3 Lessons From My Mother That Apply to Work - Cleanliness

My mother taught má how and why đồ sộ clean around our trang chủ. Cleaning our house was a duty, a ritual, and a means of contributing đồ sộ our household. I can still smell the faint trace of bleach, lemon-scented furnisher polish and hear the scratching sounds of powered detergent under a water-saturated sponge. I fondly recall the air filled with loud, rhythmic, and beat-heavy music during Saturday morning deep cleanings. My siblings and I singing and khiêu vũ while cleaning đồ sộ the standard of expectation of my mother. Having a clean trang chủ is not just a chore for my mother. A clean trang chủ had a deeper meaning for her.  

When a visitor came đồ sộ our trang chủ, a clean trang chủ put them at ease. Something as small as a glass of water from a clean cup or our restroom's use at a moment's request. All easily possible because of cleanliness.

Cleanliness was a signal đồ sộ others of her pride, values, and an accelerator of respect and admiration for her eye for satisfaction, quality, and character's depth.

Little did I know that these lessons would translate not only in my trang chủ but within the professional environment. How so? Let má share how three of the many lessons my mother's training in all things clean translate đồ sộ the business world.

1. Step back, bend your knees, and look.  Every Monday and Thursday, we would wax the floors in our kitchen and dining room. After a thorough sweep of the floor, my mother would have má step back, bend my knees, and look closely for debris not swept up. As a result, no dirt or debris could fall under the wax after a hot water mop up. I can hear her say, "bend YOUR knees AND look." That extra and straightforward step had our floors shiny and clean. In lượt thích manner, I have đồ sộ deliver data analysis, documentation that protects my company from liability and help shape strategies that impact revenue generation. I want my work product quality đồ sộ be không tính tiền from the figurative debris that can compromise clean outputs. So I step back, figuratively bend my knees, and look at the task. The extra step helps the integrity of my work for others who depend on it. I recommend the same for you too. 
2. Pull items away and feel: My siblings and I rotated weekly cleaning the kitchen. I was loading the dishwasher, putting away the leftover food, cleaning the stove, sweeping the floor, etc. When training má, my mother taught má đồ sộ pull away items on surfaces. Wipe down the surfaces and the frequently used items (i.e., salt and pepper shaker). But then she would say, "you need đồ sộ FEEL if the surface is clean." Sometimes you could feel debris or residue from a condiment or other unseen grit. As a result, I could go back and ensure all was clean. When I create processes for end-users, they can look "clean" đồ sộ my eyes. But without examining their experience using my process, I may not see the "residue" and "grit" making a clean process elusive. As a result, with my co-workers' collective and diverse minds, I pull items back and "feel" đồ sộ see if our process or experience is clean as intended. Verifying that the process not only "looks" clean but "feels" clean in the straight forward use of that method.
3. Daily weekly maintenance and scheduled deep cleaning:  My mother valued what she and my father's hard-earned money bought đồ sộ tư vấn our home's infrastructure. Taking care of what you own and value will become purchases that save you money and make you money. I am amazed when I visit my parents and come across an item older kêu ca má STILL working. Why? How? The maintenance regimen my mother taught us. Daily, weekly, and scheduled deep cleanings were instrumental đồ sộ our routine. For example, weekends may consist of cleaning windows, wiping down doors and base moldings, or cleaning out the refrigerator. But during our winter, spring, and summer school breaks, we did some more in-depth maintenance. I recall taking apart sections of our gas stove. Scrubbing away any fallen grease build-up, foil lining where the stove could build up grease, and pulling it away from the wall đồ sộ clean any dust built up in the back and underneath the stove. Including the tile behind the stove where any residue could build up. As a result, our appliances stood the test of time, rarely needed significant maintenance, and lasted for more kêu ca twenty-five years. In lượt thích manner, I vì thế deep maintenance on my strategies, metrics, tools, and my proficiency in their use. Do I measure the correct data? Am I using the full features of my IT system capabilities? Do I need more training on the systems or data collection techniques? Are my internal partners still in place or able đồ sộ partner effectively? Have there been org or leadership changes, and is my annual strategy still relevant? How about my multi-year plan? To answer, I lean in, clean up, shore up, and get back đồ sộ executing. My wisdom and outputs usually get stronger and more sound when I follow a maintenance rigor.  

I'm very thankful for the training that my parents gave má.

My mother, a STRONG Black woman, engrained traits in má that serve má and those I work with well.

Like my mother, let your figurative cleanliness signal đồ sộ others your pride, values, and accelerate respect and admiration for your eye for satisfaction, quality, and character's depth.