Recently I learned a lesson with consistency and how it is, in fact, important and even appreciated.
I do a little 2-page newsletter for my weekly networking group. I’ve been doing it for three years now, every single week. It has repetitive information on it and it takes me about 30-45 minutes to work it up and print for the group.
I got the notion that the group didn’t find value in the little newsletter. I figured that the information I’m giving on a weekly basis is duplicated many times elsewhere and if I could save 45 minutes a week in my time, why even continue?
I did an experiment. For a month, I stopped producing the newsletter. Can you guess what happened?
To my surprise, it seemed people in my group depended on that little publication. They missed it. It threw a little kink in our flow of the meeting. Sure, not everyone cared whether the newsletter was there or not, but enough people used it that it was worthwhile to begin doing it again.
Needless to say, I started bringing the little newsletter to each meeting again. It seems like the comfort of consistency makes things go smoother. The tangible piece of paper helps some stay on track and organized.
There may be things that you do on a consistent basis that you wonder if they really matter. Do your own experiments to see if they are important and increase value to your team or your customers. We have to remember that the “little” things lay the foundation for bigger results.
The balancing act comes when you must determine if those essential “little” things must be done by you, and only you, or can they be delegated?
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