It’s getting to be a bit late at night, yet I find myself working. This is partly because I’m sitting in a hotel room as I and a consultant will be visiting a client site tomorrow. While it is getting late and I could be doing some pleasure reading or vegging in front of the television, I opt to work instead. Why?
Hotel time is generally uninterrupted time. I’m not dealing with client phone calls or random interruptions that can typically interrupt your train of thought when in the office. I remember hearing a statistic that a typical manager gets interrupted once every 7 minutes – it can sometimes be difficult to maintain your focus!
The prime reason I take advantage of this time is that it will free me up so that I can spend more time with my family when I get back home. I’m working on tasks that need to be accomplished sooner rather than later. By doing them during non-standard business hours when I’m on the road and away from my family, it helps to ensure that I can dedicate my home time to my family, and not be distracted by the tasks I still have to do.
Another benefit is that it also helps free my up to provide direction and mentoring to the consultants while I’m in the office. As a manager, that is a prime responsibility, but it can often get lost in the shuffle of all the other tasks, commitments, and responsibilities I have. So, freeing up some time in the office to focus more on mentoring is also of significant value and importance.
Just a few of the reasons I take advantage of the solitude that comes with being on the road…
Settling into a job out of college can be challenging. The working world certainly differs from the college experience. One of the primary challenges I have seen that new hires struggle with is recognizing that in consulting, we must always strive for the “A grade” on everything we do.
What do I mean? College semesters come and go. How well a student does depends on their dedication and attitude – how much work/effort am I going to put into this project or studying for this exam? Sometimes, a student will fall back on previous successes as the end of a class draws near. The thought is sometimes – I don’t have to get an “A” on everything. Additionally, once the semester ends, the slate is clean and the student does not necessarily have to worry about what the professor thinks of them. That thought process has no place in the consulting world.
Trinity’s clients pay a premium for our services. Accordingly, we must always provide value in everything we do. Our deliverables – in the forms of reports, letters, memos, and even email input – must always be developed with the idea of providing the best quality and value for the money our clients are paying. Every interaction we have with our clients, has an impact. And, impressions always matter. If we are doing our job well, we will be working with the same clients for years. But this only happens if we are always striving for the “A-grade” and making on-going good impressions.
Consultants must have this mindset as they go about their work in order to be successful over the long-term with Trinity.