Murphy Who?

There's never time to do it right, but there's always time to do it over ~~ Meskimen's Law

For the holidays my father sent me a calendar full of Murphy's laws and I have to admit, it tickles me each morning to pull off the sheet and see what new bit of "wisdom" will confront me. The chuckle I greet most of them with is often accompanied by the thought that they are funny because they are true. 

Working the in the For Impact community (or the start-up business community) funding is often a key issue. Frequently we find ourselves making tough decisions about resource allocation. And often, taking the time to plan our work and implement it effectively gets a lower priority than doing our work. Which often costs us more time (and money) in the long run.

So I offer these tips:

• Take your time. If it's worth doing, it's worth doing well. 
• Do less. It's better to do 3 things well than 8 things poorly.
• Stop reading your email. Spend no more than 45 minutes per day on your email. There is very little as important as the ability to instantly communicate about it makes it feel. 
• Reward yourself with ice cream (I recommend Glacier or Bliss). 
• Take a walk in the afternoon to perk yourself up. The post lunch lull is a great time for errors to creep into your work world.

Send me your favorite errors!! 

Perspective.

Artists use it all the time to create visually entertaining experiences for the rest of us. I love the whimsy in someone painting the outside of transportation vehicle to look like a burned out wreck. There is constant tension in the business world between efficiency (look at the building practices in the 70s and the ugly, but efficient, schools and public buildings that came out of that) and expression.

The truth is, we need both. There comes a point when you are expressing yourself or having fun at the expense of accomplishing your tasks. But without the "spoonful of sugar" many jobs can feel overly tedious and eventually the paycheck isn't worth the personal cost.

Working in the For-Impact sector is about maximizing that tension. Especially for those of us on the ground, working to create a better world. We know we can't do business as usual, often times we simply don't have the funding to operate on the standard platform. But that challenge can often be our greatest gift. We find ourselves collaborating with diverse organizations and people. This often results in creative, unpredictable outcomes that have a stronger, more powerful impact, than "business as usual" ever could have had.

So in this time of dollar watching, everywhere, remember that funding challenges are just an opportunity to push the envelope for yourself and your company. You will be amazed at what you are able to accomplish!