by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Collaboration, Creativity, Goals, Growth, Habits, Leadership, Mindset, Planning, Productivity, Time, Tools
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 40 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Illusions of agreement
— From REWORK: Change the way you work forever by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
Raise your hand if you’ve ever been involved in putting together a report that is still sitting on a shelf somewhere accumulating dust… Oh, geez, both of my hands are raised!
Fried and Hansson in their excellent book Rework, say, “The business world is littered with dead documents that do nothing but waste people’s time. Reports no one reads, diagrams no one looks at, and specs that never resemble the finished product. These things take forever to make but only seconds to forget.” So true.
What they suggest is removing layers of abstraction and “getting real.” But what does this mean?
“Instead of describing what something looks like, draw it. Instead of explaining what something sounds like, hum it. […] The problem with abstractions (like reports and documents) is that they create illusions of agreement. A hundred people can read the same words, but in their heads, they’re imagining a hundred different things.” That’s why this famous cartoon about a tree swing is so funny and so on point!
It is similar to when you and your friends read a book: you all have different ideas of what the characters look like in your heads. And when you all go see the movie, you know exactly what each character looks like. “That’s when you get true understanding” and only then, everyone is on the same page.
The authors go on to cite the case of Alaska Airlines building up the Airport of the Future. “They didn’t rely on blueprints and sketches, they got a warehouse and built mockups using cardboard boxes… The team then built a small prototype in Anchorage to test systems with real passengers and employees.” The result was a success, as it increased efficiency by decreasing wait times and passenger frustration.
But this doesn’t apply just to large projects. The book quotes renowned furniture craftsman Sam Maloof who “felt is was impossible to make a working drawing to show all the intricate and fine details that go into a chair or stool.” He would simply get out the appropriate tool for that job and start working on it.
What project are you working on now where you could take out your proverbial chisel? Let’s avoid the illusions of agreement and have something real that we can indeed agree on!
ACTION
TODAY: Take some time to think about the many projects you are working on. Which ones are being handled under illusions of agreement? Don’t feel bad, it’s natural to work that way as we’ve all been conditioned to think it’s the best way. But now that you now the benefits of getting real you can speed up your goal by avoiding the distractions that come with abstractions. (Ha! I’m a poet and don’t know it…)
FUTURE: Keep in mind the distractions and the time spent on illusions of agreement. Share this info with your team and clients. For each project that you start, big or small, get in the habit of asking yourself and those involved, How can we make this real? That will push you to find better ways to accomplish your goals.
Know someone who needs to get real? Please share this post via email, Facebook or Twitter, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Creativity, Goals, Growth, Habits, Leadership, Mindset, Opportunity, Planning, Productivity, Resolutions, Tools
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 33 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Leaders and limitations
— From Common Sense Leadership: A Handbook for Success as a Leader by Roger Fulton
As I was going about finding an idea for today, I came across this one that I loved: it’s what leaders do when faced with limitations. Normally, I intertwine my thoughts and takeaways with the idea from the book. Yet, on this occasion, the idea is so brief, so concise and so perfectly written, that I’m taking the liberty of sharing it in its entirety here. Since we are all leaders, whether formal or informal, paid or voluntary, of large corporations or of our households… I think the thoughts apply beautifully to all. Enjoy!
“Leaders understand their own limitations, but they are not necessarily limited by them.
As an example, budgets can limit available resources, but a true leader will find a way to get the job done with the resources available. Staffing three shifts can’t be done with only two people, but a true leader will make the most efficient use of those two people to cover the shifts.
Time is always a limitation. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Yet a true leader will make the most efficient use of time available. Luckily there are some things that know no limits:
Dreams.
Human ingenuity.
Love.
Even though you may not be able to conquer the whole world, you can comfortably conquer a small part of it, even taking into account many of your limitations.”
ACTION
TODAY: Think of some limitations or constraints that you are facing in business or life, and put them to work for you. What are some creative ways in which you can deal with them? How can you make the most out of them? Fortunately there’s no limit to human ingenuity: set some time to brainwrite, and remember that there’s no such thing as a shortage of ideas.
FUTURE: Let’s turn limitations upside down and use them to our advantage. Try imposing a few limitations on yourself or your work to see if you become more efficient and effective. For instance, try to answer most emails in less than 3 minutes (the email game). Or try to finish a particular project or chore in 25 minutes. Need more time? Add another chunk of 25 minutes as opposed to giving it all your morning. How about cutting down meeting time from the calendar’s default of 1 hour to 30 minutes instead, and do it standing up to further keep it short? Cut your daily cooking time in half and devote the other half to playing a game with your family or to start working on a personal project. You can be as adventurous or as traditional as you can with this. Create some limitations and put them to the test, see if they work for you and if you become more efficient as a result of them. Then you can decide whether to keep them or not, or tweak and keep testing until you find the ones that work really well for you.
Know someone who would benefit from reading this post? Please share it via email, Facebook or Twitter, thanks!
by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Goals, Growth, Habits, Leadership, Mindset, Planning, Time, Tools
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 51 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: The truth about multitasking
— From The ONE Thing: The surprisingly simple truth behind extraordinary results by Gary Keller with Jay Papasan (watch the book trailer)
Much has ben said about multitasking, both for and against it. In The One Thing, Gary Keller and Jay Papasan finally bust the myth: multitasking is a lie.
The book cites Clifford Nass, a professor a Stanford University, who set out to study multitaskers as he realized he did not possess the skill. “I was sure they had some secret ability,” he said, but at the end of the study, multitaskers “were outperformed on every measure. Although they’d convinced themselves and the world that they were great at it, there was just one problem… multitaskers were just lousy at everything.”
“The truth is multitasking is neither efficient nor effective.”
There is no doubt that we can indeed “do two or more things at once, such as walk and talk, or chew gum and read a map; but… what we can’t do is focus on two things at once. Our attention bounces back and forth [‘task switching’]… Switching between two simple tasks—like watching television and folding clothes—is quick and relatively painless. However, if you’re working on a spreadsheet and a co-worker pops into your office to discuss a business problem, the relative complexity of those tasks makes it impossible to easily jump back and forth. It always takes some time to start a new task and restart the one you quit… [and] the cost in terms of extra time from having to task switch depends on how complex or simple the tasks are.”
So, let’s set the record straight: we can do two things at once, but we cannot focus effectively on two things at once. Need more proof? Here’s a fun little game (you’ll need a stopwatch):
Say the alphabet out loud and time how long it takes you: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, etc.…
Now count to 26 out loud and time how long it takes you: 1, 2, 3,4, 5, 6, 7, etc…
I assume you had no problem doing both tasks, and that those are two things that you can do masterfully well, right?
Now intertwine them out loud and time how long it takes you: A, 1, B, 2, C, 3, etc…
What happened? Did you slow down at some point to figure out which letter corresponded with a number? Yep, that’s normal. Did you eventually give up before you finished because it was harder than you expected? Most people do. If you did go through the whole thing, I bet it took you much longer to do this letter-number combination than to say the alphabet followed by counting to 26 the first time.
This is exactly what happens when we are trying to switch from task to task, “[it] exacts a cost few realize [we’re] even paying.”
The book mentions that people who work with computers change windows, check email or switch programs close to 37 times per hour. This means less than 2 minutes devoted per task, and that is further reduced by the time that it takes to switch and (re)focus from one to the other. It’s no wonder we feel stretched to thin and squeezed for time when we are taking more time to get things done because of the lies we’ve been told about multitasking.
“Multitasking is merely the opportunity to screw up more than one thing at a time.” – Steve Uzzell
The authors then ask: if we wouldn’t allow a pilot or a surgeon to multitask, and instead demand full focus from them, “Why are we living another standard? Do we not value our own job or take it as seriously? Why would we ever tolerate multitasking when we’re doing our most important work? Just because our day job doesn’t involve bypass surgery shouldn’t make focus any less critical to our success or the success of others. Your work deserves no less respect.”
Eye opening, isn’t it?
ACTION
TODAY: Don’t feel bad if you get distracted, we all do. Simply bring your focus back to the task at hand and focus solely on that until you get it done, or until which point you are done with what you needed to do (say, now you have to wait for a coworker to give you his part of the slide deck). Repeat with your other tasks.
FUTURE: Build the habit of focusing and not switching from task to task. Remember the alphabet-number game: combining tasks or switching from one to another takes additional time that you may not realize. Here are 11 Exercises That Will Strengthen Your Attention.
Know someone who needs to stop multitasking? Tell them to focus on this post by sharing it via email, Facebook or Twitter, thanks!
by Helena Escalante | Celebration, Collaboration, Creativity, Leadership, Mindset, Opportunity
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 38 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Make it a Honey Day
— From The Art of People: 11 Simple People Skills That Will Get You Everything You Want by Dave Kerpen
Happy Easter! Happy Passover! Hope it’s a joy-filled holiday with your family if you celebrate it.
Growing up, I remember loving Easter because my mom made it very special: when we were little she decided that the Easter Bunny would bring us presents, above and beyond the traditional Easter eggs. So, in the Escalante household, besides Santa Claus coming in December and the Three Kings bringing presents in early January (yes, we Mexican kids have it so good in the holiday presents department!), the Easter Bunny would show up a few months later bearing gifts. One of my favorites was a fluffy, stuffed rabbit toy I called Ynnub (bunny spelled backwards… lots of neurons went into crafting that name…). To this day, decades later, the Easter Bunny continues to bring gifts and now includes my husband and our dog. (I love you so much, Mom, thank you! I know you’re laughing out loud reading this.)
I share this because it’s a perfect example of the topic that I want to talk about today: lovely, made up celebrations that delight and create beautiful memories. How can we make it special for our loved ones, our coworkers, our clients, etc? What kind of holiday or special gift can we come up with to recognize or celebrate an accomplishment, something special, or just because?
One of the best ones that I have come across was “Honey Day” as described in Dave Kerpen’s book The Art of People. Dave is the Chairman and Co-Founder of Likeable, a digital agency (with a great story behind it). He found himself at the office one day thinking it was another regular day… until Brian Murray, the Director of talent and recruitment announced: “Today is Honey Day. The entire day will be dedicated to appreciating the amazing work that Honey does for us.” Out came the balloons and ribbons and even a cake in Honey’s honor: surprise! Honey Comer-Cantrell is the VP of Client Services at Likeable today, yet back then, in Dave’s words, “From the little I know, Honey is a terrific employee. But she wasn’t a manager and hadn’t accomplished anything remarkable. That was the whole point… Just by recognizing someone who worked hard and represented the Likeable core values well, Brian sent a message not only to Honey but to the rest of the team and to would-be team members that this was a group that celebrated hard work and loved to surprise and delight. [… And while no one can] afford to surprise and delight everyone all the time, by surprising and delighting some people at random and unexpected times, you get everyone thinking that she could be the recipient of that special something… the next time.” (Meet Dave, Brian and Honey here.)
When was the last time you had a holiday created just for you? When was the last time you did something to make someone feel i-n-c-r-e-d-i-b-l-y special? Keep in mind that causing delight doesn’t have to cost any money. “It’s all about making people feel special and doing things a little differently to accomplish that.” Also, you don’t have to throw a big party or celebration, you can delight people on a daily basis in small ways too: a kind word, a nice email, a heartfelt compliment, a handwritten thank you note, a piece of candy, a magazine or newspaper clipping (or link via email) of something you saw that reminded you of them… any thoughtful gesture… they all go a long way to brighten up someone’s day.
ACTION
TODAY: Put your creativity hat on and make a list of the various ways—big and small—in which you can delight your family, clients, coworkers, etc.
FUTURE: From the list that you made, select the first way in which you will delight someone. Plan it and make it happen. Depending on what that is, you can schedule a few of these actions in your calendar to make them happen throughout the year. You can choose recurring dates, or at random—such as Honey Day—or you can even go as far as to create a unique tradition—such as the Easter Bunny presents. Enjoy!!
Happy delighting, and cheers to you for creating beautiful, indelible memories!
Know someone who’d be delighted to read this? Please share via email, Facebook or Twitter, thanks!
by Helena Escalante | Collaboration, Creativity, Leadership, Mindset, Opportunity, Planning, Resources, Tools
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes.
TODAY’S IDEA: Win-Win or No Deal
— From The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success by Brian Tracy
Following along the same path as yesterday’s post on Thinking “both,” I wanted to focus on its application in business by looking at Bryan Tracy’s Law of Win-Win or No Deal from his book The 100 Absolutely Unbreakable Laws of Business Success. This law states that:
“In a successful negotiation, both parties should be fully satisfied with the result and feel that they have each ‘won’ or no deal should be made at all.”
Tracy says, “Remember, you always reap what you sow. Any settlement or agreement that leaves one party dissatisfied will come back to hurt you later, sometimes in ways that you cannot predict.” And he goes on to tell a story of a tough negotiator who was boasting “about a hard deal he had wrung out of a [distributor] of his company’s products. He had demanded and threatened and negotiated an agreement that paid him considerably more, both in up-front payments and in percentages of sales, than any of the other clients for which this company distributed.”
The author happened to know the people on the other side of the negotiation well, so he asked them to tell the story from their angle. They confirmed the discomfort and toughness of the negotiation and said “they had agreed to pay higher prices and royalties on everything they sold, but they had not agreed to sell any.”
The deal backfired: “the businessman had negotiated a ‘win-lose’ with him winning and the others losing. But those on the losing side had no incentive to fulfill the implied commitment to market the products. They had no incentive to go forward with this person, and no reason to ever want to do business with him again.”
In a zero-sum game, someone always loses. In business it does not have to be that way: aim always for a win-win or no deal. Be clear in your intentions that what you want is the best for both parties. Now, “this doesn’t mean that you [or the other party] have to accept any arrangement that you consider second best.” On the contrary, “when you are determined to achieve a win-win solution to a negotiation, and you are open, receptive, and flexible in your discussions, you will often discover a third alternative that neither party had considered initially but that is superior to what either of you might have thought of on your own.”
ACTION
TODAY: If you are negotiating something today—even if its’ the smallest thing—that’s great! Think win-win, communicate it to the other party, and find out what it is that each of you wants/needs from the deal to consider it successful. Work together to make it happen. If you don’t have any negotiations on your plate now, think about one in the past where you experienced a win-lose (no matter which side you were on). The good thing about hindsight is that it’s always 20/20 and, with that view, you can reconstruct the deal (at least in your mind) to make it a win-win. Learn from it: what would you have changed for the better? How would you have structured the deal differently? Think creatively.
FUTURE: Think win-win from now on professionally and personally. Commit to doing deals where the Law of Win-Win or No Deal applies. Actively seek to find ways to achieve what each party needs and wants out of the situation in a satisfactory way and without feeling that you have to settle for less.
Know someone who could benefit from reading today’s post? Please share it via email, Facebook or Twitter!
by Helena Escalante | Collaboration, Creativity, Goals, Growth, Habits, Leadership, Mindset, Tools
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 1 second.
TODAY’S IDEA: Think “both”
— From: Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth by T. Harv Eker (read a sample)
Why does it seem that some people live in a world of abundance and plenty and some others live in a world of scarcity and limitations? While we all live in this physical world, the difference, according to T. Harv Eker, is perspective. He says, “although you may not be able to have ‘everything’ as in all the things in the world, I do think that you can certainly have ‘everything you really want’.”
“Do you want a successful career or a close relationship with your family? Both!
Do you want to focus on business or have fun and play? Both!
Do you want money or meaning in your life? Both!
Do you want to earn a fortune or do the work you love? Both!”
People with a scarcity mindset feel as if they must choose one because they can’t have both. However, people with an abundance mindset think both, and understand that “with a little creativity you can almost always figure out a way to have the best of both worlds.”
And the beauty of both is that it not only applies to the things you want, but also to all areas of life. It’s a win-win for all involved. For example, when you are discussing outcomes with a client or coworker, think in terms of both of you getting what you want, as opposed to a zero sum game. Or, when you are negotiating the sale of your home, think of you as the seller, the buyer, and the real estate agents involved (if any) getting what each one wants. It is indeed possible.
For those that are still skeptical, Eker asks, “what is more important, your arm or your leg? Could it be that both are important?” Let’s go back to perspective: yes, both are important because each—in its own way—plays an important role. Why chose either/or when you can find a way to have both? It may not always be easy, and it may take a while before you get to have both, but keeping your goal in mind will help you get there.
Another very important area to which both applies is money and happiness. They are NOT mutually exclusive. “People who are rich in every sense of the word understand that you have to have both. Just as you have to have both of your arms and your legs, you have to have money and happiness.”
“From now on, when confronted with an either/or alternative, the quintessential question to ask yourself is ‘How can I have both?’ This question will change your life… it will take you to a universe of possibilities and abundance.”
ACTION
TODAY: Think of a way to get both from a project you have to get done or from a situation that you are going through. What can you do? How can you plan for it? Who is involved and who can help you?
TOMORROW: Make a point of thinking both from now on. Be creative and think of ways in which you and all involved in your projects can have what each of you wants/needs. A simple but effective technique is to take a piece of paper and draw 2 vertical lines to have 3 columns. On the left column, write what you want/need. On the right column write the second thing you want/need or what someone else wants/needs. In the middle column write the path that will enable you to get both. Remember that there is no shortage of ideas.
Know someone who could benefit from both reading this and using both in his/her life? Please share this post via email, Facebook or Twitter!
