by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Creativity, Goals, Leadership, Mindset, Opportunity, Planning, Time, Tools
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 11 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Make time your friend
— From The Art of People: 11 Simple People Skills That Will Get You Everything You Want by Dave Kerpen
“I wish you had more time for me” is what author and social media guru, Dave Kerpen, kept hearing from people important to him, both at work and at home. Kerpen gets requests every week by dozens of people who want his help or to work with him. Since he is so likeable and responsive, he replies to each person who asks for his help. (I know this first hand, because he responded to my request to interview him about his book, The Art of People, when it came out. You can watch the interview here.)
“If you’re at all like me,” Kerpen says, “you try to be nice—or helpful—and take every call, reply to every email, or even agree to every meeting. Yet he had a powerful realization when he attended a conference hosted by Verne Harnish (entrepreneur extraordinaire and author of Mastering the Rockefeller Habits and Scaling Up). Harnish said, “You can understand your professional strategy with one quick look at your weekly calendar.”
Kerpen took a look at his calendar on his phone and realized “it was filled up with meetings and phone calls with people [he] didn’t know who probably would make no difference to [his] business or [his] life.” At that point he had to set his priorities straight: first was his family, and second his employees, investors and customers.
The natural question that ensued for Kerpen was, “Why was [he] sacrificing time with [the people who were his priority] to take all those meetings with strangers?”
So he decided to set aside a two-hour slot every week that he calls office hours. During two hours every Thursday, Kerpen talks with the people who have reached out to him for help, by scheduling 15-minute conversations. Kerpen explains, “I still reply to and try to help each and every person who comes my way. But once the time slots are full, they are full, and people have to sign up for the following week’s office hours, or the next week’s hours, and so on.” This has made it easier on him to say no or to refer the person to the next available slot during his office hours.
In reflecting about his system, Kerpen advises, “You don’t have to create an office hours system and meet with everyone who wants your time, of course. But you do need to figure out a way to prioritize your time, the most precious asset you’ve got, carefully.”
Whether it’s plainly saying no or limiting the time you give others, the reality is that we all need a system that works for us. So take a look at your calendar and determine whether you need to make changes as Kerpen so aptly did.
ACTION
TODAY: Take a look at your calendar over the last month. What do you see? How are you prioritizing your time and with whom? Make a list of all the people with whom you’ve spent time and determine whether they fall into your priorities or not.
FUTURE: Develop a system that works for you, your priorities and your goals. Put it to the test for the next month. Explain to the people in your priorities what you are doing, so that they can give you feedback at the end of that month. After the 30 days are up, check in with yourself and with the people with whom you want to spend more time whether it’s working. Compare your calendar to the past month’s and see the difference. Adjust accordingly and test again, and keep going until you’ve built a system that works well for you.
How about sharing this post with someone in your priority list so that they can make you a priority too? You can share via email, Facebook or Twitter, thanks!
by Helena Escalante | Goals, Growth, Habits, Mindset, Opportunity, Tools
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 3 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Leap and leap again
— From The Icarus Deception: How High Will You Fly? by Seth Godin
Happy summer solstice!
In the wonderful book The Icarus Deception, Seth Godin recalls his summer camp adventures when he was a boy. He says, “I spent summers confronting what it meant to do what you wanted to do. That was a loaded obligation, because it meant you had to commit and then execute, without being able to blame the predicament of your choice on anyone else.”
The highlight of the lake, as Godin recalls, was the 24-foot-high diving board. “The deal was simple: If you climbed up, you had to jump off. It was too tricky (physically and emotionally) to climb down. Day after day, new initiates to the cult of the big leap would bravely climb up the tower. Then they’d get to the top and stop. They’d freeze in place, unable to move. Sometimes for hours. One kid once sat there for fourteen hours.”
So, what happened?
Godin then goes on to analyze what happened “between the time a kid started climbing the ladder and the internal system failure that occurred at the top of the board.” There was no new information presented. Why was then the child thrilled and excited at the bottom and frozen at the top?
“What changed was the volume of the argument in the leaper’s head.” At the bottom, part of the brain insists on going up because it will be “fun/brave/heroic/daring/wonderful, the adventure-seeking frontal lobe [of the brain] says.” Once you reach the top, the lizard brain kicks in and the internal dialogue changes completely. “Now the other part of the brain, the one that’s often more powerful, speaks up and insists (demands) that this nonsense stop. It’s high. This is dangerous. This is insane.”
So, what happens?
What happens next is an analogy for a lot of the things we do in life. “Amazingly, after the first jump, the deflowered leapers always do the same thing. They get out of the water, run to the steps, climb right back up, and do it again. Safety zone adjusted, comfort zone aligned. For now. And the opportunity is to make it a habit.”
We’ve all been through something like this: scared to death, we take the proverbial (or literal) leap, and when we do it, we want to leap again, and again.
What are you dreading to do now that you’d love to do again (or at least not be afraid to do) after you leap?
“Do one thing every day that scares you.” – Mary Schmich
ACTION
TODAY: Think of one thing that you’ve been postponing to do because you are afraid of it (could be something as simple as a conversation or as complex as a life changing event). What is the dialogue going on in your head? Is there something other than your fear preventing you from doing it? Put a deadline on your fear and decide to leap.
FUTURE: If, after doing something scary, as Godin says, our safety zone is adjusted and our comfort zone realigned, what would happen if we could envision that adjustment and realignment happening even before we leap? That would certainly make thing easier, wouldn’t it? How can we accelerate that mental process, or at least imagine it, before we leap so that when we do, we are fully convinced (or, at a minimum, not as scared that it takes us 14 hours to leap)? Think about this when you are dreading the next scary thing you need/want to do. It won’t be that scary on the other side. Leap.
Please take a leap and share this blog with someone who also needs to leap! You can share this post via email, Facebook or Twitter, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Collaboration, Goals, Leadership, Mindset, Opportunity, Planning, Productivity, Tools
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 19 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Communication Overhead
— From The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business by Josh Kaufman
Business guru, Josh Kaufman, recalls working at Procter & Gamble on a project that needed the input and approval of dozens of people. He spent three months trying to put together a workable proposal due to juggling different ideas, arguments over different approaches, and people wanting credit without doing much work. And in those three months nothing else got done! Almost all of his time was spent on communicating with other members of the group.
“Communication overhead is the proportion of time you spend communicating with members of your team instead of getting productive work done.”
Kaufman says, “There’s a reason high-performing surgical teams, military units, and sports teams tend to be small and focused: too much time spent in communication and coordination can kill a team’s effectiveness.”
The larger your team, the more you have to communicate with each of its members to coordinate action. “As the number of people you work with increases, Communication Overhead increases geometrically until the total percentage of time each individual must devote to group communication approaches 100%. After a certain threshold, each additional team member diminishes the capacity of the group to do anything other than communicate.”
What’s the solution?
Work with the smallest possible team: “Studies of effective teamwork usually recommend working in groups of three to eight people,” says Kaufman. “You’ll be leaving people out, but that’s the point—including them is causing more work than it’s creating in benefits. Removing unnecessary people from the team will save everyone’s time and produce better results.”
Finally, Kaufman shares Derek Sheane’s “8 Symptoms of Bureaucratic Breakdown” which appear in his book Beyond Bureaucracy. They are indicative of teams suffering from Communication Overhead:
1. The Invisible Decision. No one knows how or where decisions are made, and there is no transparency in the decision-making process.
2. Unfinished Business. Too many tasks are started but very few carried through to the end.
3. Co-ordination Paralysis-Nothing can be done without checking with a host of interconnected units.
4. Nothing New. There are no radical ideas, inventions or lateral thinking-a general lack of initiative.
5. Pseudo-Problems. Minor issues become magnified out of all proportion.
6. Embattled Center. The center battles for consistency and control against local/regional units.
7. Negative Deadlines. The deadlines for work become more important than the quality of the work being done.
8. Input Domination. Individuals react to inputs—i.e. whatever gets put in their in-tray—as opposed to using their own initiative.
ACTION
TODAY: Do you work with a team? How big is it? Take a moment to think how can you break it up into smaller units/teams to be more efficient.
FUTURE: As you embark on new projects that require teamwork, think of ways in which you can make the teams as lean as possible.
Be a good teammate and please share this post via email, Facebook or Twitter, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Collaboration, Creativity, Goals, Growth, Habits, Leadership, Mindset, Opportunity, Planning, Tools
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 59 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: What are you giving up to go up?
— From Thinking for a Change: 11 Ways Highly Successful People Approach Life and Work by John C. Maxwell
Leadership guru John C. Maxwell reminisces about his father who used to say, “Find the one thing you do well and don’t do anything else.” Following that guidance has taken Maxwell to the realization that, to do a few things well, he has had to give up many others.
“No one can go to the highest level and remain a generalist,” says Maxwell. And this is so true, especially nowadays, where we are pulled in a myriad directions, spread too thin, multitasking and living with FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out), and expected to know and give an educated opinion on everything from the Syrian refugee crisis, to the new coach of the Real Madrid soccer team, to the latest environmental policy in California.
And while “giving up” sounds like a heavy sacrifice that we must reluctantly make, the truth is that it is not when we reframe it and simply see it as a choice. We already make choices, willingly and happily, anything from Mexican vs. Chinese food to vacationing in one place vs. another.
The same should apply here. Make willing choices and you’ll be able to focus on the one or few things that you do best and that will take you to the top (whatever the definition of top is for you).
Here are some of those choices Maxwell has made. They make a lot of sense and I think they aptly apply to us all.
You can’t know everyone.
Maxwell is outgoing and loves people, so it’s hard for him not to spend time with lots of people. Yet even if you are an introvert, you may be pulled in the direction of getting to know people in your field and attend events. To deal with this, Maxwell has done two things: “First, [he’s] chosen a strong inner circle of people. They not only provide professional help, but they also make life’s journey much more pleasant. Second, [he asks] certain friends to catch [him] up on what’s happening on the lives of other friends.”
You can’t do everything.
“There are only a few exceptional opportunities in any person’s lifetime. That’s why [Maxwell strives] for excellence in a few things rather than a good performance in many.” For instance, he’s an avid reader, yet he doesn’t read novels or any kind of fiction, instead, he’s chosen to dedicate his reading time to nonfiction as those books are the ones that propel the personal and professional growth he desires.
Maxwell also outsources everything he’s not good at, specifically, technical matters, mechanic or electronic. He can’t do it and does not have the knowledge, so he let’s someone who does have it do the job. Easier and faster.
He also works with his team on what he calls the 10-80-10 principle. Even though there are projects that Maxwell would love to do, he delegates them and only becomes involved as follows: he helps “with the first 10 percent by casting vision, laying down parameters, providing resources and giving encouragement.” Then his team work on the middle 80% and he comes in at the end again to “help them take whatever it is the rest of the way” (if he can). He considers this last effort putting the cherry on top.
You can’t go everywhere.
The traveling demands of a conference speaker and author are high, so Maxwell has chosen not to travel as much as he did before.
You can’t be well-rounded.
Being truly focused impedes being ‘”well-rounded.” Maxwell tells people: “ Ninety-nine percent of everything in life I don’t need to know about.” He focuses on the one percent that gives him the highest return. Of the other 99%, his wife and team keep him aware whenever he needs to know, and that’s how he balances his life.
This reminds me of lifestyle design guru, Tim Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Workweek who doesn’t read or listen to the news. He says: “Most information is time-consuming, negative, irrelevant to your goals, and outside of your influence. I challenge you to look at whatever you read or watched today and tell me that it wasn’t at least two of the four.” Ferriss is another one who has made some choices to be a pioneer in his field.
So, what choices are you making to get to where you want to go?
ACTION
TODAY: Determine what choices you will make today that will take you in the direction of your goals.
FUTURE: Take some time to think about your life and the choices you’ve made so far. What other choices can you make to be focused on reaching your goals?
Know someone who needs to give up a few things to go up? Please share this post via email, Facebook or Twitter, thank you!
by Helena Escalante | Creativity, Growth, Mindset, Opportunity, Planning, Time
Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 18 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Creativity is subtraction
— From: Steal Like An Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon
In yesterday’s post we were talking about setting limits and constraints. Today we will continue along those lines, yet we will focus on creative work according to Austin Kleon’s concepts in his book Steal Like An Artist.
But first, let’s remember that we’re using the term creative in a broad sense, as described by Todd Henry (in this post) who says, “if you’re responsible for solving problems, developing strategies, or otherwise straining your brain for new ideas, I’m going to call you a creative.”
Under that light, we are all creatives and, as such, we may sometimes experience a creative block. “The way to get over a creative block,” Kleon says, “is to simply place some constraints on yourself. It seems contradictory, but when it comes to creative work, limitations mean freedom. […] Nothing is more paralyzing than the idea of limitless possibilities.”
Kleon points out that one way of doing this is simply choosing what to leave out and getting started. “Don’t make excuses for not working—make things with the time, space, and materials you have, right now.” You can start a business without capital, for example. “Shoot a movie with your iPhone and a few of your friends. Build a machine out of spare parts.”
This reminds me of the famous quote by Arthur Ashe: “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”
Kleon mentions that the right constraints can lead to your best work, and shares his favorite example: “Dr. Seuss wrote The Cat in the Hat with only 236 different words, so his editor bet him he couldn’t write a book with only 50 different words. Dr. Seuss came back and won the bet with Green Eggs and Ham, one of the bestselling children’s books of all time.”
“In the end,” Kleon sums up, “Creativity is subtraction. [… It] isn’t just the things we choose to put in, it’s the things we choose to leave out.” So, he advises, “Choose wisely. And have fun.”
ACTION
TODAY: Think about the limitations that you can set for a creative project in which you’re involved now. What will you choose to leave out?
FUTURE: As you come across new projects or ideas, think of the limits you can set by leaving things out. Sometimes the selection of what to leave out is as easy as the recognition of what is missing or what we are lacking: money, a cofounder, a team, a finished product, etc. When you get started, these constraints will point you in the direction of becoming leaner and more agile, and your mind will come up with very creative ideas to make things work.
Know someone who needs to subtract things from his/her creative endeavors? Please share this post via email, Facebook or Twitter!
by Helena Escalante | Accountability, Goals, Growth, Mindset, Opportunity, Planning, Tools
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 3 seconds.
TODAY’S IDEA: Resign your job every year
— From Born For This: How to Find the Work You Were Meant to Do by Chris Guillebeau (Here’s a book review I wrote and here’s my interview with Chris at the New York Public Library.)
In Born For This, Chris Guillebeau shares a very interesting exercise to make sure that we can choose and follow our desired path with confidence. Here it is, verbatim:
When you’re stuck in a rut or simply not sure if your current job is the best choice, here’s an idea: once a year, on the date of your choosing, decide for yourself that it’s time to quit. You can do this literally or theoretically. Every year, commit to yourself that you’ll choose to break out of prison and do something different unless staying the course is truly the best way forward.
You can also do this is you’re going to school. Every year, decide to drop out unless continuing the program is the best option. As much as possible, ignore sunk costs. If you’ve been doing a six-year Ph.D. program and have two years invested before you realize it’s making you miserable, does it matter? Not really. Consider the next four years of your life, not the previous investment that brought you this far.
Whether quitting your job, your school program, or something else, here’s a draft statement you can use to make your commitment:
Every year on [date], I will resign from my job. I’ll evaluate if it’s the best possible option for me to continue with another year. If it is, I can proceed with confidence and give it my all. If not, I’ll immediately start looking for something better.
If you end up sticking with your current job because you love it, great! If not, it’s time to get out of Alcatraz. Either way, now you’ve made a conscious decision and can proceed with confidence.
What I love about this approach is that it reminds us that there are always options. Further, it enables us to determine whether the path we are on is indeed the one we want to continue on. If it is, then that’s fantastic, and by virtue of deciding that we want to continue with what we are doing, we have renewed energy, enthusiasm and commitment.
If we determine that it is not the path in which we want to continue, that is equally valuable, because that will help us look for alternatives.
And the idea doesn’t just apply to business or school, I’d take it one step further and apply it to all our activities: Do we still want to continue involved in that non-profit or is it time for a change? Do we still want to continue taking yoga and pilates or is it time to change to swimming, crossfit or ballet? Is it time to take photography classess instead of oil painting?
By analyzing our involvement in our activities we will be able to figure out what is best for us now, apply selective quitting, and thus move forward confidently having made a conscious decision.
ACTION
TODAY: Determine the date when you are going to figuratively “quit.” Then make some time in your calendar to think about the pros and cons. Make a conscious choice about moving forward in your current path or in a different one and determine next steps.
FUTURE: Make time in your calendar to analyze whether you want to continue with the activities in which you are currently involved. Make a list of pros and cons and make a decision. Once that decision is made you’ll be able to move forward with ease.
Know someone who needs to resign his/her job or activities once a year? Please share this post with them via email, Facebook or Twitter, thanks!
