Document your reputation

Posted: July 25, 2014 | Categories: Management, Self-Improvement, Time management

My father worked for many decades as a project engineer for a major oil company.  He became a renowned expert in pipeline controls, and actually worked for three years straight as a consultant during the construction of the Alaskan Pipeline.  He was smart, intuitive, and the best problem solver I have ever known.

Early in his career, he learned an important lesson:  Always document your conversations, actions, and recommendations and keep them on record and easily retrievable.  This habit proved vital to his business success.  In the oil business – especially in the 50’s and 60’s, he would find himself among people who wanted to take shortcuts and skim over problems.  Dad would never hear of it.  He motto was, “Do things right.  Do the right thing.  Always tell the truth”.  When he would be asked to take a short cut, he would plead his case and defend his position with solid field data.  If they ordered him to do something contrary to his recommendation, he would write a memo, document the conversation and his recommendation, and give it to his secretary to file.

Whenever we take shortcuts or do what is expedient versus what is right, it often comes back to bite us.  Of course, we can always try to put the blame on someone else.  That didn’t work with Dad.  When they would try to pin something on him, he would say, “Well, let’s go back to what you said and what I said in that conversation”.  He would read it work for word.  Because he had a reputation of impeccable integrity, the accuracy of his memos was vever in question.  As a result of his habit of documentation, he was able to love his work without being undermined by false or unfair accusations.  His signature phrase was, “Don’t let me confuse you with facts”.  OK, that may not be so tactful, but you get the message:  DOCUMENT!

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