Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

A sense of urgency is obvious as people think, work, and move faster than when there is no such sense. There is a source of urgency that managers can find to help instill the sense.

1980, (yes, I am that old) I visited several contractors who were working with us. People moved quickly. Things got done (in the days before GTD was some sort of hash tag or movement or whatever). 1996, I visited several contractors who were working with us. People moved slowly. Things only got done after everyone realized that nothing had been accomplished and cost and schedule over runs were reported.

The difference:

in 1980 we had a sense of urgency. In 1996, there was no such sense.

I find it hard to describe a sense of urgency to someone who has never experienced it. People with a sense of urgency move faster – faster at everything, even walking to the bathroom or pressing the Copy button on the copier. When people on a project have no sense of urgency, the project manager is simply in a bad situation.

There was a big difference in my experiences of 1980 and 1996:

in 1980, people knew why they were working.

That was not the case in 1996. If you recall your recent world history, the world was a different place in 1980 with the Soviet block and all that. After the fall of the Berlin wall, things changed and many people, at least in my “sector,”  lost a sense of urgency.

No sense of urgency in your workplace? Do you want one? Find a reason for working and spread that.