Being disorganized at work will lead to lost opportunities. Get organized to be able to act on the right item or information at a moment’s notice.
I’ve always been organized. My mom said that my 5th grade teacher who also owned a business and was in politics said I was the most organized person she had known – adults included. This was a high compliment coming from her. I don’t really remember much about that but I know it has been one of the key skills that led to my career success. I’ve noticed that some of the most successful people I’ve known credit organization as playing a pivotal role in their success.
Why does organization play a big role in success? Let’s consider a few examples. If your manager calls to ask an important question, can you retrieve the information quickly? If your customer has a time-sensitive opportunity and needs you to be able to pull together a presentation of your collaborative efforts, will you be able to track down the data needed? If your #1 customer asks for a special delivery of a unique item, can you find it rapidly? If you have more on your agenda than can fit into a day, do you have a way to quickly see which items are most critical and pick them out? And if you have to find all of the documents related to your key supplier to address an issue, will you find the documents all together or will you have to track them down one-by-one?
Being organized is NOT the same as being neat. Sure, being neat can help with organization but it isn’t the most important factor. Organized is not the same as being smart. Although I prefer to think that organized people are smart, it doesn’t have to be true. Organization gives you leverage so that you start with a “leg up” on the competition. For example, I remember testing fine in certain areas in school yet far exceeding those statistics with organization and dedication. To me, the bottom line is that being organized allows you to access the “right” information/item at the “right” time at the “right” place in order to make informed, timely decisions and take the “right” actions at the “right” time to thrive. Why not give organization a boost in your repertoire?