A truck driver was delivering 100 penguins to the zoo when his truck broke down. He quickly flagged down a passing truck and said, Here’s $500, take these penguins to the zoo. The next day, the first driver spotted the penguins walking down the street behind the second driver. Furious, he said, “I gave you $500 to take them to the zoo!” “I did,” he replied, “But I had money left over so I’m taking them out to eat too”.
That story illustrates how important clear communication is and how much time can be wasted when we don’t communicate clearly.
One thing we can do to communicate better is always having a notepad beside the phone. We often end up scrounging for an envelope or some other floating slip of paper to jot down important information. These randomly scrawled notes get misplaced or thrown away. Instead, invest a dollar into a telephone message pad and train your family to use it. Decide where you will put notes so the person will be sure to get them.
A good message system helps us redeem the time.
Rick Grubbs is best known as the host of “Redeeming the Time,” a one-minute radio program featured on hundreds of radio outlets around the world. He has spoken thousands of times on Biblical time management in all 50 states and 26 other countries. He is the author of the book “Morning Momentum: God’s plan for launching an unstoppable day”. He and his wife Carrie live in Salisbury NC with several of their 12 children.
