletin board.
Start a jobsite newsletter.
Get an image of a large thermometer.
Do something.
 
 
Everyone wants to know their work matters.
So give them feedback. 
Give them an update. 
 
 
Project the information you have so workers can better understand how their roles contribute to the whole.  
 
 
Do this often enough and you’ll be indispensable. 
The information you receive may seem like a commodity. 
It’s not. 
 
 
Share information, feedback, and recognition.
Don’t repeat buzzwords.
Share information. 
 
 
It’ll change your life.
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