What do projects and aggressive estimates have to do with investing in companies? Plenty! Hold on, now. You need a bit of background information, or you'll just think that I'm crazy.
Despite the statements of that bearded idiot, who told you in the wireless telephony commercial of a few months ago that "multitaskers" were the most productive among us, multitasking remains the least productive work-model for anyone to use. In fact, multitasking is the primary mechanism by which the global majority of corporations flush oceans of investment capital down the world's economic toilet, daily. On this you'll have to take my word, at least for now. My purpose, with this article so brief, is to reveal the multitasking source. Work with me. I have my reasons.
The multitasking source became apparent yet again, to me, when I observed myself compelled to use that loathsome practice, which I teach others to exterminate (you should know that I teach executives how to kill multitasking within their companies). While I was working on my project of the time, a telephone-call reminded me of an upcoming trip to London. I realized immediately that I had to interrupt my task, so that I might prepare for my meeting across the pond. In other words, I realized that I had to multitask. As if I were having a proverbial out-of-body experience, I watched myself in helpless anger and disgust as I... (gag) ...multitasked.
What was causing me to begin a second task, before completing the one at hand? It was the inescapable urgency of having to prepare for my hop across the pond, of course. However, I couldn't blame Sir Richard Branson for my disgustingly inevitable behavior (I was to fly with Virgin Atlantic - you really ought to see their premium-economy deals for flights across the pond). Sir Richard didn't know of my existence (he still doesn't). No! I'd done it to myself, weeks earlier. With the best of intentions, I had set up the multitasking dominoes single-handedly, I had tipped the first one without aid as well, and their unstoppable cascade through time had overtaken even me.
My actions of weeks past had been hopeful and well-meaning, albeit rather wrong. Having been somewhat ambitious, I'd grabbed aggressively from air my estimates of project-lengths of time and such.
"I'll make it happen," I had told myself.
Idiot!
With each well-meaning promise to myself, I had added to the string of dominoes through time, which, like a slowly burning fuse, would ignite weeks later a multitasking bomb designed specifically for me. By allowing my desire for results to distort my view of work and that of life, I had estimated short the days required, for my project's useful work. I had estimated small the scope as well. With the best of intentions, weeks earlier, I had crammed myself between the starting rock of project-one and the hard-place end of project-two. When finally the multitasking shrapnel cut my normal rate of output down to naught, I had myself alone to blame for delaying flows of cash, which project-one's completion was to bring.
