“Ready, Aim, Fire” is so old-fashioned. Careful, thorough, risk averse planners simply need not apply. This fast paced, action oriented world demands a lot less “readying” and “aiming.” Pilot programs are a great response. Until they succumb to these common ailments: 1. Collaboration killers If your goal is results, you need everyone driving toward those results and partnering for success. When you set up a pilot program, you shift the focus from achieving results to judging the program. People who need to be steadfast collaborators become observers and critics instead. An “us vs. them” mentality ensues and you won’t get the partnership you desperately need to succeed. 2. Discouraging persistence Dogged determination drives more projects across the finish line than any other force. Pilots rarely generate that level of determination. Instead, a noble champion and a fan or two are often seen slaving away while others dismiss the work as ”just a pilot” – a short term, temporary, half-hearted inconvenience.
I remember when my husband and I first considered having a baby. We discussed how it might be better to wait. I don’t remember that conversation, but I do remember the realization that we would never be ready. If we had waited until we had had enough money, wisdom, and kid-free experiences – until we were completely ready, we never would have had children! If you wait for everything to be perfect, you will never do anything. Nonetheless, I witness daily examples of people delaying action on their top priorities while they plan, practice, research, check with a few more people, or wait for someone to return from vacation or maternity leave. In other cases, they distract themselves completely by “getting all their ducks in a row” or tackling low hanging fruit of little importance. I have a Fortune 500 client who has postponed the start of our project every month since October because they aren’t quite ready. A business owner who attended my most recent speech has been thinking about doing a webinar, but isn’t quite ready. Next thing you know, it will be December again! Don’t spend February getting ready. Get clear about your priorities and figure out what concrete steps you need to take today, tomorrow, and next week so that on March 1st you can look back at February as a month of amazing action, not a month of preparation!
A few weeks ago, I wrote “8 Secrets Smart People Know About Time Management.” Among other things, I explained that there are five effective ways to deal with having too much to do and one of those is to accomplish more faster. People try to do this all the time. They buckle down. They shut out distractions. And then they beat themselves up for failing. Why do they fail? Because they aren’t really doing anything differently. You know the old adage about the definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results. By that definition, most people are nuts. Every week, every day, they do essentially the same things and hope that somehow they will get caught up. On top of that, people are faced with endless advice ranging from little tips to vast programs like Lean. Most people do not have time to digest all that they read or invest heavily in a process like lean. So here’s a simple way to reconsider your work and find a shorter, faster path. No new vocabulary or special tools are required. You can get as fancy as you like – but do that later. To get started immediately, embrace these staggeringly simple steps to accomplishing more:
What was on your list to do last year that you never did? I’m asking about both professional and personal goals here. Was it important? If whatever you didn’t accomplish wasn’t important, forget about it! I don’t care how many people you told, if it wasn’t important and you never got to it, don’t waste another brain cell thinking about it! If it was important, figure out why you didn’t accomplish this important task. If you can’t find the cause, you can’t eliminate the cause, and your goals this year are likely to suffer the same fate.
On the first day of Clarity my clear thoughts gave to me: The Luxury of Doing What I Do Best! On the second day of Clarity my clear thoughts gave to me: Short, Power Meetings and the Luxury of Doing What I Do Best! On the third day of Clarity my clear thoughts gave to me: Only 3 Priorities Short, Power Meetings and the Luxury of Doing What I Do Best! On the fourth day of Clarity my clear thoughts gave to me: No Firefighting Only 3 Priorities Short, Power Meetings and the Luxury of Doing What I Do Best!
“Thank you for calling Cooley-Dickinson Health Group – Hadley Family Practice. If this is a medical emergency, please hang up and dial 911.” “Thank you for calling Tufts Medical Center and Floating Hospital for Children. We are dedicated to providing high quality care every day. If this is a medical emergency, please hang up and dial 911.” What’s wrong with this picture? Why on earth aren’t the medical emergency instructions given first? This rankles me every time I get an answering machine at a medical facility. I can’t possibly believe you are dedicated to providing quality care if you would rather talk about it than do it by getting me off the phone as fast you can in an emergency. Distinguish between the need to build rapport and the need to get to the point. When it is time to get to the point, do it quickly. Don’t copy others when they are doing something stupid. And please don’t seize every opportunity to tell me how wonderful you are. Actions speak more loudly than words and spouting platitudes during a medical emergency will not convince me of your dedication to quality care. P.S. While writing this, I wanted to see if other facilities had even longer messages than Tufts. That experiment didn’t last! Baystate Health and Mass General answered the phone! If this is a medical emergency, don’t call me! But if you need clarity, dial 603-784-5727 ASAP!
To Do lists are like blackberries, stealth multipliers producing long canes that arc gracefully across your lawn until the tips take root in new soil. One minute you are dreaming of juicy rewards. Next thing you know, you are ensnared in prickly brambles, surrounded by vicious trip wires, and unable to enjoy the fruits of your labor. And just like blackberries, To Do lists require ruthlessness!
People have been talking about conflict resolution and conflict avoidance for years as if we should all embrace conflict and shun those unwilling to do so. They are wrong. Conflict is destructive. It damages results, productivity, and relationships. Conflict is the result of the fears and unproductive behaviors that originate in disagreement. In the worse cases, conflict becomes violent. In the workplace, the consequences are rarely so severe. Nonetheless, conflict transforms decisions into painful processes. It invokes power struggles, silos, and internal competition. It makes some people talk louder, push harder, and lean in, while others shut down, react defensively, and lean out. Whatever the manifestation, conflict is destructive and prevents open, honest, productive conversation. I’m not saying you and your employees should be in agreement at all times. You shouldn’t. If you are, most of you are unnecessary. You need good healthy debate about ideas and decisions. You need disagreement. You absolutely need disagreement. And, unlike conflict, there is nothing fundamentally destructive about disagreement. Good, healthy disagreement leads to eye-opening discussions. People learn, explore, and challenge each other’s thinking. In the end, minds are changed and compromises are made or parties agree to disagree and move on. So what causes disagreement to become conflict?
While at dinner recently with a Fortune 500 Executive, we were discussing employee expectations for career advancement. We lamented the ambitious but misguided who don’t know what they don’t know and feel entitled to success. We bemoaned the techies who are eager to be done but inevitably break something as often as they fix something and are too quick to dismiss other people. And we shared stories of accomplished individuals who are so annoying and/or self-centered no one wants to work with them. In the end, we identified three measures of success: You’ve got to get things done You’ve got to get them done right And you can’t do either at the expense of others Getting things done means taking responsibility, being resourceful, persevering, and finishing on time. But finishing isn’t good enough. You’ve got to get things done right. To do that you must be sure you know what done looks like so what you deliver meets expectations. You don’t want to over deliver, nor stop short. Clarity is as critical as persistence. To meet deadlines, you must anticipate and prevent problems. Anticipation and prevention minimize the obstacles, rework, and firefighting that lead to delays. Last but not least, you can’t win at the expense of others and you can’t drive talent away. No matter how awesome you think you are or how important your projects, your colleagues must also succeed if the organization is going to succeed. If you can get things done right and on time, while also being respectful, helpful, and easy to get along with, you will go far. Not sure where you stand? Get some feedback from others. Find out how you are perceived. Ask for examples of specific behaviors that exemplify these three characteristics and figure out how you measure up. Not knowing and unrealistic expectations are a bad combination!
The current political climate provides a perfect example of zero clarity. As long as our elected officials insist on staking their identities on alternatives before agreeing on objectives, it won’t matter who wins the election. There will be no effective compromise, problem solving, or innovation. Business leaders are left with three choices: wallow in the uncertainty, blame others for their lack of success, or take charge of their future. Which path will you choose?