No B.S Friday: If you want something done, who do you give it to?
Someone asked me the other day about what I’m looking for in a joint venture partner.
“Absolute stack loads of cash” is the first answer. That makes every project go smoothly.
Other than that, there’s a range of factors but there was one thought that jumped out at me. You know that saying, “If you want something done, give it to a busy person.”
There’s definitely an element of truth to this. If the choice is between someone who is doing lots of stuff and is pretty busy most the time, and someone who is doing nothing and is never busy, then yes. Definitely. Go with the busy person.
The level-up required between doing nothing and doing one thing is actually much bigger than it looks. The first step is the hardest.
In that way, the difference between zero things and 1 thing is way bigger than the difference between 10 things and 11 things.
That said, not all busy people are created equal.
Some people are just busy because they don’t have clear direction. They run around like a headless chook between one project and the next, never knowing how to settle.
You might get good work out of them for a while, but at some point they’ll probably get distracted and just move on.
And then there are other busy people who are too busy to make good decisions. They’re so flustered by everything on their to-do list that they never give each decision the time it deserves.
There’s actually a feedback loop between time and good decisions.
People who can take their time make better decisions.
Those people who make better decisions find themselves with more hours in the day, because they are focused and don’t have to mop up their own messes.
And because they have more hours in the day, they make better decisions… etc.
So this is what I’m looking for I reckon.
People who are busy – actually, let’s drop that. Let’s say ‘productive’. I’m looking for people who are productive – who are getting stuff done – without getting themselves in a flap about it.
If someone is getting stuff done, and they’re making it look easy, then I know that’s a person who has got their personal systems sorted, and is likely to keep on making good decisions.
I’ve got enough dramas in my life. I definitely don’t have time to motivate someone off the couch, and I don’t have time to manage someone who can’t manage their own time.
My time, and my money, is too precious for that.
JG.