What steals your energy?

I have entire days at my desk when I accomplish absolutely nothing because of the small stuff that adds up.  Big tasks and projects can be budgeted and accounted for.  But here, I’m talking about the drip. 

The emails you sent a week ago still unanswered. The order input error that required three follow-ups to correct.  Getting transferred several times on a phone call to, after 22 minutes, get cut off and having to start again. The technology that keeps you in a loop of “do not reply” messages, payment links that don’t work, and other gems.  The stuff that “slipped through the cracks” and generated sincere apologies that got resolved but still cost time.

A couple of months ago I ordered a spectacular, new piece of equipment – a printer/scanner – and I love it.  One day earlier this month, it generated an error message: paper jam.  I opened the main tray to find a couple handfuls of coloured popcorn! 

Now here’s the thing: the equipment is in my private office, a space only I occupy.  It is floor away from anything food related. I have never, and will never, consume coloured popcorn and while I tease that my car has so much technology that is can probably brew coffee, I’m pretty sure my copier can’t make popcorn.

I took a picture of the colourful tray, sent it to the equipment distributor and asked them to forward it to the manufacturer.

Why am I telling you this story?

Individually, any of these issues are minor. Annoying, sure, but minor.

Added up? By noon on Tuesday I’ve spent four hours managing dropped balls, missed messages, poor technology and moved exactly zero of my own needle forward.

I’m citing this as an energy leak, not a productivity problem.

Here's what I've noticed: the drain isn't just the time, it’s emotion when the ego gets caught in the gap.

When something goes sideways and the person responsible gets defensive of themselves, their team or their systems, suddenly you're not troubleshooting a problem anymore. You're managing someone's feelings about the problem. The issue doubles in size. What could have been a five-minute fix becomes a week-long standoff, and you're the one paying the emotional invoice.

(Side bar about ego in service: it’s short-sighted.  It costs the customer in the short-haul but the provider in the long haul … you know … bad reviews, lost customers…)

Long story short, the distributor wouldn't escalate my printer issue to the manufacturer because “It’s impossible”, according to them, that this could have originated prior to me receiving the machine. They went home and slept fine. I went home carrying an unresolved problem, a hint of distrust of equipment I use every day and the knowing that this will require more of my time to resolve.

What if we slowed down just a tad, to read, to understand, to put ourselves in another’s shoes and to offer a human approach to resolution? Could we turn blunders into deepened relationships and criticisms into better business models?

Aha! ~ "I don't know what happened, but I'll find out" is one of the most powerful sentences in business. Nine words, no ego, full humanity.

That's it. Nobody absorbs blame, nobody digs in, and the standoff never starts. One person just treats another like their time and trust are worth protecting. 

And here's the mirror, because I always hold one up.

The drip works both ways. We drain others the same way we get drained. Usually without realizing it. I believe it is because we exist in a competitive environment where we need to employ technology to leverage our time and because we typically receive far more criticism than appreciation.