Kicking Ass @Work: The Rule of 3 P’s
But, you know, without being assholes.
I’ll explain. My day job is in hi-tech marketing (BTW: please buy more books so I can quit!). Early on in my career, I struggled with how to kick ass and take names without being a so-called bitch, ball-buster or dragon lady. Over time, I learned that wasn’t really a practical goal. There are times to earn respect instead of likability ratings, and that’s part of the game. In a future post, I’ll go through the ‘best practices’ on busting heads.
That said, I don’t have to go to that extreme very often. Why? Because I developed the rule of the Three P’s, which I shall share with you now:
be Polite – once you lose it, it’s about your way of communicating, not your point. Use anger for emphasis, but in your voice only. In other words, how you say, not what you say. Pro tip: Practice in the bathroom when no one is around. It helps to talk slowly and lower your voice an octave. Trust me, this shizz works.
be Persistent – Here, you need to pick your battles. I only have 1-3 things at any time that I’ll move Heaven and Hell for…The rest are ‘nice to haves.’ If you fight about every little thing, you’re a pain in the ass and, in short order, a big-ass target. Once you decide that something is critical, create a schedule of deadlines and deliverables. Assign people action items and color-code their names (for some reason, this is very motivating). If something isn’t getting done, contact the respective folks two times each week, leaving voicemail and email. I suggest Tuesdays and Thursdays. If it’s really important (I’m talking legal stuff here), keep a separate log of all communication in once place, like a Word doc.
be Prepared – This part totally sucks (for me, anyway), but it’s necessary. Here’s what to do:
Keep accurate logs and records about what was promised and when.
If you can, put it all in a binder (for some reason, binders are terrifying) and bring said binder to meetings.
Run regular reports.
Have those stats at the tip of your tongue and rattle them off like a boss.
Know your shit COLD.
Know the impact of what will happen if alternate points of view are raised and be able to quantify it with numbers wherever possible.
In other words, do your homework because, honestly, NO ONE ELSE DOES. You’ll win 99% of battles this way, mark my words. No, it’s not as fun or cathartic as a yelling match (for some people anyway) but it’s far more effective in the long run.
UP NEXT WEEK: How to shut anyone the fuck down in one sentence or less!
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