There’s an app for that!

There certainly is! With probably a few million apps in both the Apple and Android Play stores, people are either spoilt for choice or freeze. There are apps for any number of reasons. Play a game. Order something and have it delivered to your home or office. Ask for directions to the nearest food joint when you’re wandering in an unfamiliar place. There are even apps like Ask Me Anything (AMA). I had a look at AMA. Very frivolous, but has potential if used rightly. Yes, apps can be useful “life hacks” for all of us. You don’t need to have all of them, just a few will do for me. However, if we don’t have a good Personal Operating System, apps are of limited use.

 

Personal Operating System?

Yes, a Personal Operating System. One definition of an Operating System is:

the collection of software that directs a computer’s operations, controlling and scheduling the execution of other programs, and managing storage, input/output, and communication resources.

In other words, your Personal Operating System is your Director of Operations. It is like your spinal column. Your spinal column not only supports you structurally, it is also the main channel for signals to be sent back and forth. It is responsible for strength, integration, balance and coordination. It is the basic framework upon which all other components are attached. It causes all those attached components to be synergized. The result is an amazing organism which is truly more than the sum of its components. Many of those components are apps.

What does a good Personal Operating System look like? These three qualities are essential.

Dependability vs Inconsistency

Dependability is Fulfilling what I consented to do, even if it means unexpected sacrifice.

Does your Personal Operating System do what it says it will do? I once agreed to help someone set up his website, even though I am not exactly what you would call an IT person. The site was in WordPress, and WordPress is pretty simple and user-friendly. Until you hit a snag with displaying photographs in a more appealing manner. I spent much more time trying various ways to get the photos optimally displayed than I had originally intended. I tried different image display plugins until I finally found one that was good for the theme I selected for him. Did I give up halfway and tell him it was too difficult? No, I had said I would do it, and do it I did. No, I wasn’t paid for it. Instead of spending up to an hour, I had to spend almost two days trying to get it right. And get it right I did. One fringe benefit was that I learned about different ways of displaying photos, too! Be dependable. Do what you said you would do.

Discernment vs Shortsightedness

Discernment is Understanding the deeper reasons why things happen.

Whether things go right or whether they don’t seem to be going our way, do you take the time to understand why? Things might be going great for you. Why? Everything seems to be going wrong. Why? How do you make things better? What do you need to do to make things better? Some gurus will tell you never to ask the why question, just ask the how-to questions. Stop listening to crap like that. Being “solutions-focused” and having “positive future outcomes” in mind is just a part of it. Yes, things will eventually turn out right for your business, but if you don’t understand why, it’s going to be another challenge when you meet your next obstacle. You’ll be doomed never to repeat that success. Maybe that’s how some dispensers of advice keep themselves in business. They create co-dependencies. Be discerning, and never get into such a dysfunctional relationship!

Thoroughness vs Incompleteness

Thoroughness is Knowing what factors will diminish the effectiveness of my work or words if neglected.

Did you notice that the key word in that definition is neglected? As the old saying goes, “The job isn’t finished till the paperwork is done.” Operating systems are like gene expressions. Everything needed for that expression needs to be in place before it can be expressed properly. Now, a certain degree of corruption can be tolerated, meaning things can still work even if there are some coding errors here and there. However, if these coding errors are not rectified, there will come a point when the system will crash. Thoroughness is not waiting for your customer to receive the wrong items and then giving him a demonstration of superb service recovery. It is making sure every step of the way that your customer gets exactly what he ordered delivered precisely at the time you said you would, where you said you would. Thoroughness is acting responsibly and being diligent throughout the entire process.

There are of course a lot more, but these three are good enough to get you started making your Personal Operating System more robust. Work on your Personal Operating System (POS) and you will find your Point Of Sale (POS) system becoming busier! Sorry, but there isn’t an app for that.