I went to work for my parents during Thanksgiving break. I went in with the expectation that work would be repetitive or purely administrative. I ended up learning two important lessons that reshaped the way I think about teamwork and responsibility:
- Communication is key. During my time working there, the biggest lesson that I learned is that communication is the difference between a successful company and an unsuccessful company. Without communication, it results in uncoordinated efforts when everyone should be working toward completing a task or a common goal as efficiently as possible. Individuals should not compete like it’s a rat race, but should instead use communication to better each other. Communication must include transparency, and people must own up to their own mistakes. Whether it’s telling coworkers or a boss about what has been completed, what needs further revision, or more eyes to look at, communication should always come above all else.
- Know what your goals are and pay attention to details. While working there, I counted inventory for a customer. While the job started as extremely boring and kind of tedious, eventually I realized how important it was. Losing just one item could cost thousands of dollars. Every day I went into the office, we went in with a certain goal in mind. I learned that while you can do many things, you cannot do everything. You must come in with an idea of what must get done. It is the big picture that matters, but also the little things that make a company trustworthy and reliable. Success comes from focusing on the right tasks and executing them properly.
