Time for a Tune-Up

Every so often, I receive an email from Honda telling me I need to stop by for service. It's time to have an oil change, time for a tune up. My local tire shop just sent me a thank you note for my recent purchase - four new tires and yes, the note was hand-written. At 50,000 miles, I needed to have my transmission checked, fluid drained and refilled. I failed to keep that appointment; I am now paying the price as I face transmission trouble and the potential of an extended warranty not being honored because I didn't do what was necessary 20,000 miles ago.

Are you keeping track of your service history? How come our careers didn't come with a service booklet like our car? With boxes to check off as maintenance is successfully completed? How about a warning light that blinks when excesses have been reached or depletions occur?

When was the last time you checked your turn signals? Do your clients/HMs know when a change of direction is necessary, when further interaction is required in order to gain the most knowledge of the company & position or do you ignore those following your lead and just make haphazard turns hoping to hit the right street, landing at your destination in one piece, unscathed?

Have you had your speedometer calibrated lately? Checked your brakes for wear? If you drive so mindlessly and out of control that you can't slow down to make the right move without crashing, what purpose does that fulfill? When sense of direction is lost, so is principle and ability to properly function. One must be able to slow down, evaluate a situation or issue and calculate the right move, the right turn, in order to align goals and objectives.

When was the last time you had your fluids checked or replaced your sparkplugs ? Changed out your battery? Everyone has to set aside time to re-charge. Explore a pastime, take a mini-vacation or visit a local museum. Re-charge! Life and work have to balance... too heavy on the side of work and the wear and tear on your vehicle may be too much to repair. Rarely does work/life balance come with an extended warranty.

Save time and money in the long run -- Schedule regular maintenance.

by rayannethorn

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Dan Nuroo on August 25, 2009 at 6:43am

Rayanne, Love the analogy. I think I may steal this down the track. Love it... I have to read it again.

Thanks for this. How do you do the one post a day.. you are a machine!

Cheers

Dan

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Permalink Reply by Greg Savage on August 25, 2009 at 6:52am

Clever post which I enjoyed because it makes a very important point. Made me stop and think. Thanks Rayanne

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Permalink Reply by Steve Levy on August 25, 2009 at 7:16am

Hey Thorn, I know I don't check in much anymore but this one brought me by; let's take this one specific step further...

I always suggest to keep a career journal- much like a personal diary - where you write down your daily successes (and failures): what was the problem you were asked to solve? what were the obstacles in your way? how did you address these obstacles? what were the before/after metrics? who did you interact with? what styles did you work well/not-so-well with? For failures, why? Break down the people and processes. Even have your manager sign off at the end of each project...

Notate - and clip - articles about "stops" along your career path; contact the people mentioned in these articles (so very few do this).

Best part about keep a success journal is during annual review time; like nearly everyone, your manager won't remember all you've done (or will remember the "bad" things). Your owner's maintenance manual will place you atop your peers.

Just like cars with the most complete records are typically the longest running, so are people who actively manage their careers. You don't think companies are good at this, do you???

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Permalink Reply by Steve Levy on August 26, 2009 at 8:22am

exactly; if you say you've kept up with the oil changes but can't produce the records...

Rayanne said:

Thanks, guys.

Hey Steve~
I love the idea of a career journal! I started my official one today; thanks for passing the idea along. Sounds a little like a Service/Maintenance History Log... ;-)

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Permalink Reply by Steve van horn on September 2, 2009 at 7:58pm

Very cleaver, Rayanne! Preventive maintenance is always cheaper in the long run. However, you never know when, say, your axle is going to fall off. Sometimes, crap just happens. It’s how you deal with the unexpected that defines one’s character.