“The only purpose of starting is to finish,” writes Seth Godin in his remarkable book Linchpin. Finishing or shipping, as Godin calls it, “means hitting the publish button on your blog, showing a presentation to the sales team, answering the phone, selling the muffins, sending out your references. Shipping is the collision between your work and the outside world.”
But one of the things that makes shipping so difficult is thrashing. Thrashing is “the apparently productive brainstorming and tweaking we do for a project as it develops… sometimes thrashing is merely a tweak; other times it involves major surgery.”
Thrashing is essential; however, it’s the timing of the thrashing that can make or break a project. In the video below, Godin insists on thrashing early because that is when it’s easy and cheap. He is right. Professionals thrash early and then they get to work so as to ship with top quality and pride, respecting deadlines and other people’s time, and doing so within budget. It’s not a dream, it can be done.
The problem comes when people behave in an amateur way and do all the thrashing near the end. Godin continues, “the closer we get to shipping, the more people get involved, the more meetings we have, the more likely that CEO wants to be involved. And why not? What’s the point of getting involved early when you can’t see what’s already done and your work will probably be redone anyway? The point of getting everyone involved early is simple: thrash late and you won’t ship. Thrash late and you introduce bugs. Professional creators thrash early. The closer the project gets to completion, the fewer people see it and the fewer changes are permitted.”
Thrashing allowed at the end leads to missed deadlines, much stress, unnecessary changes, late nights, much heartache, frustration and resentment. Coordinating all the thrashing from teams of people that increasingly get larger as the deadline approaches is very difficult. “Projects stall as they trash. Nine women can’t have a baby in one month, no matter how closely they coordinate their work.”
So, what to do? Godin offers two solutions. Both will make people uncomfortable, yet they are the only way in which projects will be shipped on time and without the unnecessary heartache that too-many-cooks-in-the-kitchen brings. Here they are:
1. “Relentlessly limit the number of people allowed to thrash. That means you need formal procedures for excluding people, even well-meaning people with authority. And you need secrecy. If you have a choice between being surprised (and watching a great project ship on time) or being involved (and participating in the late launch of a mediocre project), which do you want? You must pick one or the other.”
2. “Appoint one person to run it. Not to co-run it or to lead at task force or to be on the committee. One person, a human being, runs it. [His or] her name on it. [His or] her decisions.”
In the video, Godin tells the story of how his boss loved to show up the day before with “just a little suggestion” that led to a domino effect of changes resulting in missed deadlines. Godin’s solution was to adopt a disciplined approach: thrash at the beginning and allow people to share their input and ideas early on. Then, have the thrashers sign a form stating that they have given their input and that they will not provide further input or changes after a certain deadline. This allows the people who are working on the project the necessary time for completion and shipping.
ACTION
TODAY: Think of ways in which you can apply early thrashing to your projects. How can you also instill the discipline in your team of thrashing early and shipping on time?
FUTURE: As you encounter the start of new projects, think of the optimal time and way in which thrashing should take place. Should it be a meeting? Should it be one-on-one? Should it be via a form? Think also of the time when thrashing should come to an end. Don’t veer away from the discipline of thrashing early and having a cut off point. Then take the best ideas, incorporate them into the project and get to work so that you can ship the best possible project on time and on budget.
Know someone who needs to stop thrashing at the end of a project? Please share this post with that person via email, Facebook or Twitter, thank you!
I recently spent some time with my niece and her best friend—two adorable and giggly teenagers. I loved their energy and their outlook on life, and one of the things I enjoyed the most was their recalling “the worst day at school” with such terrible problems as a dull pencil at a math test and not being able to open a window to get fresh air from outside. How I wish I could put them in a bubble and keep their innocence and the scope of their problems that way forever!
They will go through periods of life when they can’t seem to find their purpose. We all do, no matter our age, outlook on life, or occupation. It’s part of being human, thus the quote:
“The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.” — Attributed to Mark Twain
Because of this, I wanted to share brief but powerful idea that I recently came across in Tama Kieves’ book A Year Without Fear: 365 Days of Magnificence. Whether you are trying to find your purpose or know someone who is, I hope you will find it as insightful and inspiring as I do:
“If you can’t find your ‘purpose,’ find a way to love yourself more. Find a way to forgive yourself. Praise your very existence. Praise your house filled with clutter, good intentions, and papers you save, while, really, let’s be honest here, not having a clue as to what’s on them. Become the referee that rules in your favor. Your right life will come from the right relationship with yourself.”
Do you have the right relationship with yourself?
ACTION
TODAY: Take a moment to think about the most important relationship: with yourself. Where are you fully satisfied and want to continue building upon that great foundation you’ve laid? What are there areas that you want to improve upon? Pick one of the latter and take one action today—no matter how small—that will shift you into the direction you want to go.
FUTURE: As you examine every one of your goals periodically, make a point of examining the relationship with yourself in order to fulfill those goals. Where are you happy and satisfied? Where do you need to improve? Make the actions you need to take part of the path towards your goals.
Do you know someone who is trying to find his or her purpose? Please share this post via email, Facebook or Twitter, thank you!
I recently went through an experience where an airline performed a procedure a specific way one time, and then—under the same circumstances—performed a completely different procedure a second time.
As I pointed out the discrepancy in performance (because it was to the detriment of my time and money), the airline started pointing fingers at possible culprits of said discrepancy. It was very unfortunate: instead of fixing it, airline personnel were focused on making up excuses and blaming.
This reminded me of M.J. Ryan’s book Habit Changers, specifically the passage where she says, “When a crisis hits, fix it. Don’t waste time analyzing why or who. Then afterward solve for the pattern so that it doesn’t happen again.” Or put another way: “First correct, then prevent.”
ACTION
TODAY & FUTURE: Don’t blame or point fingers: focus on correcting first and preventing second. Learn what happened so that you can apply those valuable lessons towards the future.
Breakfast has been lauded as the most important meal of the day. I love my breakfast and have no plans to stop eating it. So does author Dan Pink, “As a devout breakfast eater, I endorse this principle.” However, in his book WHEN, he says, “As someone paid to muck around in scientific journals, I’ve grown skeptical.”
While there are indeed virtues to breakfast, leading British research in nutrition points to the myths and merits and concludes, “The current state of scientific evidence means that, unfortunately, the simple answer is: I don’t know.”
So, you’re off the hook: you can eat or skip breakfast, as you prefer. But how about lunch? According to Pink, “social scientists are discovering that it’s far more important to our performance than we realize.”
The “often-maligned and easily dismissed meal called lunch” has been even touted as “for wimps” on TV. But that is about to change right now. A 2016 study between people who ate at their desk (known as sad desk lunch) and those who didn’t, found that “the non-desk lunchers were better able to contend with workplace stress and showed less exhaustion and great vigor not just during the remainder of the day but also a full one year later.”
Your lunch break, if indeed a break, can provide “an important recovery setting to promote occupational health and well-being—particularly for employees in cognitively or emotionally demanding jobs.”
The key here is not just your lunch meal but also the break itself. Pink goes on, “the most powerful lunch breaks have two key ingredients—autonomy and detachment. Autonomy—exercising some control over what you do, how you do it, and whom you do it with—is critical for high performance, especially on complex tasks. […] Detachment—both psychological and physical—is also critical. Staying focused on work during lunch, or even using one’s phone for social media, can intensify fatigue, according to multiple studies, but shifting one’s focus away from the office has the opposite effect.”
With all this evidence, Pink concludes, “Lunch is the most important meal of the day.”
Happy lunching!
ACTION
TODAY: If you suffer from sad desk lunch (especially if you live in the US where this is prevalent), know that there is help out there. Take a moment to check out the Box Lunch Lifestyle philosophy. It’s a great concept for lunch and oh-so-simple: plan and make your meal (ahead of time); then every weekday take time to eat, and take time to do something that you’ve always wanted, in as little as 30 minutes. You won’t mess with your weekends in case you have kids or social activities. The result? You’ll love your meal, you’ll eat healthy, and you’ll finally find the time to do something you’ve always wanted. Parts of this blog have been written during lunch breaks applying the Box Lunch Lifestyle ideas. It works for me, so I truly hope it works for you too!
FUTURE: Find a way to take a walk or to escape from your desk at lunch as much as you can. Exercise the autonomy and detachment that Dan Pink talks about. Socialize. Do something that takes your mind away from your work. Enjoy your food. Your imagination is the limit, so come up with a list of things to do during your lunch now that you know that it’s the most important meal of the day!
Know someone who eats at his or her desk? Share this post with them via email, Facebook or Twitter, thank you!
We’ve all heard the adage it’s better to give than to receive. We bought into it and became givers—which is wonderful—but we also became very bad receivers. T. Harv Eker, personal development guru and author of Secrets of the Millionaire Mind says, “The whole idea is ludicrous. What’s better, hot or cold, big or small, left or right, in or out? Giving and receiving are two sides of the same coin. Whoever decided that it is better to give than to receive was simply bad at math. For every giver there must be a receiver, and for every receiver there must be a giver. […] Both have to be in perfect balance to work one to one, fifty-fifty. And since giving and receiving must always equal each other, they must also be equal in importance.”
Giving gives us a feeling of fulfillment like no other. We’re joyful and grateful to be able to give. But what about when we are trying to give and the other person refuses to receive? It feels terrible, doesn’t it? Now, think about those times when we are the ones that are not willing to receive.
How many times have we refused to receive something that someone wants to give us? Or taken a step further, how many times have we refused to receive something that we want to give ourselves? How many times have we said no to an opportunity and refused it because we feel we’re undeserving, not worthy, or because we have impostor syndrome? This may very well be at the subconscious level, but if you’ve ever done something to sabotage your success in big or small ways (I’m not proud to say that I’m a repeat offender in this department…) you know what I’m talking about.
Think about it for a moment. There’s a part of you that feels worthy of some things (eating, working, driving); and there’s another that doesn’t (when someone wants to give you a gift or an opportunity that is bigger than what you consider acceptable). You are living with this duality that you made up in your mind.
Eker says, “Recognize that whether you are worthy or not it’s all a made-up ‘story.’ Nothing has meaning except for the meaning we give it. […] If you say you’re worthy, you are. If you say you’re not worthy, you’re not. Either way you will live into your story. […] Only the most evolved creature on the planet, the human being, has the ability to limit itself like this. One of my own sayings is, ‘If a hundred-foot oak tree had the mind of the human, it would only grow to be ten feet tall!’ So here’s my suggestion: since it’s a lot easier to change your story than your worthiness, instead of worrying about changing your worthiness change your story. It’s a lot faster and cheaper. Simply make up a new and much more supportive story and live into that.”
How about if the new story you adopt is that of being happy and grateful to receive; willing to enjoy and make the most out of the gift; and share the joy of receiving so that others can learn to be better receivers too?
ACTION
TODAY: Give yourself a gift that in the past you wouldn’t even have considered. You can buy something if you want, but if you don’t, it doesn’t have to be a physical thing. It could be taking time from your busy schedule to walk in nature, or taking a long, contemplative bath, or giving yourself a free evening and not cleaning the kitchen tonight (hahahaha) and using that time to read your favorite book instead. You can take it up a notch and give yourself the opportunity to get to know someone: go to lunch with a colleague and don’t talk about work. Send an email to a person you admire. You’re only limited by your imagination, so make it a lovely-and-unheard-of gift from you to you. Enjoy it, no guilt, no afterthought, no remorse, just plain acceptance and gratitude. Try it!
FUTURE: Keep in mind that giving and receiving is 50-50. So, when someone wants to give you something (from a compliment to a large gift), be open to receive it and be grateful. Gifts aren’t earned otherwise they’d be called compensation. They come from the heart, and the giver always thinks that you are worthy of the gift, so it’s just you the one who needs to change your story to be a better a receiver. Change it and enjoy receiving!
Know someone who needs to learn to receive? Please share this post with that person via email, Facebook or Twitter!
When we think of the bottom line, the first thing that comes to mind is money. However, in Thinking for a Change, leadership guru John C. Maxwell says that if we solely focus on financial matters as the bottom line, we may miss something critical. He says, “Instead, think of the bottom line as the end, the take away, the desired result. Every activity [and organization] has its own unique bottom line. If you have a job, your work has a bottom line. If you serve in your church, your activity has a bottom line. So does your effort as a parent, or spouse, if you are one.”
Maxwell tells the story of Frances Hesselbein who headed the Girl Scouts of America for many years and turned it around into the successful organization that it is today. When she became CEO of the organization, it was in trouble because it lacked direction, and interest in it was dwindling from girls to participate as well as from adults to volunteer. She needed to focus on the bottom line. In her words, “We kept asking ourselves very simple questions. What is our business? Who is our customer? And what does the customer consider value? If you’re the Girl Scouts, IBM or AT&T, you have to manage for a mission.”
Asking these questions and her focus on a mission led Hesselbein to find the Girl Scouts bottom line: “We really are here for one reason: to help a girl reach her highest potential. More than any one thing, that made the difference. Because when you are clear about your mission, corporate goals and operating objectives flow from it.”
In this case, her bottom line was not measured in dollars but in changed lives.
If you are wondering how you can put bottom-line thinking to work for you, Maxwell shares the following five points to do this.
1. Identify the real bottom line.
“It can be as lofty as the big-picture vision, mission or purpose of an organization. Or it can be as focused as what you want to accomplish on a particular project.” Be very specific. “What are you really trying to achieve? When you strip away all the things that don’t really matter, what are you compelled to achieve? What must occur? What is acceptable? That is the real bottom line.”
2. Make the bottom line the point. Your bottom line will be your guide and goal for all you do, and everything else revolves around it. “Sometimes, for example, an idealistically stated mission and the real bottom line don’t jibe. Purpose and profits [seem to] compete [… but] profits serve purpose—they don’t compete with it.”
3. Create a strategic plan to achieve the bottom line. Organizations should identify and focus on the “core elements or functions that must operate properly to achieve the bottom line. […] The important thing is that when the bottom line of each activity is achieved, then THE bottom line is achieved.”
4. Align team members with the bottom line.
“Ideally all team members should know the big goal, as well as their individual role in achieving it. They need to know their personal bottom line and how that works to achieve the organization’s bottom line.” (A post to reinforce this point is Believe.)
5. Stick with one system, and monitor results continually. “Bottom-line thinking cannot be a one-time thing. It has to be built into the system of working and relating and achieving. You can’t just tune in to the desired result every now and then. Achieving with bottom-line thinking must be a way of life, or it will send conflicting messages.
ACTION
TODAY: Do you know the bottom line for the various aspects of your life? Take a moment today to pick one area you want to focus on and find out the bottom line.
FUTURE: Don’t lose sight of that clarity and the bottom line you just figured out. Everything you do should revolve around that bottom line. As you embark in any action or project, ask: is this in alignment and getting me closer to my bottom line? If the answer is yes, go for it! If it’s no, then course-correct and do something instead that gets you closer to your goal.
Happy bottom-lining!
Know someone who could benefit from figuring out his or her bottom line? Please share this post via email, Facebook or Twitter, thank you!
TODAY’S IDEA: Thrashing
