Secret Subject Swap - Quick & Dirty vs Do It Right

Photo Credit: Rachel Brenner on Unsplash


Welcome to April's Secret Subject Swap

Again 5 brave bloggers picked a secret subject for someone else and were assigned a secret subject to interpret in their own style. Today we are all simultaneously divulging our topics and submitting our posts.

Here are links to all the sites now featuring Secret Subject Swap posts.  

Sit back, grab a cup and check them all out:

Baking In A Tornado
Wandering Web Designer
Part-Time Working Hockey Mom
Climaxed
What TF Sarah 


My subject is


Are you a slow and methodical person or a "do it quickly and get it done" person?


It was submitted by: 
Baking In A Tornado - thank you, Karen!

Interesting question - I guess it depends on the situation and who you're asking.

My husband, who is super methodical and thorough, thinks of me as someone who tends to shoot before thinking.

My Mom, who has many wonderful qualities but being organized isn't one of them, praises me for not being as chaotic as she feels she is or catching a simple typo right away.

While I like to think of myself as hands-on, get sh** done person, I can work in a structured manner and pay attention to detail.

And I have the quiz results to prove it. It says I'm just slightly more global than linear.

Global? Linear?

In my A - Z post about the letter E called Don't put all your Eggs in one Basket, earlier this week, I was talking about linear and global thinkers.

When I was working for Starbucks, I often used to point out this distinction. It was an important  factor to consider when training new teammates.

A popular example we used in introduction classes for future managers:

Tell me how to brew coffee using a French Press?

The global thinker would go: 

Well, first you boil your water, put ground coffee in the coffee press, fill it with water and wait a while and then press down. Boom, done.

The linear folks within the group would cringe!! 

Wait a minute, you need to specify...

How hot does the water need to be? Temps between 80 - 90°C (176 - 194°F) are perfect, so don't over-boil.

What coffee to water ratio do you use? 2 tablespoons per 6 ounces of water.

How finely do the coffee beans need to be ground? The coarsest setting on the grinder, level 9.

How long do you let the coffee brew before you push down the plunger? 4 minutes (I accidently put 4 hours on my timer once. My inner clock told me at some point it might be time. The coffee had been brewing for 5 minutes, and it tasted terrible. Nothing like a little mishap to learn life lessons!!)

Wrapping up, I like to state that the 80/20 rule - aka the Pareto Principle- applies to most everyday situations: with 20% effort you can achieve 80% success. If you strive for perfection though (cue: husband), you'll need to go like 80 extra miles, and it'll take you forever and drive you and your environment crazy. In the end, nobody will even notice that you've produced a flawless product, much less thank you for it.

Or look at it the other way: 80% of your sales come from 20% of your best and loyal customers. So why is it that you keep spending so much time trying to make some whiners happy that clearly don't belong to that group? Things to think about.


Photo by Proxyclick Visitor Management System on Unsplash


Want to find out about this linear and global thing for yourself? Here's the link 

Hint: if you just start answering the questions and wonder how to calculate the results, you may be a global thinker. Go back and actually read the instructions. That's what I had to do, hahahaaaa! 

Happy Friday, Friends! Don't forget to swing by my blogger buddies' posts and give them some love. 

If you're confused because you came for the letter H of the A - Z Blogging Challenge, here's today's post: Home is where your Heart is.


Comments


  1. When my kids were in elementary school, College Boy would do his homework fast, not caring if it was right or wrong. PurDude would take his time and do it right. It's all about personalities when you're younger, then goals as you mature.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I feel like I'm probably global when I should be linear, and linear when I should be global. That would make sense, right? And explain all the shenanigans in my day.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Either way I look at it, I still don't like using a french press.

    ReplyDelete

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