Blue Elevator Blog

Do Or Delegate

This article is next in the series that started with WDF – A Three Part Series and Write It Down.

Let’s jump right in.

When I wrote this title, I was reminded of Yoda’s (Steven Spielberg) famous saying: “Do or do not, there is no try.”

Back To The Audit

You may recall from the prior article that I had a rather tough go of things as a brand new auditor for Coopers & Lybrand – now PricewaterhouseCoopers.  One of my takeaways early on was that I needed to write things down.

Have you ever made a trip to the grocery store, and upon getting back home realized that you forgot to buy something?  Well, it’s rather obvious, but chances are it’s because you didn’t write down a list.

So, on my next audit I resolved to carefully and completely write everything down.  I would record everything my audit supervisor asked me to do.  And, thank God, my next audit went much better.  But I still had to DO the things on my list.

Do Or Don’t – There Is No Try

I’m going to fast-forward quite a bit in my audit story.

• I kept a list of everything I needed to do.
• Then, I proceeded to do everything on the list to the best of my ability.

It was hard at first – well, for a while.  Field auditors at our Big 8 firm were tasked with substantiating every balance sheet account on the client’s balance sheet.  Which meant, for every account on the balance sheet (or that should be on the balance sheet) – we had to document it with unequivocal support.  We had to prove the account balance was right.

Staff accountants were assigned balance sheet accounts to audit.  Cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable, etc.  And, for each balance sheet account, the firm had established a time budget to complete the audit.  And, literally, each account involved a different audit approach.  And, every client’s records were different than the next.  And, you had a time budget to complete each account or audit area.

It would take me a long time in my career development to become adept enough to complete each audit area within the time budget.  Thank God, after some time, I became very good at it.

Be Encouraged

So, this is my encouragement: Whether you are young or old, don’t give up.  Honestly, for a long time in my career at Coppers & Lybrand, I felt inadequate.  My learning curve was very steep.  I was under constant stress and pressure.  Looking back, I wonder if I ever got to relax!  When I thought I had finally figured something out, I was given something new to do.  And, even the stuff I thought I had learned would change.

This was my learning experience.  “I thought I was supposed to do X when I saw Y.”  And my firm’s supervisors, mangers, or partners would say this: “You’re right.  Typically, you do X when you see Y.  But, you never do X if you see Y when you have situation Q.”

I hope the letter sequencing isn’t confusing.  But I did it so you could apply it to your situation.  In my learning situation, it seemed like there were more exceptions than there were rules.  So, it took a lot of time and experience to become a pro.

When you start a new endeavor, everything is new.  Be patient with yourself.  Don’t quit.  It will take a while.  You will feel out of sync.  But, press on!

Mastery takes time.   And in the words of Mr. Roberts, one of my high school wrestling coaches, “Practice doesn’t make perfect.  Perfect practice makes perfect.”  In fact, some call it the 10,000 hour rule.  Until you have done something for 10,000 hours, you are still learning (Note: 10,000 hours = 5 years x 2,000 hours per year).

Do Or Delegate

Well, this article has been much about “doing,” and not on “delegating.”

Here’s the proverbial bottom line: In life and business, things must get done.  And, when you are on the lower rungs of the corporate ladder, it is mostly “doing.”

But, as you develop and move up or move on, things change.  Thank God, after some time, I was promoted at Coppers & Lybrand.  I went from being a zero to a hero.  I got it!  The light bulb finally turned on.

Pretty soon I was being given, again, more work than I could possibly do myself.  So, it was time to learn how to delegate.

Read On

Whether you are just starting out, a leader in your organization, or a business owner, you are going to need to learn how to delegate eventually.

In the next article in this series, we will cover “delegating” in more detail.  So, click over to the next article – Follow-Up.