DEVELOPMENT
“It’s consistent small steps
that gets things done, not
just daily but over time.”
then inundated with supplies all at once and
your workers were inundated with the pressure
to process it all. Result being ‘everything at once
overwhelm’. And then another major issue reared
its head because once all the supplies had been
used there was nothing to process until the next
shipment which could be months away. ‘Massive
downtime’.
Why consistency
is a future skill
One important skill for the 2020s will
be our ability to take consistent small
steps, Nigel Collin explains
THE EXPERT
Nigel Collin is a change
and leadership expert
helping people and
organisations make
change happen through
small consistent steps.
He is author of ‘Game of
Inches’, an Internationally
recognised keynote
speaker and executive
coach.
As we move into the year and decade ahead
what will set us apart will be our ability to
consistently get things done, be agile and iron
out the peaks and troughs as we go. Interestingly,
an example of how to do this can be found in
England during the 1800s.
Back in the good old days of the industrial
revolution in England, something extraordinary
was happening that has become a catchcry
for me and my team. It’s more than that—it’s
a philosophy and process. ‘Keep the Barges
Coming’.
Let me quickly set the scene. In England, as in
many parts of Europe, there has been a network of
water canals, (much like a road network) which
have been there since medieval times. In the
1800s these allowed farmers, manufacturers and
businesses to move goods from the coast to their
villages and workshops inland, and back again.
The all or nothing approach of the past.
Imagine if you were an EA back then and oversaw
one of these facilities. The problem was how to get
a consistent supply of raw materials to keep you
and your workers productive. Although the canal
system had been around for hundreds of years it
was far from perfect.
When a ship full of materials arrived on the
coast the temptation was to send all of it at once
up the canal to your factory inland. You were
56 Chief of Staff | Issue 1 2020
The consistent small steps approach of the
future
The solution was to stagger the supply of materials
over a period of time. Heading up the canal,
rather than everything at once. Small consistent
steps. With a bit of planning you would keep a
consistent flow of small barges heading inland so
when they arrived, they were more easily handled
on-site and when supplies started to dwindle
the next barge would arrive. Reduced downtime,
reduced stress, and better productivity.
It was a much better decision to keep the
barges coming than do everything at once.
It’s a great analogy for an EA to adopt because
smart and successful people approach their work
and their careers this way. One barge at a time.
They understand its consistent small steps that
get things done, not just daily but over time. It
smooths out the peaks and troughs, allows you to
stop and deal with a crisis or last-minute request
and improves productivity.
Three steps of barge sending
Whether it’s project management, time
management, people management or career
management, the way to do this is three-fold.
Be super clear about what it is you are trying
to achieve. You need to know where to send the
barges.
w Know what needs to be done and by when. You
need to know what barge to send and when to
send it.
w Be consistent. Even if you trip up every so often
and get it wrong the very process of continually
taking action, step by step, inch by inch, will get
you there. Just keep the barges coming.
w
For me ‘keeping the barges coming’ is a reminder
that as we move into the 2020s we just need to
keep taking small consistent steps and keep the
barges coming. S
www.nigelcollin.com.au