Awaiting The Review

Throughout our lives we have all at one time or another had to wait out the results of a review of our work. Perhaps the most memorable for you was waiting for the report card from grade school. For others it might have been waiting to get your final transcript from college or university.

Still others hold in their memory something much more recent, the job review by your boss. If you are in business for yourself it may have been the review or feedback requested from a client.

Suffice it to say we can all say "Been there, done that. Didn't get the T-shirt." when it comes to awaiting a review.

My latest and definitely most memorable, even after almost 40 years in the corporate world and 5 as an independent consultant, came just today.

It started about two months ago when one of the editors for Performance Improvement, a publication of the International Society for Performance Improvement asked me if I would like to have my book, There Has To Be A Better Way, reviewed. Hesitantly I said, "sure, why not?". Sent two copies off, so it could be review by two people independently and waited. Well, as time went by it moved further and further toward the back of my mind.

Then this evening it all came rushing forward like a run away freight train. I received an email attaching the review. I was asked to read it over and let them know if there would be any problems publishing it in the February 2010 issue.

Now I know what the playwright must feel like when they await the reviews following opening night. You have the paper in your hand but are almost afraid to read the words of the reviewer.

Steeling myself,I opened the document to find it contained not one page of comments but rather four and 1/4 pages of feedback. Each chapter had been commented upon in a summary.

Curbing my desire to go right to the last page I read each page. Thankfully when I got to the last paragraph on the last page, it was a good review.

The closing comment: "As a collection of ways to do things better than personal experience and a source for learning from another, this can be a useful tool that deserves to be ready to hand and looking like it has been well used."

Yahoo