I just got an awesome news at work today.
Just to give you a brief background and context of what I’m about to share, I’m in an Implementation Project Management role as a Senior Analyst at ADP.
We do projects that involve configuration and implementation of our client’s payroll group, so if they want to segregate the payroll of a department in their company or creating a new company from scratch or even acquisitions, it’s our job to make sure that the transition or creation of the pay group is successful.
Be successful, meaning that there are funds to pay their employees on time, that it goes to the right payroll group, with the right deductions, garnishments, and all that tax filing and deposit stuff. If we screw up our work, people won’t get paid, so they won’t have money to buy food to feed their families. That’s how lifestyle impacting our role is.
So I believe you already have a brief background of what I do, I can now proceed to the juicy part!
One of our client that I just finished a project on is IAC Publishing LLC, if you know Dictionary.com or Ask.com, that’s the company. So you know how well known this company is.
I was able to finish their project on the desired timeframe and on the specified transmission date. With that said, the Client Service Consultant who I partnered with on the project sent me a private message.
He was asking if it would be okay for him to contact my team manager. Because he was told by the client that they were pleased with the work that I did and would want me to be the dedicated project consultant to do future projects for them. And I said I’ll pass this opportunity.
Just kidding! I’m screwing myself if I had declined.
I replied that i was honored to be considered. i knew from the start that I had big shoes to fill in since the previous dedicated project consultant was an excellent one. In our company, this person was the one who taught the subject matter experts who we consult in the company for technical concerns.
With that, I have three lessons to share with you guys:
1. Urgency and Transparency is of utmost importance. If you were to receive an email from the client asking for something, but at the moment you don’t know what answer you’re going to provide, it’s better to reply immediately. To reply by means of acknowledging their email, that you’re yet to gather the information needed and that you will get back to them.
Because I can say the same for myself, I’m an impatient person. If I sent one of the resource person an email, I expect to receive a response within an hour lest I follow up and up and up! So I don’t want the same thing happening to my client if I didn’t want to experience the same in the first place. Let them know and let them know fast!
2. Every amount of effort, counts. I can’t stress this enough, but every detail, every movement, every email sent, and every tailoring you make for this project that you’re working, it will count especially when you least expect it. How you do the small things, will indirectly impact the way you will do the big things. So it’s better to do it right the first time or self-correct without being told when you made a mistake. Like what my leader said, lay every brick so perfectly that you eventually build an impenetrable wall. Because a wall is only as strong if it were able to deal with its weakest link.
3. Do your work as if you’re the owner of the company. Because if your mindset is that of an employee who has an attitude of 9 to 5. You won’t be able to stand out, however if you have a mindset of that of an entrepreneur, even as an associate, if you have this mindset you’re bound to create direct impact. Because you have a skin on the same, whatever that can happen will always impact you and it will hurt more for you because you own the business.
I guess that’s how wealthy business owners are, they didn’t settle for less, they knew they had to be resourceful in every manner to compensate for any hindsight. If you work as an entrepreneur, there’s no 9 to 5, there is only the focus of getting results. If you can execute, if you can provide the results, that’s true value.
Looking back from my previous work experience, I realized I didn’t want to do menial task and being micromanaged. Because I want to be the one providing direction on how a project will be implemented. I want to be the orchestrator who will inspire the music to play on queue.
I have no problem with following up with the resources because I love communication. There is the action in itself, the different nuances involved on how you can influence the other person in being on the same page as you.
It was just a good news for me that I ought to enter it in before I lose the motivation to do so. It feels nice to journal again, like the way I used to when I was still in college.
And that’s a wrap for today,
