Get A Hustle On!

I was reminded last week of a time when I used to work in McDonalds, we laughed as I told the story of achieving my 1st star. My husband at the time joked and said wow you have a star for personality! I have been intrigued to know after 20 plus years what the other stars do mean. Apparently, Quality, Service, Operational Excellence, and Cleanliness. So what? Very valuable qualities however, Thinking back to my time in McDonald's a valuable lesson I learnt was about the Hustle. The hustle? You may ask, what was it? What does this mean? In the world of Big Macs, Cheesburgers, Chicken sandwiches, milk shakes, muffins, fries and fancy salads it simply means when rush hour comes serve as many customers as quickly and efficiently as you can, prepare and prep as much food as you can as quickly as you can, always smile, make eye contact, go hell for leather and clean as you go! (CAYG). Hustle. The definition in the English dictionary, Force (someone) to move hurriedly or unceremoniously: yes I have to say we were very unceremonious, barging past each other, with bellies hanging out of shirts too tight from eating burgers 24/7, and trousers so tight you felt you were going to burst! Juggling food, trays and drinks, shouting for specials and chasing down orders that customers were waiting for. I wanted to blog about the hustle because in our professional world of work, especially transition work, timelines are tight, it's a dynamic, fast paced environment which needs a certain mindset and discipline for you to succeed. You need to hustle, If you don't you fail. Are you a plodder or do you get a hustle on when you see the fire has been stoked and we now have to operate in what I call 5th gear? Hustle in the workplace does not have to be unceremonious; 1- always smile 2- maintain eye contact 3- feel the heat but don't get burnt, I mean make sure you cover your bases, don't cut corners because you are short of time 4- keep a high level of stakeholder engagement whether it be suppliers, clients, customers, peers or your leadership team 5- just as rush hour periods in McDonald's end so will the period of intensity on your project, be persistent, don't get sloppy 6- hustle through the moment, when the quiet period comes, reflect, take stock and prepare and capture lessons learnt and more importantly gear up for the next onslaught 7- remember to give credit where it is due and extend your appreciation to the wider team 8- it's all the parts working together that give you a complete solution 9 don't be tempted to go off in isolation, make sure someone has your back guys 10- share the challenges, someone always knows a better or quicker way of doing things 11- there is no room for pride in the world of hustling, get down, get your hands dirty Dig in, dig deep and you will be rewarded with your gold star.