"Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind."
No, this is not a post about the hit pop song of the summer. This post is about what happens everyday in our work that causes all kinds of problems but can so easily be avoided. Blurred lines are the discrepancies between what someone thinks they are supposed to be doing and what is actually expected that they do. Let me give you an example:
"Can you update the group next week on our deal flow?"
"Sure, I've got it."
Next week the CEO asks for the update on the deal flow:
"I'm here to give the update"
"Great, can you pass around the reports?"
"I, uhm, didn't actually prepare any written materials. I thought I was just supposed to give an update".
"How can we understand the flow if we can't see the deals in process. Go back and get this ready for next meeting and in the meantime, I guess we will just have to wait on you (said snarkily)."
In the debrief the conclusion is that this was a series of honest mistakes but no one is happy and the business has stalled because of blurred lines of what was supposed to have happened and what didn't. A few clarifying questions would have solved the whole problem. When in doubt, there is a high chance of blurred lines happening. Following up with one question can nail it all down,
"So I am sure I have this right, what would be the definition of a home run success from what you are asking me to do?"
That will do it...no blurriness.
Sometimes we need to go back and take out the blurriness of what is expected from us as we do our best to bring glory to God in our work and lives. Jesus removed the blurred lines when he boiled down all of the commandments and said that we are to live with this as our most important commandment: "You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind." If we truly were/are to follow this commandment then we would find that all else falls in place. As we head into the office today, let's step back and ensure that our actions, thoughts and energies are all factored against what Jesus gave us a clear line of what we are to do and be.
Reference: Matthew 22:37 (New Living Translation)
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