Off times people speak about their inability to get things done in a timely manner which of course many times creates cogs in the wheels of transactions where there are more people contributing their portion of duties. Projects requiring fragments of the whole being performed by others, subsequently become stuck waiting for someone else to complete their phase. It’s much like an assembly line in a car factory. The skeleton of the car moves slowly down the line while workers take their turns in adding to the chassis in a required order while following pre-outlined build-out specifications. Should an intervening circumstance happen down the line, then everyone upstream has to wait until the problem is corrected. Real estate transactions are much the same when looking at the whole process from the time a home is listed to the time the sellers receive their checks and the buyers are handed the keys.
Today was my gripe day in finding that several transactions were being stalled by others who should have learned by now the process of creating seamless transactions without discovering man-made clogs in the pipeline. Sometimes I receive calls from agents asking about something regarding a transaction that is so far down the assembly line that answering the question seems meaningless simply because the transaction has not moved far enough along to give a true and more precise answer. Other times, I find people being thoughtless or even careless in not performing their duties in a timely manner which then causes the process to slow in having to wait for their critical contributions. From about 8:30 this morning until somewhere around 11:00, I found myself on the phone and in my car chasing down and correcting the slowdowns of closings in the pipeline. Yes, we all have days like this and I’m thankful everything is back on track, but I do wish more people would become a bit more proficient in getting their jobs done in timely manners. Whenever a buyer or seller becomes frustrated with something that another has done to create a dust storm, yours truly is always the first called and bears the brunt of not so delightful phone calls. If I’ve said this once, I’ve likely said it a hundred times, “Irregardless of who’s to blame for an oversight, the first person that gets blamed is the messenger.” Of course the messenger is oft times myself making the call.
Standards of practice is the key to anyone doing a noticeably good job in whatever profession. Adhering to timetables, telling people what they need to hear rather than what they want to hear, performing tasks in a professional manner, promptly returning calls, and doing what one says they’re going to do without variation, and setting aside time to rise above and look at the whole process of a given project, are all key mindsets to have when serving the general public. Racing about trying to get as many chickens in the pot creates chaos for those involved and gives anyone’s profession a bad mark. No matter what anyone thinks, doing a good job for another is being fully aware of all the facets of a given task and knowing through likely years of standardization, their tasks will be completed in a timely manner and all involved will experience soft landings.
This best describes what I refer to as conducive productivity and I do hope many in our work world will form under this banner for which they will provide their best services.
