By John Nocero
JohnNocero@barberinstitute.org
I conducted a gap analysis for a colleague last week during an onsite visit to Philadelphia. He needed help. He was behind on essential paperwork for billing but he also had a crushing caseload of 100 individuals that he was routinely managing. He prioritized well. Other items were sucking away his time. He was extremely frustrated and had no solutions for what ailed him. He was stuck in the daily grind.
I first read about the daily grind in The Champions Blueprint, written by Dr. Jeff Spencer. The daily grind is that very difficult period of isolation where one spends their time while trying to pursue a goal. You hurt. You work day after day and make questionable progress, if any. Because you are not progressing, you work harder. You put more time in, on less sleep and even less food. You are short with everyone. These are all symptoms of the battle fatigue that is the daily grind.
As Dr. Spencer points out, this is the point where many people quit, but not because the goal is not achievable, but because they suffer an internal collapse under the too-common misconception they can’t move forward. What Dr. Spencer taught me – and this is the key takeaway point that everyone must learn – is that experiencing frustration is actually a great thing. It means that you still care. If you were apathetic, you give up. You quit. The goal is lost and not just for you, but for everyone else that you influence.
To close his gaps, we first listened to him to understand what he needed and where we could support him. Seeing life through his lens, we eliminated a couple meetings that he didn’t have to go to; found him some protected administrative time where he could work one afternoon a week uninterrupted to get his documentation done and submit reports online. These were all within the regulations. Immediately, his face lit up. He was amazingly appreciative. This was the moment in his life that he knew everything would get better. Maybe not immediately, but it was coming. And that was huge. This eliminated his hopelessness. He saw the end coming. It was meaningful.
Of course he was working hard. But sometimes working hard is not always enough. You need to work hard, work smart and work efficient to solve problems. Above all, don’t cry to quit. Cry to keep going. You are already in pain. You might as well get a reward from it.
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