ABC - Always Be Completing

If you have ever been to a sales conference or read a sales book, then you have probably heard the phrase “ABC-Always Be Closing.” I am not a sales guy, but the theory is that every action should be focused on finalizing the sale, contract, or agreement.

I would argue that with a minor change, the same concept applies to work. Substitute “completing” for “closing” and you have a new mantra: Always Be Completing.

Every action we take at work should be with the mindset of completing a deliverable or at least a portion of a deliverable.

If your job is configuring data, then pick a point that is completable and section it off and complete it. If you’re a writer, work on one piece at a time, instead of starting multiple pieces at once. If you’re doing maintenance on a car, focus on one piece at a time. It wouldn’t make sense to partially change the oil then take off one tire to then return to the oil.

Completing items makes status meetings easy. It’s easier to tell your team what specific parts of the project you completed, rather than “I worked on the project last week.” Giving updates on the pieces you completed shows solid benchmarks on the project, instead of vague statuses.

This is not to say you will never revisit a completed item. Things change and we get feedback that can cause the need to revisit items, but in the meantime, complete them and move on to the next item.

Crossing items off a list feels great. We all need to get in the mindset of Always Be Completing.

Until next time…we are Advoco, make every minute count.

About Craig: Craig Page is a self-proclaimed “data geek” with nearly 20 years of EAM/maintenance consulting experience. His favorite work is data migrations. He enjoys solving the puzzle to make the data fit and keep the integrity of the information. When Craig isn’t in front of a computer, he is probably running a chainsaw or a tractor. Have a question for Craig? Send him an email!