While I was still at work, I wondered if I was doing anything that actually had value. I asked myself what could I write down to tell another of the value I added to a project or a task? What would that paper say? In the process it became apparent to me how valuable writing it could be.
We often get a short distance in time from events and can not recite their true significance, we can not recall the value. We forget. If we do not spend some time in analysis, we fail to recognize important details, occurrences and aspects of the events we just completed. Our memory fades with time.
Once I realized this I came up with three or four areas where my presence did add value. I realized also there were other areas where I could have added value if events had been slightly altered. I wrote a list of things to measure. Measurable items are the ones to which you can assign quantities. With the list in hand I had a record of my accomplishment and a device by which I could plan future strategies.
Such a list would be valuable to reinspect at later times to see if I could identify
additional items to quantify or additional areas where my presence
had an effect. Using such a list I could also analyze each task
planned for the future to identify other possible quantifiable items. I could ask each time:
- - What today can I quantify, can I add a quantifiable item to the list?
- - What sub tasks within a quantifiable item can I quantify?
Such observations must be written, kept and reviewed to have any value.
- - This would get me into the frame of mind to quantify things
- - This would help me identify what sorts of things can be quantified.
- - This would help me with the language of quantification: what should I express, how should I express it?
