The Ripple Effect

How Many People Does Your Work Touch Each Day

  

At 3:56 a.m. Tuesday morning the XYZ Transportation Supervisor for northern California emailed Cathie H in the Global Critical Deliveries operations center a simple message: “You are awesome.”

  Cathie works 3rd shift for GCD, often with little back-up and with fewer resources; nevertheless she is a problem solver for many of LaserShip’s customers who are relying upon us to get extremely time-sensitive, special treatment shipments  from one place to another overnight.  

   Toiling away at night Cathie is probably unaware of the impact that she has, not only on LaserShip, but on our customers, their operations as well as on the people who depend upon our customers.   The decisions Cathie makes also have an impact (depending on the routing she chooses) on the airlines and the agents across the country who do work for LaserShip.  But it doesn’t stop there, Cathie, based on her decisions and performance, has a huge impact on retained and prospective revenue. 

   There is a ripple effect, an ever widening circle of consequences to everything everybody does.

   We are all Cathie.  Cathie is “awesome,” but not unique.  Throughout the entire company there are replicas of Cathie:  All of the people of LaserShip who are doing their jobs, adding value and making a positive impact, whether they are sorting packages, dispatching drivers, making deliveries, entering data and managing projects.  Going about your job you are having a huge unseen impact on multiple companies and people each day.

   “Cathie,” says GCD’s Vice President, “is a person who has an appreciation for the consequences of her actions; she understands the impact on multiple supply chains down the line if her solutions are not the right ones.”

   To be the “Cathie” in your office, below are a few of the things you can do to increase your ripple effect:

*Have a positive mind-set: Never underestimate the power of enthusiasm in a workplace. Don’t complain when things don’t go your way. *Take pride in the work you do and your passion will not go unnoticed.

*Be accountable:  Don’t make excuses or blame others; be responsible for what you are responsible for.

*Be a Team Player:  To make an impact at work, you have to be able to work effectively with your colleagues. Deliver results consistently and reliably; aim to inspire those you work with by offering and sharing ideas and by being proactive; listen to your customers’ and colleagues' ideas and give positive and respectful feedback; be supportive and share your skills with others on the team.

*Take on difficult assignments: Establish yourself as the go-to person in your office, the individual who is willing to take on the most onerous tasks.

*Manage your time well: Be punctual in all your commitments; learn to prioritize; make to-do lists; meet project deadlines; be considerate of others time. 

*Set the bar high:  Never settle for being ‘good enough.’ Have high expectations for yourself and work hard to exceed them.

   To make an impact at work, you need to be proactive and to keep looking for opportunities to progress; you need to be disciplined, focused and persistent in all that you do; you need to have an “other person” mentality (how does this affect others); you need to be considerate of time—yours and others’; you need to step up and accept responsibility for processes, communications and results; and finally, you need to share the credit for positive things with the entire team.

   As is said about Cathie, “she does so much work behind the scenes we don’t take enough time to thank her for all that she does, for all the people she touches, for all the positive things that result from her actions.”