If we weren’t so dependent on email, we would hate it as much as we hate meetings.
Let’s get one thing straight right off the bat. This is not a partisan article. This article is about process. I’m very much a process person and if there is one process I care about, perhaps more than any other, it is our democratic system of government that has kept us safe and prosperous for an impressive number of years.
I had a wonderful time with clients in California recently. We were working on anticipating and preventing problems, a frequently neglected skill that can save companies millions and millions.
Wow! Here we go. Rolling right into the last month of the year already. Not only is this the hurry-up-and-nail-your-goals time of year, it’s also a giving time of year. Ironically, giving often becomes stressful. How sad is that?! Giving should be joyful! Have we gotten caught up in the process and lost track of the meaning? (Kind of like we do with our business and health goals?) Want some new gift ideas that provide real value instead of more cards, calories, and ‘stuff’? Here’s one!
If you were striving to walk 10,000 steps, what happened to your motivation when it was reported that the 10,000 step goal was arbitrary, that women who walk 4,000 steps were 40% less likely to die, and that longevity benefits maxed our around 7,500? Did you reduce your goals?
The Decision Book exercise led to a fascinating discussion with another of my colleagues. I related my experience to-date and suggested he give the experiment a try. We both acknowledged that there was no reason to fill a Decision Book with commitments to clients because those are a given. Accountability isn’t an issue. We always meet those commitments. My friend went on to suggest the same is true of any decisions he makes that promise something to someone else. He always delivers. Period. I agreed. So if we don’t put commitments to others in a Decision Book, that only leaves commitments that we make to ourselves! I asked my colleague what kinds of commitments he makes to himself. I was met with a lot of silence. At first, he suggested that if the decisions listed in the book have to be true commitments to himself, he would likely leave the book empty because he isn’t very good at keeping commitments to himself. That’s when he had the big ah-ha.
My friend and colleague, Debs Jenkins, got me thinking with one of her recent newsletters. She proposed the idea of keeping a Little Book of Big Decisions. The idea is to record your decisions and periodically review them to see if you are making the same decisions over and over or letting important decisions languish. Intrigued to learn more about my own decisions, I took out a 5×7, placed it on the edge of my desk, and started my list…
If you think this is an article about finding meaning in your life, you would be wrong. This article is about the companies and organizations where you devote your precious time and energy, and maybe your money as well.
I often help clients make complex and important decisions. Strategic planning, significant changes, and sensitive issues are the main situations where I am brought in. Inevitably, this includes working with a group of leaders who are the decision-makers and whose buy-in is critical to success. My clients are often amazed at how quickly I can extract significant insights and guide a group to critical decisions that they all support with great enthusiasm and commitment. Want to know my secrets?