The Simple Trick to Keep Track of What People Owe You

Listener Noam writes in: 

Many of my job tasks depend on other people to complete (my boss, colleague, partners, vendors, etc.). I get stuck and sometimes I forget to follow up on them and I don’t complete them. Do you have any tips for tackling tasks when I’m dependent on other people in order to complete them?

Noam, you’ve put your finger on the problem with productivity: it’s other people. Whenever they get involved, we are inconvenienced. Cable TV is full of shows like the Dog Whisperer and Cat Wrangler; what we need is a people whisperer. Someone to make all those pesky people do what is sensible thing. Do what is right. … do what we want them to do. 

I’ve taken steps in the past to fill this role. In A Fail Proof Way to get co-workers to keep their promises, I give a fail-proof way to get co-workers to keep their promises. You can find the episode at http://ift.tt/2rQ2nXW. It’s all based on mind control, leverage, and leather whips tipped with red silk tassles. 

But in this case, your question isn’t how to brainwash them into mindless, happy compliance with your wishes. You want to know something much deeper: how do you keep track of everything, so nothing falls on the floor. Because sometimes, what falls on the floor is full of nitroglycerine, and it gets a little awkward.

Delegation isn’t just for managers any more

You’re wrestling with a problem that all new managers wrestle with: how to track and manage delegation. “But I’m not a manager, you cry!” 

SURPRISE! In 2017, many workers have no work ethic, feel no obligation to keep commitments, and need to be managed, even if they’re your bosses or co-workers. And the best news of all, you get to do the job of manager without formal authority, and certainly without any pay increase. Woo hoo!! It’s progress! (It could be worse, you could be an Uber driver.)

In order for your life to be better, you’re going to have to start tracking everyone around you. It doesn’t have to be comprehensive tracking, like the NSA, where you record their GPS location and listen to their conversations through their cell phone. These are your co-workers we’re talking about. They do nothing worth eavesdropping on.

Track deliverables and timetables

When you’re in the middle of a maelstrom of work that depends on other people, use a paper grid or a spreadsheet to create a delegation tracking matrix. You can download one from http://ift.tt/2rQ2nXW.

Across the top, create six columns. Label them item#, who, assigned, what, due, and status. When you are expecting something from someone, fill in a line on the spreadsheet recording what you’re waiting for. Here’s what each column means.

Item# is just a sequence number. Each time you enter a delegation, use the next highest number. This gives you a quick way to refer to the delegation. When your boss says, “where’s that report?” You can say, “I’m still waiting on deliverable #3 in order to produce it.” “Deliverable #3? What’s that?” You pull out your table and consult it with a furrowed brow. “It’s the raw market data which was due from … you, three weeks ago. What’s the status of that?”

Who is the initials of the Awesome Coworker who has promised you some work. When you enter a row into the delegation matrix, make sure the person in the Who column actually knows that you’re expecting something from them.

Assigned is the date that your Awesome Coworker made the promise. You can think of that as the date they began their fall from grace. 

What is a brief description of the deliverable that they are supposed to deliver. And whose failure to deliver will be the embodiment of their fall from grace.

Due is the date they promised to deliver their deliverable. It marks the end of their fall from grace, and the beginning of their life as a known failure, a parasitic despot whose primary function is to feed off your achievement instead of pulling their own weight.

Status is either OPEN, CLOSED, OR LATE. OPEN means that you’re still waiting for the deliverable. CLOSED means that it’s arrived and it’s wonderful and they are once again elevated to the status of Awesome Co-worker. And LATE, well, I don’t have to tell you what that means. 

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Review your list regularly

Now that you have your delegation matrix, review it at the start of each day. If you have it in a spreadsheet, you can sort by status to show quickly which things are still open or late, so you can pursue those with razor-sharp focus.

Sort by status to choose what to pursue with razor-sharp focus

Choose a late deliverable to pursue. Notice who your offending co-worker is. Then sort the spreadsheet by Who, and find all the different ways your Evil CoWorker is letting you down. Then just casually drop by their cubicle and say, “Hope your day is going well! I just wanted to check the status of deliverables 3, 81, 9, 16, 47, 11, 19, and 23. According to the delegation matrix, they were all due last week.” Do this enough and you can shame them into doing their job.

You can also sort by due date to see what’s coming up. When you drop by those co-workers, you can casually mention how much you’re looking forward to deliverables 2, 22, and 33. Success delivery will be evidence of their innate Goodness as a Human Being.

Check out the page at http://ift.tt/2rQ2nXW to see a sample delegation tracking sheet in the flesh. 

Item# Who Assigned What Due Status 1 Europa July 4 Store inventory completed July 10 OPEN

We can’t all have perfect, Awesome Co-Workers. We get the average ones. And sometimes, we need to ride herd on those coworkers so they get us what we need to do our job. By pretending we’ve delegated their own job to them, using a delegation tracking matrix will help you keep track of who owes you what, and when, so you can make sure that none of the balls get dropped.

And if that fails, Noam, consider becoming a hypnotist. Then just take control of their free will by walking up behind them and saying … well, we’ll save that for another episode.

I’m Stever Robbins. Follow GetItDoneGuy on Twitter and Facebook. I run programs to help people have extraordinary careers. If you want to know more, visit SteverRobbins.com. 

Work Less, Do More, and have a Great Life!