“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!
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!
The business world is peppered with quotes and slogans to never give up and never quit. When I wrote about Selective quitting from Chris Guillebeau’s book Born For This, the post highlighted how to quit projects or courses of action that were not in our best interest. In today’s idea, from Seth Godin’s The Dip, we’ll take a look at when to quit and when to stick.
Godin explains that “Most people will tell you that you that you need to persevere—to try harder, put in more hours, get more training, and work hard. ‘Don’t quit!’ they implore. But if all you need to do to succeed is not quit, then why do organizations less motivated than yours succeed? Why do individuals less talented than you win? It involves understanding the architecture of quitting, and, believe it or not, it means quitting a lot more than you do now.”
The author continues, “Strategic quitting is the secret of successful organizations [and individuals]. Reactive quitting and serial quitting are the bane of those that strive (and fail) to get what they want. And most people do just that. They quit when it’s painful and stick when they can’t be bothered to quit. […] Understanding the different types of situations that lead you to quit—or that should cause you to quit—is the first step toward getting what you want.”
Godin shares two curves that define virtually all situations that we face. Understanding them is the basis for success.
CURVE 1: THE CUL-DE-SAC
Cul-de-sac means dead end in French. We’ve all seen it and experienced it: “It’s a situation where you work and you work and you work and nothing much changes. It doesn’t get a lot better, it doesn’t get a lot worse. It just is.” And there’s not much to say about the cul-de-sac other than when you find yourself in it, you need to get out of it as fast as you can. “A dead end is keeping you from doing something else. The opportunity cost of investing your life in something that’s not going to get better is just too high.”
CURVE 2: THE DIP
Image courtesy of Seth Godin.
When you first start something there’s a fantastic rush of energy and excitement: you’re learning by leaps and bounds and making much progress. This growth and rapid learning keeps you going over the ensuing days or months. And then you fall into the Dip.
“The Dip is the long slog between starting and mastery… the long stretch between beginner’s luck and accomplishment… [but it’s] actually a shortcut, because it gets you where you want to go faster than any other path.” Those that stick through the Dip and make it to the other side come out victorious, because “almost everything in life worth doing is controlled by the Dip.”
The important thing to keep in mind is that “just because you know you’re in the Dip doesn’t mean you have to live happily with it. Dips don’t last quite as long when you whittle at them.”
The things or skills that we most value are scarce. Without the Dip, scarcity—and thus value—wouldn’t exist. “What’s hard is getting there… there’s a huge Dip along the way.” If it were easy, everyone would be there already. That’s why “the people who invest the time and the energy and the effort to power through the Dip… are the ones who become the best in the world.”
To sum up, Godin gives the following wise advice: “Stick with The Dips that are likely to pan out, and quit the Cul-de-Sacs to focus your resources. That’s it.”
Both Seth Godin and The Dip were mentioned recently in the Billions TV series on Showtime. Here’s the video clip. (Courtesy of Seth Godin. Note: strong/uncensored language). And I’m absolutely thrilled and very proud that, today, Seth Godin—whose mind and writings I’ve long admired, and who I have the honor and joy of calling a friend—is being inducted into the Marketing Hall of Fame.SUPERCONGRATS SETH!! For these and billions of other reasons, you are indeed on the other side of the Dip as the best in the world: well deserved and hats off!
ACTION
TODAY: Are there any cul-de-sacs among your current life or business projects that you need to quit? Are you experiencing any Dips? Take a moment to think about your future and the goals you want to achieve. And then determine the best course of action for you.
FUTURE: As you periodically examine your goals, quit the cul-de-sacs to free up energy and resources as well as to make valuable room for other endeavors. When you find yourself in a Dip, remember that you don’t have to like it or enjoy it, but you can certainly push through it to get to the other side, and once you’re there, the effort will have been worthwhile.
Know someone who is in a cul-de-sac and needs to quit? Or someone who is in a Dip and needs encouragement to keep at it? Share this post via email, Facebook or Twitter!
TODAY’S IDEA: 9 Lessons I learned from my mom about leadership and business
Happy Mother’s Day!
From a very young age, mothers teach us many of the most important lessons that we will need in life, and also in business. As we grow up, our mothers are our leaders, and we look up to them to learn and emulate. It’s only fitting that today we thank them for everything they’ve taught us and everything they’ve done for us. As a tribute to my mom, whom I love and adore, here are 9 of the myriad lessons she’s taught me and how I use them today for leadership and business.
1. “Always take a sweater,” and “always pack a bathing suit.”
No matter how well informed you are up front, always plan for the unforeseen, best- and worst-case scenarios.
2. “Always say please and thank you.”
Common courtesy goes a very long way anywhere you go.
3. “Don’t do good things that can be perceived as being bad.”
As a leader, the only things you have are your name and your reputation. Protect them. Don’t hang out with the wrong crowd, even if you’re just trying to be nice. When they do crazy stuff, it won’t matter if you didn’t do anything, you’ll be guilty by association.
4. “Take care of yourself, you only have one body.”
YOU are the most important thing you have. Take proper care of yourself: your health and your wellbeing are first and foremost, always.
5. “If your trip is going to be a whirlwind and you don’t know what the schedule will be like, go to the bathroom when you can, and eat when you can—even if it’s not the time for it. And don’t forget to take with you water and snacks.” In the face of uncertainty, make sure you are well, and your basic needs are taken care of. Then you can tackle everything else.
6. “Think twice before giving away your toys.”
Once you give something away (from a beloved toy to equity in your company) it’s going to be very hard to get it back, if ever. Think twice before you give anything away that is precious to you, but when you do, do it gladly and fully convinced that you made the best decision.
7. “If a decision backfires, don’t blame yourself. Know that you made it with all the information you had at the moment and with the best intention in mind.”
Take your time before you make an important decision to deeply ponder all aspects of it. Ask for expert points of view, and use whatever is helpful from those opinions in forming yours. Make sure the decision is ultimately yours, and make it fully convinced that the course of action you choose is the best one for your circumstances. This is the best way to be OK with yourself and to solve things if something goes wrong or backfires. Only when you are OK with yourself can you move forward with a clear conscience and a focused mind.
8. “You can always change your mind.”
You are not bound to anything and you can always change your mind to make your circumstances better. Part of that change may involve anything from small tweaks (returning an item to the store), to big, bold and sometimes uncomfortable challenges (such as changing jobs, lifestyles, partners, getting out of a contract, etc.). Don’t ever feel stuck: there are always options for the better if you just give yourself the opportunity to search and ask for them.
9. “I’ll always be here for you.”
It’s so important to have someone in your life that you can always rely on and who is 100% dependable and trustworthy. Be that person for your loved ones. Be that person for your friends. Be that person for your team. Be that person for your clients. You will find that, in return, they’ll do the same for you and strong bonds will emerge. Cherish and celebrate those bonds.
ACTION
TODAY & FUTURE: Celebrate your mom, yourself if you are a mother, and other mothers around you—it’s the world’s toughest job! Check out this great (and funny) video below, and please share it via email, Facebook or Twitter, thanks!
I can’t take naps. Well, technically I can, but they always last between 3 and 5 hours with at least an additional 20-30 minutes to shake the grogginess and be fully awake. That rules them out of my regular life and leaves them either in the luxury category when I’m on vacation, or in the rescue category when I’m so sleep deprived that a nap is a preferred alternative to the state of zombieness.
Dan Pink, author of WHEN, had a similar dislike for naps: “when I’ve awoken from these slumbers, I usually feel woozy, wobbly and befuddled—shrouded in a haze of grogginess and enveloped in a larger cloud of shame.”
However, after doing research for his excellent book about timing, Pink changed his mind and became nap devotee. “Naps, research shows, confer two key benefits: They improve cognitive performance and they boost mental and physical health. […] The returns from napping extend beyond [alertness and] vigilance. An afternoon nap extends the brain’s capacity to learn… boosts short-term [and] associative memory… and improves our overall health.” (Hmmmm, I may try this after all, but clearly following Pink’s formula below, not mine…)
Pink found out that the so-called power naps—the ones that produce these great results—last anywhere between 10 and 20 minutes, no more. Once you wake up, you are fully rested and ready to take on where you left off. If you sleep longer, then sleep inertia (grogginess) kicks in and you’ll spend time trying to awaken your mind as Pink used to do: “splashing water on [his] face, shaking his upper body like a soaked golden retriever and searching desk drawers for candy to get some sugar into [his] system.”
There’s a further powerful secret that Pink shares from his research, and you can use it to boost your mental alertness by the time you wake up: caffeine. Most likely in the form of coffee. But it’s not coffee ingested after waking up, instead, it’s taken before your nap.
Whaaaaat?!
Yes. You read that right. Let me introduce you to the napuccino: “the coffee-then-nap combination [that] is the ideal technique for staving off sleepiness and increasing performance.” So, how does this work? “Since caffeine takes about twenty-five minutes to enter the bloodstream, [you get] a secondary boost… by the time [your] nap is ending [and you’re awaking].”
Pink offers five steps to take a perfect nap:
Find your afternoon low time. “You’ll likely see a consistent block of time when things begin to go south, which for many people is about 7 hours after waking. This is your optimal nap time.”
Create a peaceful environment. “Turn off your phone notifications. If you’ve got a door, close it. If you’ve got a couch, use it. To insulate yourself from sound and light, try earplugs or headphones and an eye mask.”
Down a cup of coffee. “Seriously. The most efficient nap is the nappuccino. If you’re not a coffee drinker, search online for an alternative drink that provides about two hundred milligrams of caffeine. (If you avoid caffeine, skip this step.)”
Set a timer on your phone for twenty-five minutes. “Since it takes most people about seven minutes to nod off, the twenty-five minute countdown clock is ideal. And, of course, when you wake up, the caffeine is beginning to kick in.”
Repeat consistently. “There’s some evidence that habitual nappers get more from their naps than infrequent nappers. So if you have the flexibility to take a regular afternoon nap, consider making it a common ritual. If you don’t have the flexibility, then pick days when you’re really dipping—when you haven’t gotten enough sleep the day before of the stress and demands of the day are weightier than usual. You’ll feel a difference.
Happy napping!
ACTION
TODAY: Try taking one of these power naps and see how it goes. Pay close attention to how you feel. Please let me know!
FUTURE: Give regular napping a shot. The research on the benefits of napping is astonishing. Give yourself the opportunity to try out this hidden gem for better health and cognition. I know I will. If it doesn’t work out for you, you can always leave it aside and go back to zero napping, but you may find a wonderful way to become more alert, productive and healthy.
Know someone who could use a nap? Please share this post with them via email, Facebook or Twitter, thank you!
In his very charming style, Pink regaled us with the many stories, insights and research findings included in his book. Needless to say I got a copy, which I immediately started reading!
One of the things that he said during his talk is that we need to take more breaks. It specifically struck me the way he stated it: “professionals take breaks, amateurs don’t.” What he meant was that all of us who think that taking a break during the day is going to slow us down (I’m the first one here and so guilty of this—you can find me many times eating lunch at my desk to try to respond to a few more emails …) are not accomplishing as much as the professionals who have tested and proven to themselves that breaks are restorative to our mood and performance, replenish our energy and make us more productive.
But what kind of break should we take? In his book, Pink offers five kinds of restorative breaks:
Micro-breaks. “A replenishing break need not be lengthy. Even breaks that last a minute or less—what researchers call micro-breaks—can pay dividends.” You might want to consider giving your eyes a break from the computer screen every 20 min and focusing on something 20 feet away for 20 seconds (this is called the 20-20-20 rule). Or consider getting a very small water battle so that when it runs out frequently you can get up to refill it and that way you move, hydrate and take a micro-break. Or you can stand up and shake arms and legs, rotate your core and then sit down again.
Moving breaks. Since our lifestyle/work is quite sedentary, “build more movement into your breaks.” You can take a 5-min walk every hour, do office yoga poses at your desk, or sneak in a few push-ups.
Nature breaks. “Study after study has shown the replenishing effects of nature. What’s more, people consistently underestimate how much better nature makes them feel.” Walk in nature (say, a park) if you can, or simply go outside (if your place of work has a little green space with trees or lawn and a bench, “sit there instead of inside.” Remember the quote by Ramon Inmon: if you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking. Angels whisper to a man when he goes for a walk.”
Social breaks. “Don’t go it alone. At least not always. Social breaks are effective, especially when you decide the who and how.” Pink suggests calling someone and catching up for five or ten minutes, plan to walk regularly with some colleagues that you like, or don’t schedule it at all if your calendar won’t allow for it. “Buy someone a coffee one day this week. Bring it to her. Sit and talk about something other than work for five minutes.”
Mental gear-shifting breaks. “Our brains suffer fatigue just as much as our bodies do.” Pink recommends giving our brain a break by trying meditation (doesn’t have to be long, 3 minutes will do), controlled breathing (45 seconds) or lighten up by watching a funny video or listening to a funny podcast, etc.
ACTION
TODAY: Stop reading this now and go take a restorative break! 🙂
FUTURE: Build breaks into your schedule. As you saw, they don’t have to be lengthy, they just need to be powerful enough to take your mind off from what you are doing. Breaks also provide the bridge between a finished task and the beginning of the next. Build the habit of incorporating breaks into your schedule and soon you’ll be working like a pro!
Know someone who needs to take a break?Please share this post with them via email, Facebook or Twitter, thank you!
TODAY’S IDEA: 9 Lessons I learned from my mom about leadership and business
TODAY’S IDEA: Thrashing
