Category: Productivity & Effectiveness

It’s so easy to succumb to this desire: be something, something important, impactful, powerful.  Chasing after an ideal “should be”, losing sight of who you are; cruel phantoms. So easily we get pulled into career/family/cultural expectations, that when we lose sight of ourselves, we don’t easily see the path back. That’s assuming there is a path “back”. I expect, for many of us, this is a path forward; new direction, new experience. Often, the path of self-discovery and self-acceptance is a journey of deep creativity; true exploration. A journey not started in youth, rather born out of regret and emptiness.

Thought of the day: It’s preferable to learn from the mistakes of others than to make them yourself. The whole purpose of an event like Family Reunion, and education as a whole, is to pre-learn the mistakes great minds have made, and avoid the pain and costs they incurred. Really, someone taking the time to explain anything they’ve learned is a gloriously generous gift. I’ve long known that, but have really deepened my appreciation for those that generosity. 

One of my challenges: sitting still. I love getting stuff done. This week, though, is about learning, preparing; not about acting. For action without planning often is empty, or worse, counterproductive.

I don’t spend enough time planning. Sadly, it’s very easy to confuse action and activity with progress. I need to add “focusing time” into my day. Thus, I shall act rather than react. And ensure my efforts build something, not just spin my wheels needlessly.

I’ve known about this weakness for awhile. Yet, it’s really being driven home this week. If I learn nothing else this trip, my deeper understanding of this is worth it all.

The mania of my life lately has provided a convenient excuse for putting off zeroing my inbox. After spending a bit of my weekend scrambling because I missed crucial emails, I’m raising it’s priority again. “Later’s” glorious promise, and inevitable bite.

In Stephen Covey parlance, I’ve spent too much time in Quadrant 1, urgent/important and Quadrant 3, urgent/unimportant. Neglecting the important/non-urgent work of Quadrant 2 has always provided pain points for me.

KNOWING what’s outstanding, what my commitments are: critical knowledge that I musn’t allow to slip. And, hence, I”m all back in with my favorite project management tool: IQTell. Additionally, making sure my work, my actions track with my goals, priorities and values is the ultimate in live-giving. Focus, focus, focus!

Updated: I found this graphic that sums this up well. Enjoy!

My thought of the morning: I don’t think I believe in mistakes. The hedging quality reflects the newness of this notion. It’s reflects a rather radical shift in my mind.

There’s sloppy execution, then there’s discovery.  Sloppy execution isn’t a mistake, it’s a lack of care and diligence. Clearly, more effort/better focused effort would’ve overcome the obstacles.

Accepting a challenge which doesn’t go as expected isn’t a mistake, either. We learn deeply from those moments. Amazing, cosmos shifting events resulted from unintended consequences.

I mustn’t let my fear of mistakes paralyze me. This ruins so much joy, limits life’s delights. I’ve seen this, up close and personally. And desire the removal of such life denying scripts from my psyche. Walking that path, slowly but surely, reaching that destination.

In Steven Covey’s “Seven Habits…” book, he relates a story of a consulting gig. After asking “what’s the best way to motivate…” some one spat out “hand-grenades”.  Apparently a bit of a debate broke out. I’ve wondered what would say during that, and think I have my answer. “That’s effective if your goal is to build a subservient fiefdom. If you’re trying to build a dynamic team of effective contributors, this will fail gloriously.”

In today’s economy, a company of meandering automatons who only act directly upon orders is a recipe for failure. This is a blind bureaucracy. Any need for independent thought or action induces a fear based paralysis. These are non-agile orgs that cannot react nimbly. Their only strength comes from sheer mass. Most of the entities which remind effective do so because they command immense resources, enabling them to catch up with innovators…eventually. Or they just acquire them.

Many managers feel empowering their teams is some fluffy, sentimental fad. Sadly, some systems allow them to flounder in their ineffectiveness. They remain blind to the costs they craft, and to the opportunities squandered. Thus is the path of fear and brutality.

Going to the “next level” only has value when YOU have defined success, when YOU know where you want to go. Otherwise, without goal/direction, your psyche knows the emptiness of your drive. At best, you’ll feel empty, that your work is meaningless.