I do it myself when I’m not careful. “Wandering in” takes three forms: You start a task without a clear destination, a clear sense of what will be different when you are done You start a task without a clear route, a clear sense of specific steps that will get you to your destination You don’t really start the task. You check your email, look up something on the Internet, finish reading an article, make some notes about something else, schedule an appointment, answer the telephone, get a cup of coffee, etc. In the first two cases, you get lost in the task. In the third, you get lost in between tasks. Whether you succumb to one, two, or all three forms of wandering in, you will lose significant time. Next thing you know, half an hour or more has passed and you are still wandering around in or between tasks. Starting, on the other hand, involves an intentional decision to launch yourself down a clear path to a specific finish line. You glance at the clock, set an end time in your mind, push everything else aside, and then sprint toward that destination. The difference is enormous. Starting is tremendously effective. Wandering in is not. Starting requires discipline and the habit of being intentional and specific about your goal, next step, and expected completion time. If you save the wandering for your leisure hours, you will be amazed by how many more leisure hours you will have!
Don’t manage change! Manage people! From my experience, both as a consultant and as an employee, the minute leaders decide change management is necessary is the minute things get weird. Those determined to manage change often see change as a major hurdle, grounds for rebellion, and a most unpleasant and fearsome task. To fortify themselves against the imagined upheaval and resistance, they turn their attention to the “change process,” which often includes actions such as: Developing a communications plan to control what everyone hears and when they hear it Scripting talking points for managers so they all deliver the same scrubbed messages Creating opportunities for the leaders to be highly visible voicing the same messages Planning a big launch to set the stage for change and generate enthusiasm With these acts, they create more resistance than they prevent. Furthermore, they invest a ton of energy into activities that add little value to identifying and implementing the actual changes needed.
A distress call from my daughter involved a strange situation at work. Naturally, I wanted to help but it was tough to get a word in edgewise. When I finally found an opening to ask a few questions, they were clearly unwelcome. For about the ten thousandth time, I had confused venting with a request for help. I wish she would just tell me up front what role she wants me to take! This is a common occurrence with children, partners, and friends and it usually leads to frustration, if not hard feelings. A similar scenario plays out in the working world every single minute of every single day. The flavor is a little different, the root cause the same, and the cost potentially far higher.
During the holidays, I frequently passed a house with at least 3 dozen giant inflatable characters in the yard. They dwarfed both house and yard. Stranger yet, they were alternately inflated and deflated; whatever the reason, someone was doing a lot of work to inflate them regularly. My curiosity was piqued briefly at each passing. Why would someone want so many? Do they deflate them to prevent a prankster from seeing if a knife blade will make them dance and fizzle like balloons? What do the neighbors think?