When Instant is Just too Slow
Even in the days of instant email, instant videos and instant oatmeal, some things are just too slow.
this weekend I ordered a new mouse for my computer. My old mouse, which I have owned for more than a decade, finally died. So after much deliberation I finally settled on a Logitech G500
Well Amazon “knew” I was looking at mice and today sent me an email announcing a sale for the newer model.
They were just a few hours too late. Could I have changed my order? Probably. But psychologically I already bought that G500. In my mind I’ve already justified why it’s “better” than the more expensive (and newer) G9X
What does this have to do with Meaning to Work? Simple. Even in an age of instant communication, sometimes things move too slowly. We lose out on sales, customers, and business because we couldn’t move fast enough.
Does this mean we should move faster? No. Because most of us are already moving too fast. You can see this in the news cycle. With the ever present demand for more information, faster, reporters and editors are forcing stories out that aren’t fully fact checked. And on pretty much a weekly basis you see some major news story retracted. That’s fast. But it’s not accurate
We need to get the right information to the right people at the right time. Not faster. Just right.
Of course how you do that is the challenge.
photo provided by imageafter.com
It’s important to not get stressed because we don’t get things done fast enough. We will miss out on sales, etc, but we need to keep it in perspective and pay attention to staying happy and healthy.
I agree. As much as I enjoy working on certain projects (and work in general), if I become too consumed with it, I lose out on the larger picture. Which in the end, is where our real meaning comes from.
Leave your response!
About Eric Barrett
Eric Barrett is an organizational development consultant who specializes in applying psychology to communication. He has worked in the OD field for over a decade, and is most recently working on developing social media guidelines for a real estate company. He also teaches psychology at Xavier University. In his spare time he...wait, who are we kidding...he has no spare time.
He is available on a limited basis for speaking engagements and consulting projects. For more information please see the About Meaning to Work page.
Build Productivity
Worth Reading