Remember to finish the Paperwork

August 2024

My mother had two wall plaques hanging on the wall of our guest bathroom. One addressed bathroom cleanliness and little boys' poor aim… and the second discussed the use of toilet paper to "finish the job." I was never sure for whom these plaques were hung—us children or our actual guests.

We all have a boss to whom we report. That individual, who plays a crucial role in our operations, also has a boss to whom he/she reports. You are required to support your Boss with timely and informative data about the work you are carrying out for the company. Reporting is typically via written word, but you can be called upon to give a verbal update during any team meeting.

Reporting to your boss…

At the top of our reporting structure, the big Boss reports to a Board, which consists of numerous Stakeholders. These Stakeholders, who are crucial to our organization's existence, are not just a formality but a key part of our management structure. In a corporation, a Stakeholder is a member or 'group' without whose support the organization would cease to exist. The term Stakeholder was first used in a memo in 1963 at the Stanford Research Institute. The key idea, '…whose support the organization would cease to exist.' This aligns well with 'He who owns the gold makes the rules.'

Recognize that we all have a boss, and we must report project status to keep him up to speed on all facets of the work we are performing, which include:

·      Keep the Boss informed (verbally and in written form);

·      Keep the Boss aware of potential risk issues;

·      Keep the Boss knowledgeable on both the project costs and schedule; and,

·      Communicate daily with the Boss.

I used to think that 'finish the job' meant issuing the weekly/monthly reports. My mother had a different agenda regarding 'completed paperwork .' However, it's important to remember the importance of verbal communication and the effectiveness of repetitive feedback. As they say, seven times of repetition can make a message ‘stick’.