How (I thought) I worked day and night in vain

So a couple of weeks ago, I had this client who requested for 5 proposals for different training solutions she had seen in my Corporate Brochure. 5 proposals?! *cha-ching* She requested that I submit them before close of business the next day.

Now she had sent me an email at night but I only got to see it whilst going through my emails by 2am. So the options were;

A) Stay up, work and sleep later

B) Drink coke and go to bed and be under pressure to deliver by morning

C) Start work, call by morning to clarify if my understanding or this seemingly ‘unrealistic’ request was actually her request

D) Go to bed. I cannot come and ‘kee’ myself

So I went with option A. I worked all night, slept for 2hrs, woke up and continued working till late evening (trust me, the proposals had to be irresistibly captivating so I put my best into it).

By 9pm, I was done and I sent the email before ‘close of business’ (this phrase can be a relative term considering the short notice). Next thing, my phone rings at 9.45pm and the caller ID is that of this client. In microseconds few thoughts swirled in my head before I picked:

A) She is possibly calling to say it came in late. After all, close of business for most banks is 4pm (though they leave work by 10am the next morning.

B) She is calling to make an enquiry about the proposals. But an enquiry at 9.45pm?

C) Her kid must be fiddling with her phone. But what’s her kid doing up by 9.45pm?

In split seconds, the optimist in me picked the call. “It must be option ‘A’ (once again)”, I thought.

Then, the next words I heard took the wind off my sails (momentarily). She said “Bankole I guess you misunderstood me, I only requested for proposals because all I need are the prices for the 5 trainings not the actual proposals. I noticed the professional fees aren’t there in the corporate brochure’.

“Bankole are you there?”

I had to return from Timbuktu Island to respond. ‘Yes I am, I would ensure you get the costs before 8am, thank you’

We exchanged pleasantries and I just drank coke and went to bed.

So I woke up this morning with light bulbs popping in my head about the ‘good’ in this experience. The first thing that struck me about this whole experience was that the real reward for the work you do is not just in the monetary gain you get out of it but the person you become through the process.

It is also better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared for it. Then we need to demand from ourselves more than anyone would ever demand from us; so when they eventually demand that much from us, it becomes a piece of cake.

That’s not all. Well, because I know I’ve been prepared for a greater good that lies ahead, I learnt to treat every experience as a piece of a puzzle; it is never a waste because it has its place in the big picture of my future.

And finally, seek to understand before you respond. When you listen you learn something new, when you respond, you only speak out of what you already know. Hence, before you can speak well, you must first listen well.

How was I able to fetch all these lessons from that single experience? Well, let’s just say that’s the way I’ve programmed my mind to work.

 

Bankole Williams